Reusable coffee cups

I must say that this was one my earliest and easiest swaps.  The reasons are really the same as all the reusables I use - there is simply no need to use disposables, reusables are actually nicer to use, and the UK alone puts 2.5bn of them into the landfill a year ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36882799 ).  Shocking.

I was visiting a primary school for a week in 2013, and it was made quite clear that mugs were not communal.  People mostly used lidded mugs, and people got really quite sniffy when I tried to take one out the cupboard.  I went to Sainsbury's in my lunch break and bought the only ceramic lidded cup that I found there, which had a Hello Kitty design.  I did think that it would make me look mildly ridiculous, but got it anyway and had years of compliments!

Apart from being helpful in all the primary schools I visited or worked at, I got into the habit of carrying it around with me.  I do like to have a coffee when I'm travelling, so always got it filled up at a coffee shop in a train station, so it has been with me the length and breadth of the UK.  The only one time that anyone has been bothered about it was the Costa on my university campus.  Whilst the other cafes on campus actively encouraged use of reusable cups, this one inexplicably 'could only serve into our own cups'.  I just avoided it after the first try.  I've found all other coffee outlets I've got a takeaway coffee from in the last three years to welcome it.  Some give a small discount for reusable cups (Starbucks does), and others are just charmed by its loveliness.  

Unfortunately my Hello Kitty mug had a tragic accident, when my boyfriend's housemate in Aberystwyth knocked it onto the floor.  I bought a new cup, but it's not as good and I miss it, which leads me onto....

Different types of reusable cup
1. Ceramic with a silicone lid
Pros -
Easy to keep clean and stainless

Cons - 
Heavy
Breakable (and not recyclable if you do break it)

2. Bamboo with a silicone lid ( http://ecoff.ee/collections/reusable-coffee-cups )
Pros -
Light
Made from sustainable materials
Less fragile than ceramic
If you break it, it can be composted

Cons - 
The inside stains with tea and coffee, which does make it less nice

3. Glass Keep Cup ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/KeepCup-Medium-Tempered-Travel-Charcoal/dp/B00PC9UZY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473083187&sr=8-1&keywords=glass+keepcup  )
Pros - 
Gosh it's so pretty
It is probably mostly recyclable if it breaks
Easy to keep clean and stain-free

Cons - 
More fragile
Heavier than the bamboo cup

4. Any type of plastic reusable cup, e.g. plastic Keep Cup, or cups sold in Waitrose, Starbucks or other shops.
Pros -
Not fragile
Cheap
Readily available

Cons - 
I prefer not to drink hot drinks out of a plastic cup.  Ya know?

Reusable Menstrual Products

Well, not only are we talking about periods... I'm going to tell you about an alternative way to deal with them.  Hold on to your hats.  It's a shame periods still have a shadow of taboo over them... just not warranted.  So welcome to the story of how I started using reusable menstrual products, and why I recommend them to anyone with a period.

How and why I got into it.

When I first heard about reusable menstrual products (menstrual cups and washable cloth sanitary pads), my first reaction was … no.  I’m glad if it works for some people, but that’s not for me.  However, it was one of those slow-burn ideas.  I started following groups on Facebook that are trying to make environmental changes to their lives, and it came up a few times.  I then joined a group that was dedicated to reusable menstrual products, then another, and ended up watching Youtube videos to learn more (Amy Nix and Precious Stars Pads are excellent channels for extensive information).

Anyway, after a few months I was changing my contraception from the mini pill to the copper coil (IUD), which in reality meant getting a monthly cycle back after 2.5 years of not really having a proper period (just sporadic and unpredictable half-periods).  I'd had a few months to get accustomed to the idea of reusables, and didn't find it disgusting any more, so I gave it a shot.  

In the ten years between starting my period and switching to reusables, I'd never particularly settled into a period routine.  Some people always know when their period is coming, know what it's going to be like each day, have their products in their bathroom cabinet, ready to whip out on the correct day.  I, on the other hand, would always be caught by surprise, would have to route through pockets of various handbags at 10pm to find any kind of sanitary product, and would go to the shop the next morning with some resentment about the errand and the cost.  I'd choose a singular product and use it for the whole of that period, deeply resent how uncomfortable it was and the ridiculous amount of soiled and plasticy waste that built up, then deliberately forget all about it until the next one.

For me, using reusables has (excuse the cliché) allowed me to get in touch with my body.  I know what it does when, and why.  I know which of my closed-loop products I will need when, and why.  Reusable products just make me happy.  I have everything I need, and they are all right for me.  And get this, I have stopped finding my period in the least bit disgusting.  Because it's not!  I know this sounds ridiculous, but I actually quite enjoy it now.

How does it work?

Well, so far the only reusable menstrual products (R.U.M.P.s, if you're in the online community) I have used are washable cloth pads.  They come in different shapes, sizes and fabrics, depending on your preferences.  However, they are basically a winged sanitary pad with plastic poppers/snaps to fix them round your underwear.  They normally have a waterproof layer to make sure you can't leak through, but they tend to be so absorbent that it wouldn't be particularly likely that you would anyway.  

Once you've worn them, there are different styles of washing routine available to you (*see paragraph at end for more details).  Personally, I put my pads on for a cold rinse, then a long cool wash with Ecover detergent and an environmentally friendly stain remover (http://www.homescents.co.uk/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=11531338).  It's important to me that I don't use detergent that releases anything harmful into the water systems or creates landfill waste, because I want to know that my routine has the smallest possible environmental impact.

I have also bought, but not yet used, a menstrual cup.  This is a small silicone cup that you use internally.  It collects, rather than absorbs, your menstrual flow and most women only need to empty it around 3 times per 24 hours.  The insertion takes some getting used to and you need to do some research before choosing the right cup for your body (but honestly it's not that complex and there is soooo much information online - have a look at the Youtube channels I have already mentioned).

Where do you get this stuff from?

Two good places to get cloth pads are femininewear.co.uk and Etsy.  For menstrual cups, you'll do no better than Feminine Wear - they have an extensive range, as well as information about the different types.  If you're a sewer, join 'Sewing Cloth Menstrual Pads' on Facebook (a genuinely lovely bunch of people) and learn how to make your own, which I've done :)  You save a lot of money, especially if you use stuff you already have, like old clothes, towels, blankets and sheets, and you can rejoice in the unconventionality of your chosen pass time.

As always, if I can provide any more information, I would be delighted!!

* About washing cloth pads.

Broadly speaking, you can either dry store (put them in a bag with a waterproof lining, not sealed, and wait until wash day) or you can wet store (put them in a bucket with plain water or diluted detergent or stain remover solution - make sure you change the water at least once a day).  Some people rinse each pad in the sink after each use until the water comes clear.  I generally don't, partly because it's laborious and partly because then you would have sopping wet pads to deal with.  Once it comes to washing day, most people soak their pads in Vanish Oxi-Action or own brand/eco alternative, then chuck them in the machine.  

This is a broad-brush overview and there are no end of different options, including stomping on them in the shower, washing them by hand in the sink, soaking and then using a stain stick.  It basically comes down to what works best for you, and I favour doing a multi-step wash routine in the machine.  For extensive information, Youtube is your best source, just search for something like 'washing cloth menstrual pads'.  Most don't show people washing actual dirty pads.  Those that do will have a warning in the title/description/beginning of the video.

‘Don’t bring things into your home that you intend to throw away’.

I read this comment on one of the Zero Waste Facebook groups I follow.  I find this an excellent guiding principle.

Everyone’s life is different, and what this will mean to your life is not for me to say.  For me, my nemesis is packaging, and even though I try to avoid it when I can, by selecting unpackaged or lightly packaged food when possible, I am a long long way off where I wish to be.  However, I have been trying to switch to reusable anything where possible.  It’s very satisfying to have a closed loop of stuff that you use over and over again.

• Reusable toilet paper (which you’ve already had the delights of hearing about)
• Reusable menstrual products (hold your horses, that will be a separate blog post)
• Reusable cloths and dishcloths instead of sponges and paper towels
• A reusable takeaway coffee cup
• Handkerchieves instead of tissues
• Carefully bought, good quality clothes, shoes, cookware (etc. etc.), which you expect to last for the foreseeable future

Maybe have a think about things that you use once and throw away?  There is usually another way of doing things.

Slowing Down

It is so hard, isn’t it, in our 24 hour world, to slow down.  To not want everything, straight away.

We need to stop.  This is the big thing, THE most important thing.  There are so many reasons why this is true, I’m going to focus on two, related to my attempts to be a good environmentalist.  

First, and most obviously, we have to moderate the amount of stuff.  We have fallen into a consumerist, disposable society where we want something, we go and get it, then either we don’t like it any more or it finishes its short life and it goes in the bin, never to be considered again.  Every item that enters into our possession should be considered carefully.  Do I need it?  Is it the best I can get?  If the answer is not yes, I would do better not to buy it.  

Easily said isn’t it, sounds like I’ve got it sorted.  Life is not black and white.  I am writing this on my dining room table, next to two scraps of bubblewrap which I wish I didn’t own, a takeaway menu that got pushed through the door, which I certainly wish I didn’t own, and over on the other side of the table is some plastic packaging from something I bought online.  Haha, that’s just the table.  And so we’re onto the second point, which is difficult for me to stomach.  You can’t do it all, at least not straight away.  There are these people online who fit all their waste for a year into a glass jar, whose worldly possessions can practically be listed on their fingers.  Okay, I don’t yearn after their life, but gosh, they have got it sorted.  They are living their ideals, with no compromise.  I am far off that, and that is hard to accept, because you see, I want it now!  It’s the greatest irony - I desperately want to get to a place where I am at peace with my environmental footprint, but I can’t do it fast enough, I’m too much of a consumer, too used to seeing, wanting, getting.

It’s a known phenomenon amongst people who become interested in this shizzle that once Pandora’s box is open, they struggle with the vastness of the stuff they want to achieve.  What it mostly is is a big list of small things - no shrink-wrapped vegetables, no cheap clothing, no plastic bags, no kitchen utensils that are likely to break, no polluting cosmetics or cleaning products… No single thing is colossal but it builds up to a complete shift in how you see all the little things in your life, and it is so difficult to not be so self-critical.  All of a sudden you’re going into the supermarket and all you see is plastic!  You walk down the high street and you think, you don’t need any of this.  

There is a need for acceptance, and this is hard, that you’re going to have to compromise on things, at least as you’re getting used to what is important to you, and why.  I am learning all the time, and I won’t achieve my ideals overnight, much as I would love to.

So the message, which I’m telling myself as well as wonderful you, the person who is paying any attention to what I’m saying, you need to slow down.  Think about what’s important, and keep gently chipping away.  Accept it won’t happen straight away.  And that’s fine.

Family cloth

I use family cloth

My goodness.  Only the second blog post, and I’ve decided to write about family cloth.  For the uninitiated, this is cloth that you use instead of toilet paper (and of course wash between uses).  I know this is not for everyone, but in a way it is because it is so unconventional that I want to tell you about it, because you might not otherwise hear about it.

Why use it?

My two reasons are simple.  I think that reusable products are always better than single use, and I like them.  It is undeniable that the production of toilet paper uses resources - trees, water, the plastic wrap it normally comes in, transportation etc.  Then you need to actually buy it, which is a right drag.  I find that cloth is both more comfortable and more effective at doing its job.  (And it parts do not accidentally… break off.  Ya know.)

Some information is available online about the bleach and chemicals that is in toilet paper.  I’m not going to get into that in detail, partly because I haven’t found a reliable scientific source and mostly because this is not central to my argument.  There is bleach in the paper, because it’s white isn’t it.

Okay, what are these cloths like?

Up to the user.  I chose to sew mine, because I like sewing, it was a ridiculously easy project that I actually enjoyed, and I already had leftover bits of cloth that I was able to use.  I made them just a little shorter and wider than two squares of toilet paper.  Mine are made of two pieces of fabric.  I sewed round 3 sides with the right sides of the fabric together, then turned it inside out (right sides out), ironed and did a line of stitching all the way round.  Lovely.

There is no need to sew.  You can get any kind of washcloth, or cut up an old bedsheet or shirt.  If you use stretchy jersey, the raw edges will not fray.  You can also buy family cloth online specially, for an inflated price (see Etsy for a lovely selection of all types of handmade products).

How is this hygienic?

I put the cloth for a cold rinse cycle on their own to get rid of any physical dirt, then add other household cloths and towels and put them on a long, hot wash, then dry in the sunshine if possible.  Remember urine is sterile when it exits the body, so if you use only for wee, you don’t really have anything to worry about.  Whatever your choices of how to use them, this wash routine gets them clean.

How do you store them?

Well, that’s very much up to you and the layout of your bathroom.  I keep the clean ones in the bathroom cabinet and the used ones in a net bag on the towel rail.  Other options include clean ones on toilet or windowsill or in basket or on shelf… some people use a bathroom bin to store used ones.  The possibilities are endless.

Do they smell?

No.

I know family cloth is not for everyone.  You can lead an incredibly sustainable life and still use toilet paper because anything else gives you the heebie jeebies.  Fine.  I’m not here to convince you otherwise.  This works for me.  I hope that you have found this informative if you are thinking of making this switch, and I ask for simple respect if you do not.

If you have any other questions, I’m more than happy to help!

Me, who I am, what I'm doing

Welcome to my blog, thanks for being here!

I am a mid-twenties overthinking, good-hearted but neurotic British girl.  I care about the environment.  This is my story of my very imperfect efforts to lessen my environmental footprint.  I hope that my my hours of mulling over and wondering what’s what, synthesised into bite-sized blog posts, may help someone in their own journey.

I was jobless for the first months of 2016, so had a lot of spare time to mope around think about what was important to me.  I found myself on Youtube at 1am watching videos about the Zero Waste movement, and gradually learnt about people who try to buy things with no packaging at all.  The trademark thing of theirs seems to be whether they can fit one year’s rubbish into a Mason Jar (Zero Waste people are in love with Mason jars).

I must say, it was pretty interesting stuff.  I watched and read all that the headline Zero-Wasters (Lauren Singer and Bea Johnson, both based in the US) had published online.  Some didn’t appeal - the bare minimalist apartments, the scarce possessions (Bea’s possessions proudly fit into one carry-on suitcase.  It’s what floats her boat but not what floats mine).  Some of it certainly rang true and stuck.  There are the small things like the home made cosmetic products.  Then there is the big stuff, and really, the biggest thing of all - respecting materials and possessions.  Not getting stuff in order to chuck it away, and not buying and using stuff thoughtlessly.  Now that was Pandora’s box.  Cue months of floundering around, seeing what would make me feel like I was living by these virtuous new morals.

Not all of this is an epiphany of this year.  The following were already true: I try not to put artificial rubbish on my skin, I don’t shop at Primark because I refuse to buy such poor quality clothes, I bring my own bags to the shops, I am conscious of wasteful and non-recyclable packaging, I carry a reusable coffee cup so I don’t use disposable takeaway ones.  I was not environmentally ignorant, but I wanted to do more.

A non-exhaustive list of the things I have done, which I may go on to write about in detail.

Spent many, many hours watching Youtube clips.  I’ll recommend my favourites in future blogs.

Learnt to sew, and made (amongst other things) lots of reusable cloth products to replace disposables (much more on that later)

Attempted, in an ad-hoc way, to buy far less stuff in plastic.  I have a long, long way to go before I could even associate myself with the holy Zero Wasters.

Made deodorant (fantastic success)

Made body butter (pretty good)

Made laundry detergent (rubbish at washing clothes, great at cleaning pans, hey ho)

Started washing my hair with baking soda and vinegar

Started using bar soap and a flannel instead of bottled shower gel

Used unpackaged items from Lush for things I couldn’t make myself (e.g. face moisturiser)

So in this blog, I will share the highlights of my accumulated dither and bumble to make environmental choices.  Horray!  If you have anything in particular that you might like to know about, let me know and I can write about it.  

See you soon :)