A drop in the ocean

Faith, Life 2 Minutes

What are your thoughts on looking after the environment? What about single use plastics and the damage they can cause? We’re all encouraged to do our bit to reduce waste and stop the damage to the ozone and so on; but some people I know are quite skeptical that we are either contributing to the problem or able to do anything about it.

I think that God wants us to be good stewards of his creation so I believe it’s important that we do our bit. Maybe it is just a drop in the ocean in the scheme of things but every little helps right? In our house (like most families in the UK) we recycle as much as possible – glass, cans, plastic bottles, paper and card, food and garden waste. We plan our meals to avoid wasting food and we take our own reusable shopping bags with us when we go to the supermarket. Recently I’ve made a couple of other changes too though.

Instead of using cotton pads to remove makeup and apply toner I’ve bought some washable pads which are made from bamboo (my daughter is always telling me that it’s good to use products made from bamboo because it’s so sustainable). They’re so soft and they come with a little net bag that you can wash them in.

While we’re on the subject of bamboo do you like the new bamboo socks my friend K bought me for my birthday? They’re super cosy and the colourful design is really cool.

I ordered some reusable/washable net grocery bags to put loose fruit and veg in at the shops. Much better than using a plastic bag for the few minutes it takes to get things home. They’re also very light so you can weigh your produce in them without hiking up the price if you want to.

The most recent thing I tried was making beeswax food wraps to use instead of cling film. We already own some of those reusable silicone food covers but they don’t fit all of our dishes and sometimes we run out of one particular size. I didn’t fancy the idea of trying to put together the ingredients for them because I’d heard that it can be tricky to get just the right amount of ‘stickiness’ so I bought a couple of ready mixed little blocks online to try it out. I’m quite pleased with my first effort and I’m planning to make some others in different sizes soon.

The last change we’ve made recently is reducing beef and dairy in our diet. This was my son’s suggestion. As you know I’m already dairy free so I didn’t have to adjust anything there. My son has cut dairy out now too though. We’ve also been trying to cut beef out as much as possible although it still creeps into a couple of recipes as Hubby much prefers it to lamb or pork.

Have you got any tips for reducing plastic waste or any eco-friendly products you’ve bought recently and loved? Please send me your ideas so I can see if there are any more changes I can make. I like to make a difference where I can. 🙂

Published by JustBeingMe

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23 thoughts on “A drop in the ocean”

  1. I enjoyed your post. Awareness of our impact on the environment and reducing that impact as much as we can is important to me. I use a lot of environmentally friendly products like mesh Vege bags, beeswax covers etc and find I prefer them to the traditional methods regardless of the fact that they also cut down on plastic. It’s funny how you change to the point where the use of plastic wrap freaks me out and plastic bags – I would rather struggle to the car dropping crap everywhere rather than use a plastic bag – but I don’t forget my reusable ones anymore – it’s just changing habits isn’t it? Then it all becomes easy. Sorry this has turned into a long comment – I followed your blog – you’ll find I’m a chatter 😂 come follow me and pay me back by leaving omg comments – I love them. 😊

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    1. Thanks for reading and commenting 😊. I know what you mean about plastic bags too. There was a time when I frequently forgot my reusable bags but like you I’m much better at remembering now – and if I don’t I make do without a bag.

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  2. I’m pretty good about recycling but find that the convenience of some products are also important to me. I think you’ve become really good at finding ways to be socially conscious about our impact on Mother Earth. All of that phooey about not making an impact is just that – phooey. Our efforts may not be seen right away, but it’s an important legacy for us to leave the world as clean as possible for future generations. I applaud you!

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    1. Thanks so much. I understand what you’re saying about convenience too. I guess we all just need to decide what we can manage. We don’t all have to do everything. I think as you go along you start to make more and more changes and it gets easier if you make them little by little. 🙂

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  3. I too enjoyed reading your post and I believe that we have to face the reality of the situation, certainly watching a lot of nature documentaries you can see the impact that we are having on the environment.
    I wonder and worry about the next couple of generations if they will know what a Polar Bear looks like in the wild or the diminishing sea food stocks and even the Polar Ice pack which is melting and both changing the depth of the oceans and the temperatures also.
    I am impressed with Morrisons who are now encouraging people to take plastic food containers to use at the counter butchers department.
    Again small changes made by many make a massive difference.
    Congratulations on your post a very enjoyable read 😊🙏

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    1. Thank you so much. It’s great that Morrison’s are encouraging that. Hopefully other supermarkets will follow suit soon. I did notice when I was in Asda the other day that they were selling the reusable produce bags beside the fruit and veg and Waitrose are now using compostable ones. Looks like they’re making progress. 😊

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      1. I hope that not just supermarkets get the message but fast food and take away outlets as well. 😊
        I don’t know your age but I am 55 and I remember taking basins to the chippy for them to use.
        Glass bottles used to have a refundable deposit on them as well 😊

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  5. I found this post when I was on Instagram on my phone last night but couldn’t comment because I’m not signed into wordpress on my phone (for my own sanity). I just wanted to say that all of the swaps you’re making in this post are really amazing steps.

    In my house we use Stasher bags instead of Ziploc Bags. They’re pricey upon first purchase but they come with a lifetime warranty and they’re so convenient and so handy.

    Love the message this post promotes. We need more of this in the blogger world.

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      1. Stasher Bags They can be put in the fridge, freezer, microwave and dishwasher. You can also use them on the stove to make Sous Vide (i think that’s how you spell it?) in boiling water. Or you can just use it to hold snacks like one would with a ziploc bag. It’s basically a really fancy Ziploc Bag. They start around $10 canadian per bag around here.

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  6. Yup I really think I do my part. We never used paper plates or forks, no matter how big the group. I’ve bought enough dishes for hosting. Speaking of what I once found “necessary” disposables like tampons, I now use Diva cups and prefer them by far. We have a fake Christmas tree and have used it for 14 Christmas’ now…we will be using it until no needles are left. We have five kids, all use containers and reusable lunch kits for school. When I homeschooled we used tablets for writing instead of the thousands of papers the school system seems to use.

    Now enough about me (as I could go on and on). I am very concerned about the “trend” part of environmentalism. I think it’s not enough and that people who shout the loudest about plastic bags and such are turning a blind eye to the big things that would really make a difference:
    – House renovating: How much unnecessary stuff is brought to the dump for the newest Pinterest kitchen remodels, when the old was perfectly functional?
    – Consumerism: How many iPhone’s 7s are in the dump because everyone needs the newest model?? And this applies to newest laptops, clothes, toys, etc. When is enough, enough?
    – Unnecessary fuel usage: Does anyone actually plan ahead so they can do their weekly errands in one trip to the city anymore? I do. But from what I seem to witness most do errands daily.
    – Fast food consumption: every item wrapped in plastic?? Come on! Such a complete waste!
    – Dollarstore junk thrown out after one use, in fact, I’d like to see such stores of low quality banned from Canada.
    -Appliances made from cheap material that lasts 2 years instead of 20 like back in the day. (Think of how many cheap leather couch sets are sitting in the dump 😱)
    – The ridiculous amount of plastic used to package new products.

    The list is never ending!

    Most businesses I know do not recycle and throw out more in a week then I would in a decade. How about doing away with private jets? Again more fuel is used in one flight then my car will use in my lifetime…. And we focus on individual people and something small and ridiculous like straws in restaurants! I hate the trend. Let’s think big.

    But most people don’t want to actually reduce or reuse. That would mean they would have to be thrifty.

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    1. It certainly sounds like you’ve got it nailed. There are so many things that businesses (and each one of us) could do and I do agree that we are generally too wasteful these days. Like you I like to use things until they’re done rather than constantly replacing things for newer models. I know you’re right that we need to think bigger but I don’t have much influence in some of the bigger areas so I hope my little bit makes some difference. 😊

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  7. I didn’t buy some bamboo underwear or shirts for eco reasons, I bought them because they are so comfortable. I also am trying to reduce meat in my diet, and doing well at that, but that was to lose weight and prevent inflammation. I think it is excellent that we can improve our diets and even buy bamboo clothes for more than one reason.

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  9. I liked every point and your views. I use beeswax for food wrapping and it works well! Try to recycle almost everything and donate other things where it makes sense. I don’t eat beef for the reasons you point out. We can all do more. Thanks for the reminders and new ideas!

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