Our Eco Journey - Out and About

There was no eco-themed post last month (unless you count the '[Even More] Vegan Meal Ideas' post, because technically vegan eating is still eco friendly) however, this has been sitting in my drafts and I've decided it was time to get the penultimate post up. Looking back at the previous posts I can already see some differences in products we have started to use, forgot to include or stopped using so I will probably re-visit this series at some point in the future. 

Before I continue, please feel free to check out the other posts in Our Eco Journey:
The Bathroom
The Kitchen
50 Things I Don't Buy

As for this post, you can see from the title I'm going to share how our household brings eco-living with us on the go. Even before the pandemic we weren't the type to go here, there and everywhere much nor do I have a day job meaning 'Out and About' doesn't feature too prominently for us but we definitely do have lots of things that are there just in case!

Out and About

Reusable water bottles

This is the most basic thing anyone can do. I have used reusable bottles for as long as I can remember and cannot understand why people would rather buy a small plastic bottle every day than bring a bottle of water of juice with them - saving money and the planet one bottle at a time! 

Coffee Mugs/Flasks
I don't drink hot drinks, but Mr H is a big coffee lover. It's rare he'd get a coffee out and about because we're pretty frugal and prefer to not pay £££ for something we can get at home, but he does like to make his morning cuppa in a mug that has a to-go lid so he can drink it in the car or in a flask that he could take on the train etc.
For people who do like to buy coffee at shops, they will usually make it in reusable cups so please consider it as they are a huge waste - no matter how seasonally themed and pretty they may be!

Metal straws
I tend to use my re-usable bottles at home too in an effort to stop spillages (I'm clumsy and have animals), so straws aren't something we need all that often. However they have come in handy when needed for medical reasons or to have in my bag if ever the rare occasion of having a drink out anywhere arose.

Bamboo Cutlery Set
Not that they've had any use yet but Mr H picked out a cool little set of cutlery for use when camping or picnicking etc. It comes in a nice little roll to keep it all together and has all utensils you could need when on the go.

Titanium Spork
Similarly to the above, this is a utensil to eat with that is great for popping in your bag. This is the one I picked out because I was sceptical to whether I'd break the bamboo ones!

Tubs/Boxes
As I mentioned in our Kitchen Eco Journey post I really couldn't tell you the last time I used cling film or baking foil. You can get fancy reusable sandwich wraps though many are made with beeswax making them unsuitable for vegans or they are super expensive and unless you use them a lot it doesn't seem worth it. So when we want to take food out with us we have a stash of plastic tubs, of all sizes, from many places over the years that we repurpose and use time and time again.

Produce bags
These have been sitting in the bottom of the drawer for the longest time because we haven't done a food shop in person for a long time. However, if you do and you buy vegetables or baked products you need these! I know a lot of stores are replacing their plastic produce bags with paper ones, but even then the majority have a big plastic window in the which seems counterproductive. 
These reusable, drawstring bags are a great size, strong and can go in the washing machine!

Tote bags etc
Most of you should know what these are. We have an extensive collection with some kept in the car, each of our backpacks and probably all over the house. 

There we have it, another chapter in our Eco Journey down. Originally I'd grouped together the topic of this post and what is now next month's the last in the series - Pets - as I assumed there wouldn't be much to share. Evidently, after compiling it all I realized it made for a heck of a lengthy post hence splitting into two.
I hope it is helpful to at least one person who can change even one thing they do or use while out and about to give our planet the helping hand it so desperately needs. As I said in the introduction, there will more than likely be things I have forgotten but these are the main things that come to mind. Do you use any of these things already? If so what? Are there any other eco products you like for when you are on the go?

Until next time!

Our Eco Journey - The Kitchen

This post has taken a little longer than expected to get up, purely due to procrastination and me putting it off to post other things. Obviously, this is the second post in this mini-series talking about how we do our little bit for the planet in our house. Pop over to Our Eco Journey - The Bathroom to read the first post.

To start off, I'll repost exactly what I said in the first post. I have to direct your attention to a specific word in the post title - 'Journey'. This is a journey. I have been adjusting my lifestyle since I was a teenager, from consciously seeking out only cruelty-free options for health and beauty as well as cleaning and home products, to going vegan and working on my eco-friendliness. It is a life long journey and I know there are still things I use out of necessity or even purely not being able to afford alternatives, but am I trying and that is the main thing.

Now that all of that is out of the way I want to share the things we are doing or using in our house to try and be as natural, animal-friendly, eco-friendly and eventually as low waste as possible. It's so lovely to have a husband with the same values as me and who also cares a lot about these things, so all the products I'll be showing you are used by both of us (where applicable). Over the years I've used multiple different companies and we are settling into some favourites so let's get started out with our kitchen!

I'm going to lay this out super simply and describe the items shown in the images, from top to bottom.

Dish Splash Solid Dish Soap.

I can barely remember what it was like to wash dishes with washing up liquid after using solid dish soap for the past few months. We've tried a couple but definitely settled into this one by Primal Suds. It's plastic-free, cruelty-free, palm oil-free and vegan. It suds up and washes really well and lasts way longer than a bottle of washing up liquid would!

Find it here > Primal Suds Dish Splash

[If you are a dishwasher user you should check out Smol Dishwash]

Bamboo Soap Ladder

Where there are soap bars, you need a place to put them and rather a plastic or ceramic dish where they sit with no drainage, we use a bamboo ladder that allows it to dry out and preserve the life of the bar.

Find it here > Primal Suds Soap Ladder

Coconut Dish Washing Brush With Wooden Handle

It would feel a little hypocritical to be using a solid dish soap with a 'plastic' sponge (polyester or nylon) that aren't recyclable let alone biodegradable so we tried a couple alternatives before choosing this brush. I rub it directly on the soap bar and then simply buff it of the washing up!

Find it here > Loof Co via Peace with the Wild

Storage Jars

All of our dry foods, grains, herbs and spices are stored it reused jars. We do not buy new jars specifically but just clean out old jars and paint the lids to make them look more cohesive. Hopefully, zero waste re-fill stores will become more popular and one will pop up around us, but right now there are none nearby so unfortunately before decanting into jars some foods do come in plastic packaging. 

Recycled, Plant-Based Non-Stick Pans

I have no idea how I found these but when I originally saw them I'd recommend them to my Mam who needed a new pan set. When we needed a wok/stir fry pan this was obviously our first port of call.

Prestige Plant-Based pans boast being the ''World's friendliest plant-based non-stick that's PFOA & palm oil-free. Better for you and our planet.'' They are also made from recycled materials, come in fully recyclable packaging and are recyclable themselves. Not only that but for every item bought Tree Aid plant a tree in Africa! I am obsessed with this range and cannot wait to upgrade the rest of our pans when they all finally end their lives. 

Find them here > Prestige Eco - Plant Based Non-Stick Cookware

Galvanised Metal Mop Bucket

I have always wanted a metal bucket, as weird as it sounds. When you move out for the first time most people don't have the option to spend ££ on basics like a mop bucket but when we needed a new one after moving to this house I knew I wasn't going to be spending money on another plastic bucket that just breaks and ends up in landfill. 

Wooden Sweeping Brush

Along the same lines is a wooden sweeping brush. Natural bristles work way better than horrible plastic ones too. 

(As you'll see I haven't included a mop. There was actually a brand new mop left here for us when we moved in and so we haven't yet invested in a wooden mop with replaceable cotton head.]

Eco-Friendly Laundry Capsules

Smol is something I bet many of you have seen advertised on social media recently. I never go for any adverts, I am pessimistic and untrusting haha. However, the usual laundry detergent I used was Astonish liquid and the only place anywhere near us that stocks it is Home Bargains...that is a problem because even before Covid I didn't like going in stores, so of course now I don't go in anywhere at all.

That's why I subscribed to Smol a few months back. They are plastic-free, cruelty-free, have lower levels of added chemicals, come in fully recyclable packaging and fit through your letterbox.

You tell them how many washes you do a week, how many capsules you use each wash and they will send you a new pack in time for your pack running out. 

Find it here > Smol Laundry Capsules

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Drops

Just like our laundry, Astonish was our main go-to for most cleaning products alongside the odd Method product due to them both being great cruelty-free options. Both come in plastic bottles and again were hard to get a hold of without going into certain retailers. 

Now we are obsessed with Ocean Saver's Eco Drops! They are a small capsule with a concentrated liquid inside. You pop them into a bottle with some water, they dissolve, you clean your house! Obviously, they are vegan, they are also 100% biodegradable, plant-based, non-toxic, they smell great and they work!

Find them here > Ocean Saver

Amber Glass Spray Bottles 

With the above item, you need an empty bottle to use them with and when trying to re-use our old Astonish bottles we had issues with the tops. That gave us the excuse to order some not only beautiful looking, but eco-friendly amber glass replacements. Amber Glass also is great for protecting the contents inside from light.

Find them here > UMISKAM via Amazon

Eco-Friendly Fabric Conditioner

After enjoying the laundry capsules and receiving the email telling us all about their new Fabcon, we decided to order some of Smol's new Fabric Conditioner! It's something I've never really bothered using but with 10 animals in the house and a husband who works as a chef, we can always use a little bit of an extra boost in our washing loads. We had the idea to super dilute some in a bottle too to use as a fabric refresher spray which will also be helpful when having to dry clothing inside on rainy days to help combat any slight 'foosty' smells!

Did you know that most fabric conditioners contain animal fat?! Gross eh? Smol's doesn't though!

Find it here > Smol Fabcon

Borax Substitute

Although all our cleaners are really great, we have quite hard water where we are so mixed with our bar soaps our bath and shower door tends to get a texture to it that isn't the easiest to scrub. Borax Substitute is a non-toxic powder gentler than soda crystals but stronger than Bicarbonate of Soda. You can mix it with water to form a paste or with lemon juice or white vinegar for a great scouring product.

Find it here > DriPak via Peace with the Wild

Some other things we have or do in our kitchen that aren't pictured are:

Recycling Boxes

You might be able to see a tiny peek of these in the bottom of the amber glass bottle image. We have two boxes in our under-sink cupboard that we use for glass and other recyclables which is taken either out to the big recycling wheelie bin or the bottle bank so that things aren't just laying around.

Cloths and Tea Towels

This might seem an obvious thing but from watching cleaning videos online or seeing people haul cleaning products I thought I could share this. We only use cloths, rags and tea towels for cleaning etc around the kitchen. We do not use any cleaning wipes or kitchen roll and many of the rags we do use are old t-shirts and such that are washed and cut up to repurpose. 

Decomposable Bin Bags

We try very hard not to have too many things going into our general kitchen waste bin, nor do we have much food waste at all but I still find it important to have bin bags that don't contribute even more plastic.

Compost Bin

And finally a compost bin. Technically this is outside in the greenhouse but it's the last port of call for any food waste. We try to eat everything we can, the Guniea Pigs also eat their fair share and then if there is any leftover it goes to compost. Mr H also tends to bring home cut offs and waste from work that is often too much for even our greedy Guineas so at least it can go in our compost bin rather than just put in general waste at work.

Oooff! Now I realize why I have put off writing this for so long! This took quite a while to put together and I'm sure I'll have forgotten something but either way I hope you find some ideas that you can put into practice in your house. I look forward to looking back on this in the future and seeing how much I have progressed because remember, this is a journey, not a destination. No one is perfect, we can all just try to do what we can for our planet. If everyone made one swap it would make a huge difference! 

I didn't mention it when talking about specific items but it is important to mention the cost. Many people argue vegan and eco-living is only for rich, privileged, stuck up people and I can't disagree more! My husband and I live month to month and have only one income. You see a larger price tag or a smaller item but these things last so much longer or are small as they are concentrated therefore often either save you money in the long run, work out cheaper for each wash or are of equal price to other leading brands.

Let me know what you think, if you use any of these products or other things that you recommend we should try in our kitchen!
Until next time!