Everytime it's the same ! When you come back from shopping and you have to store your provisions, you find yourself under mountains of paper , plastic packaging and other waste. You fill your trash can in just a few days. This year you have become aware that our planet is in bad shape and that it is too polluted. Do you want to contribute at your level to make small gestures to save it and which at the same time will make you save money in the long term ? Then zero waste will be your good resolution. When you're a large family, it's achievable and the children will love taking part in this new way of doing and thinking.
Becoming an eco-friendly family, in 2021 it's possible
Being a zero footprint family for the planet ultimately requires little. This requires real awareness that your way of life has an impact on the ecosystem and that the slightest of your actions leaves a mark. A dose of goodwill and a new way of understanding your environment and your daily life will be enough for you to take your first steps towards zero waste . But where to start ?
How to zero waste shopping
The supermarket, a mecca for superfluous waste
The supermarket is the place where we collect the most visible waste : the cardboard packaging of yogurts, the plastics of the individual biscuits that your children love, your shower gels in family packs, etc.
To start smoothly, you will need a little organization and creativity. On this last point, that's good, children are overflowing as a rule. Use them in your new way of life .
From now on, to go shopping you will no longer take your five plastic bags, but rather a pretty resistant net that slips easily into your handbag, or a wicker basket on which your toddlers can hang homemade pompoms.
Then, as you consume your food in jars, keep them for recycling. Your children can paint the lids by color code, for example, yellow for starches, green for cereals, etc. They can also stick cute labels illustrated with their little hands on them.
From now on, thanks to your eco-responsible conscience, you will make sure to buy only the quantities useful for the meal by going to stock up preferably in the bulk department of your supermarket. No more food waste , buy only the essentials!
To transport your bulk foodstuffs or fruits and vegetables, use fabric pouches rather than the paper ones available at the store. Here again if you are DIY enthusiasts, you can recover unused fabrics to make your own pouches otherwise you will find them very easily in organic shops.
Long live the local market and small producers
The local market is a very good eco-responsible alternative . Buying your food at the market from local producers is a Green approach, because all the products you buy there will not be over-packaged. In addition, the impact of transporting products is less since they are local. But above all, you will employ producers who cultivate and produce near you.
We add to all these advantages that of making this weekly outing a pleasant family ritual that your children will quickly take a liking to, especially if you make the trip by bicycle or scooter. 😉
Becoming an ecofriendly family requires small efforts. If you want to eradicate all plastic waste, you will have to profoundly change the way you live on a daily basis . That is to say, prepare your own biscuits or compotes for your toddlers, use gourds rather than plastic bottles, make the most of your recipes with unprocessed products... Always have basic foods in your cupboards eggs, milk, flour, yeast to be able to make bread, yogurts, shortcrust pastry by yourself, etc. If you think you can't get there due to lack of time, we advise you to practice Batch cooking.
Zero food waste requires undeniable adaptation and organization , that's for sure. But once you get used to it, you'll be proud of yourself for helping to take care of the planet and instilling these strong values in your offspring.
And in the house, how does zero waste work?
Hunt the trash in the bathroom
Did you know that in your cosmetics, the purpose of which is to make you beautiful, there are silicones and other chemical substances which take between 400 and 500 years to disappear in nature? In addition to polluting our environment, they have negative effects on our organisms.
To stop this ecological massacre , start by replacing your usual shampoo bottle with a solid shampoo that offers many benefits. Composed only of organic products , its solid texture is a real plus if you travel often. Stored in an aluminum box, it does not take up much space and is very easy to recharge. Used for the hair routine of the whole family, it will make the hair soft and silky without damaging it.
To sublimate your hair, you can use the heated charlotte . It allows your care products to penetrate deep into your hair. In addition, it diffuses a pleasant warmth thanks to the flax seeds it contains. To try it is to adopt it 😉
If the plastic cotton swabs disappeared at the beginning of the year, do not wait to completely eradicate them from your personal hygiene habits, by now using the infinitely usable ear picks . You read correctly, who says infinity says economy. 😊 You can find classic bamboo ear picks or with funny little heads, more playful for children who will happily integrate this new object into their body hygiene routine.
You can continue to equip yourself with Green in your bathroom, by buying solid care products such as soap , toothpaste, or deodorant . But also by replacing disposable cotton pads with washable make-up remover wipes .
To go further in the eco-friendly approach, you can opt for you ladies to use menstrual panties or a cup, and for your young children to washable diapers. There are also now superb boxes for babies that include the essentials to take care of them.
We don't forget sir, by offering him a razor with a wooden handle and recyclable blades , more ecological than single-use razors. And finally, for the beauty of the whole family, we buy a brush or a wooden comb .
In the kitchen, what does it look like?
Take a tour of your kitchen to make an inventory of the products that you can replace with more ecological objects, and above all keep only the essentials!
Here is a small list of essential elements that could be useful to you:
- Wooden or stainless steel utensils;
- Preferably glass dishes (avoid silicone or plastic containers);
- A pressure cooker ;
- Stainless steel pots and pans, healthier for your health;
-
The robots you use regularly.
We sometimes tend to clutter up with household appliances that we ultimately use very little. It's time to buy responsibly. For example, for raclette or fondue machines that are generally used in winter, you may be able to borrow one from your parents or your neighbors when you need it from time to time. This will save you money and free up space in your cupboards too.
As for the dishes, it's time to integrate the little new greens into your daily life if you haven't already. Did you know that Marseille soap could replace your dishwashing liquid? It is often mistakenly thought that its use is only intended for the treatment of personal hygiene. Yet its degreasing power is well established, in addition to its 100% natural composition that will take care of your hands.
The hedgehog-shaped coco brush is also perfect for getting rid of dirty dishes . Composed exclusively of coconut fibers , it resists over time. You'll soon forget your green scouring sponge.
For food preservation, our favorite product is the charlotte dish cover . It adapts perfectly to any type of dish (oval, square, rectangular), it replaces stretch plastic film. Useful therefore to keep your food in the refrigerator or to transport your small dishes prepared with love to your friends. What we love is its 100% coated cotton fabric, OEKO TEX certified, machine washable.
Here are a few ways to gently take your first steps towards total zero waste . We hope to have made you discover new eco-responsible products that we hope will integrate your daily family life.
We have discussed visual waste here , we will see in the next articles all that you can put in place to further reduce your individual impact on the environment and make other savings. The question we are asking you at this point is:
Do you want to go further in the eco-friendly approach?
If it's YES, don't hesitate to consult our blog with our various articles that deal with the subject of zero waste. Take care of yourself and your family by drawing inspiration from our Retour O Naturel recipes. 🕊️ _
Article written by Floriane.M