Die a Little

So true

So very true

No more Mr Nice Guy

Or should that be little Miss Nice Girl

I'm a wiser version of me

And I will be strong

It's all I have left

♥

Everyone Loves the Wild Ones

Just that

There are no other words 

♥

Good over Perfect

Give me good over perfect any day

Give me room for improvement

And space to grow

Not merely the wait for a fall from a pedestal

A fall from grace

Or a picture perfect happy ever after

I thought I had found my happy ever after

I haven't

I didn't

It wasn't to be

I didn't fall from grace

But the fall was there

The bump was hard and unexpected

Give me good over perfect any day

But don't give me bad

Unless you really want to  see what bad can be

♥

It took time to make the mess ...

So true

Of life

And of plastics

We can read into things what we wish to see

But I do love a thought provoking meme.

Sue xx

All we can do ...

All we can do in this fight against plastics, that seems to be everywhere at the moment ... and quite rightly so ... is to do our best.  

We need to step back and recognise the difference between single use and reusable plastics.  Embrace the idea of becoming more aware of the single use and letting them one by one slip out of our lives where possible. 

Re-use as many times as we can those plastic things we get that although designed to be single use could in fact be used over and over.  But then thinking about it that shouldn't that be the way with everything we purchase!!

  I've always been pretty good at re-using glass jars, plastic fruit trays etc, but I had never thought until quite recently that the current trend for 'zip-lock' bags was anything but a convenience that then goes into the bin.  So many frozen fruits and vegetables come in these now ... as well as some cheeses, including block cheeses.

My lunch yesterday for example was a good for highlighting to me the mix of re-usables and non-reusables.  The bread sticks were the bake at home type that came in a plastic wrapper, the pre-cooked beetroot were the sort in a shrink wrap packet, so both of these wrappers had to go straight into the bin as neither were recyclable.   But the mayo jar can be re-used over and over before it is finally recycled and the cheese bag once carefully washed out can be used as the zip-lock bag it is until it no longer works ... and then this particular sort can be recycled.

Of course the final component of my lunch was a glass of ice cold tap water straight from the jug in the fridge.

Yes that has a plastic lid, but this is what we must be careful not get too hung up on ... this lid will stay with this jug for a long, long time.  The plastic tub I put the leftover beetroot in will also stay with me for a long time.  This is why plastic was invented and worked on all those years ago,  to be useful, to make life simpler and to help us.  It's the unnecessary use of single use plastics we must challenge and fight against

Luckily the wine I had with my tea came in a can 😃

Sue xx

Plastic Free Breakfast .... ?

So on the second day of Plastic Free July am I having a plastic free breakfast, well in that I'm not eating plastic yes ... but let's look at the component parts ... it's not looking very good.

Coffee - from a glass jar with a plastic lid

Grapes - from a plastic  tub with a film lid

Banana - YES

Strawberries - from a plastic tray with a film lid

Nuts and seeds - Originally from small plastic bags

Peanut Butter - from a plastic jar

Yoghurt - plastic pot, removable cardboard collar and plastic lid

I think the yoghurt is a bit of a saving grace, in that for me it's not single use plastic.

Once I have peeled off the cardboard sleeve it goes into the paper recycling box, the foil lid goes into the metal recycling box, and the pot and it's lid I re-use for single portions of food that go into the freezer.  They are great for a good portion of homemade soup or pasta sauce, although they do take up more room than takeaway style tubs.

  I'm currently sat thinking of alternatives that I could use for everything else.  How was your breakfast this morning?

Sue xx

Plastic Free July

Every month this year I've been getting a VeganKind Lifestyle Subscription Box ... it was a Christmas present to myself from myself.  It's been really good and has opened up a whole new world of vegan treats for me to discover.  I've had some lovely things ... and most are pretty healthy.

Last week I ordered myself an Eco Life Box, not even knowing that July is and has been for the past couple of years Plastic Free July.  Something that started I believe in Australia and has now gone global.  

How appropriate that I have my box then.

Inside were all these goodies ... and despite what you might think at first glance ... there was not a bit of plastic to be seen.

All the packing materials, the tissue paper and the paper straw have gone into the kindling basket to be used to start up the log burner (once this heatwave is over obviously 😉), the cardboard box is now flattened and in the recycling box and the contents have come with me to the Van.

I now have another re-usable coffee mug, a coconut bowl, spoon and fork set, a bamboo straw and a recyclable toothbrush.

There were also a couple of pot washing scourers and a bottle of water.  In a bottle made from 100% plant based material.  I will have to have a closer read of the labels, but hey, what a breakthrough idea this is!!

So what a happy coincidence that I ordered this Eco Box just as Plastic Free July kicks off, and although I am not doing a Challenge as such I am going to use this month to really watch how much plastic I use ... and do what I can to avoid it where possible.

Watching Hugh and Anita's War on Plastic over the last few weeks was a real eye opener for me, and a shocking one at that.  Did you watch this series?

Sue xx