A simpler lifestyle is less stressful, leaves me with a healthy bank balance and shopping locally means supporting my community.

Sustainability in your shopping lifestyle

When you start a plastic-free lifestyle journey you can panic and want your habits to change overnight. I found this approached incredibly stressful at the times and it also costs me more money through the determination to achieve plastic-free living in one month.  

What I have learnt since starting this challenge in July is that it cannot be done without local knowledge of your resources to achieve a reduced waste bin every fortnight. When people say Eco-Friendly or plastic-free they automatically think that it's going to cost more money and more time. The main focus should be to reduce the household black bin landfill waste and gain knowledge on the recycling system the council have in place. (www.letswasteless.com)

 For Example: As a family, multi-packet buys of crisps is a necessity on my weekly list however I have learnt that I can recycle them locally. Therefore, my crisp packets go into a reusable shopping bag on top of my fridge and when it's full I drop them off at the nearest drop off point. Most schools are now taking on the crisp packet recycling scheme becoming the communities drop off point and raising money for their school at the same time. Here is a link to drop off points.

https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/crisppacket

 Knowing where to go shopping for your weekly needs to achieve less wastefulness is also key to winning in this fight. It's so very easy to just pop to the big branded supermarkets and get everything under one roof however I have found this costly as I buy other products that are not on my list or multi-buy offers and I'm left with food going out of date through bulk buying and overstocking unnecessary, lots of packaging causing more waste in my bins and produce is low in quality to the alternative I have now changed to.

Changing your shopping habits is the key to less waste success and its that simple.

Here are some ways in which I have changed my weekly shopping habits.

1. Say no to plastic bags food wrapping, buy fresh and singular items to reduce less food waste.
2. Carry reusable shopping bags in your car I have a box right outside my front door to remind me to take the bags with me.
3. Give up single-use plastic bottled water for a reusable bottle, tap water has been tested healthier than bottled waters.
4. Shop your local farm shops, butchers and fishmongers taking you reusable tubs with you to reduce unnecessary waste. Supermarkets accept your own reusable containers at the deli counters. 
   
   

   

   Containers used at the butchers 

   

   Own containers no household waste 

   
   

   

   Local fruit and veg shop
    no waste and locally grown

   

   Supporting locally-made products
   that's better quality and healthier.

   

   1. Choose a glass-bottled milk delivery option to your door where bottles can be returned for reuse. This saved me tons of space in the green recycling bin and stopped those panic shops buy visits when the milk has run out. https://www.findmeamilkman.net/

   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   I cooked with the sundried tomatoes this week and
    was left with infused flavoured olive oil in the jar.
    So I bottled it up to use in future cooking.
   Washed out the Jar reusing it later in the spring. 

   
   

   I left out the single apple here in the picture, so you can see the size difference you are being persuaded to buy. The single apples were brought for my children's snack after school. I brought 3 larger apples for £1.07 or I could have brought 6 apples in plastic wrapping. So yes once again cheaper apples were available but I chose a better quality of apple that had travelled fewer miles to the supermarket shelf and  I only had the apple cork to compost at home after.

I even left the label at the till however, they can be
 weighed at the till meaning no label needed in the first place.

This was my Tesco shop this week for a family of 5. Toothpaste products can be recycled locally, the plastic wrappers here can also be recycled or reused.  Thinking about where this waste ends up is my overall goal.

The result of the above has made a huge difference to my bin waste, black bin bags this week were two and the recycling green bin was half full. before this journey, I was filling two black and two green bin a fortnight. Composting at home, reusing, recycling and buying only what I need is the reason for the less waste success.