My oven cleaner has ran out help

07.07.19

Day 7

Well it was going to happen some day the good old reliable oven cleaner is no more and I cannot buy it again as all the products this company sell are in plastic packaging.

It may be vegan and eco friendly but its in plastic

So what to do, my oven is half way clean. My Sunday??

I took to google there must be a website that can help me make one.

https://yumuniverse.com/make-your-own-inexpensive-toxin-free-natural-oven-cleaner/

Make Your Own Inexpensive Natural Oven Cleaner

from this

To this


I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I GET ON.

The ingedients I used today but once I use these up I will have to find these ingredients without the plastic, mixed them into a paste.

My oven before picture

I now need to wait 6-8 hours for the paste to work 

I will be delighted if it works on these I hate cleaning these things LOL

This is my oven light I have never seen it clean

One thing this challenge is showing is the state of my house and advertising deaper into my life style with you all. When I was applying this paste I could see the fat lifting and can only imagine when its wiped clean how beautifully clean it will look. I maybe hopeful here but no chemical clener has done this when applied. I will post an update tomorrow on this subject. I'm so excited right now thank you Yumuniverse for your website ideas.

Day six Summery taking on more than I can chew

06.07.19

FOOD HUNT FOR THE ALTERNATIVES

So this is where I start to think that this task is harder and less achievable to go completely plastic free. I went to Lidl yesterday and took photos of some of the alternative options to my weekly shop that I know my household cannot do without. Again this is only one suprmarket others may offer more options, this is also where I will struggle though. I have 3 kids, a husband, a 18 year old nephew and myself and we all have our habits of how we eat certain foods. Sausage sandwich the kids love ketchup for instance and chocolate spread is a total must. So how far do I go??? Chocolate spread plastic lid?
The one thing i'm also noticing is that to complete this task of a plastic free home Lidl and Aldi offer the best prices to save money, some of the alternatives will need these extra pennies to buy, therefore shopping in Lidl/Aldi they offer the cheaper branded items saving and replacing the pennies that I will need to spend on plastic free alternatives elsewhere.
The elsewhere comment is the one that makes this challenge become hard work as I am finding that I will not be able to do my weekly shop under one roof meaning time, travel and organisation is needed to pull off my shop. The time issue is definatly going to be the hardest one due to everyday commitments and I can now understand why many people would just go for the convienence shop. Driving to different shops more miles, more petrol, more damage and more money. With the impact cars have on the environment with regards to the climate emissions I question this option as i'm trying to drive less. Electric car option then!!!!! More money?

Chocolate spread is a must in my house the kids have been snacking with fruits and a blob of chocolate spread instead of snacks in individual packets. Not sure if I can make it as hazel nuts all come in plastic packaging. The jar is also reusable and this is one item I may have to keep buying. 

Baking we use chocolate chips again they are in plastic in every shop. The alternatives are that I buy bars like these and smash the chocolate in to little pieces. 

The only sauce available in Lidl in a glass bottle, other shops have may have different ones but this one but I brought as it was there and our plstic bottle at home is running out. so for the weekends sake this was coming home. 

The glass bottle size difference is a lot so once again plastic is cheaper.
I need to find a refill option

Olive oil worked out more expensive in a glass bottle but this is a good alternative.

This is a big one that i'm questioning too. Yogurt all in plastic I have been making smoothies and ice creams with yogurt again saving on our usual packeted ice creams, lollies etc. Plus yogurt is healthy for the kids and a must buy as an essential part to their diet. If anyone has suggestions please help me and comment below.

Oh its just a great price, a brand the kids love. I can't wait to find the glass bottle branded alternative, see how this brand lurs me to plastic and the difference a glass bottle is going to cost. This is where I am getting more annoyed as we should not be lured to plastc because its cheaper.  

Cream another essential to make ice cream and homemade deserts what to do??? please help with any suggestions however I do not know how difficult making cream myself is. I would like the convience of buying cream due to this challenge now proving more daily essentials are needs to be made at homemade.

Lidl does offer a great selection of plastic free wrapped to chocolate, I know it's not Cadbury brand but the kids seem to be enjoying the alternative so this is an easy change to make.

Again any help needed on gloves as i'm skin sensitive and must where gloves when washing up.
now there is more cooking/baking going on I need gloves for all the extra washing up.

Squirty cream Nooooo i could hand back the plastic lid recycle it locally but then i buying plastic and feeding money into the plastics industry. What to do??? HELP



Jelly Nooooo
lemon juice i need it for dishwasher tablet making Noooo plastic

Glass pop 99p an absolute bonus thank you Lidl

Glass bottles smaller and more expensive but an option I may have to go with.

Came home and my nephew had made chocolate concrete cakes WOW his not gong back to uni I need his baking skills. LOL

Oat milk turned out great easy to make and a great alternative to goats milk that may also help with my food intollerences.

This was brougt for my family at christmas many years ago and one of the most used items in the kitchen. My children are melting the chocolate bars and dipping in the different fruits from the weekend shopping, i'm going to have to shop more in  the week to replace the eaten fruits.  Still looking at the sugar intake more sugar is involved in the packeted chocolate bars that they would usually snack on, Mars, twix, pinics,snickers etc. so again looking at the healthy option and looking after their teeth too can't be a bad change over.

My nephews chocolate concrete and my homemade flat jacks using up the oats from the homemade oat milk. My 12 year old has just stuffed one in his mouth stating "this plastic free stuff is ok you know" LOL approval of the highest in this house. 

Day 5

05.07.19

So I shopped for the weekend today and came home plastic free. The products I was buying were fresh and healthy. The usual shop is full of pre made foods, snacks like biscuits, crisps, cakes, chocolate bars but today just the ingredients to make our own.

Take a look below

Lidl £16.70
Butchers £38.38
bells farm £15.29
Total £70.37

My total shop today totally plastic free even managed to buy tomatoe sauce

I have been shopping at the butchers with my own tubs for about a year now and i find the meat lasts longer when stored in tubs.

Brilliant achievement

It was like I was packing for a holiday leaving the house for my venture

Lidl offers a great fresh bread section quite cheap and we have fresh croissants for  breakfast too

This was my lidl plastic free achievement

These strawberries are getting used up quickly this is my second strawberry pick this week.

So I found oats to make oat milk for the hot chocolates and maybe the alternative to my goats milk dilema

School snacks for a trip

Day 5

05.07.19



What a girl

My daughter came downstairs this morning reminding me that she had a rounder's sports tournament and needs snacks.
Together we worked out what she could have, so I put the pancakes on and she did a tub of strawberries and a tub of ginger bread she made last night.
The water bottle was filled with iced water that she could refill when needed.

Team work again at last minute and my family going strong on plastic free.
 

Lush are you kidding me

So lush got a visit and I have to say the selection was huge and extremely confusing. A lady did her best to sell me some products but I was just overwhelmed and needed to get away after seeing the prices. When I looked at the shampoo bars I expected bottle shaped shampoo sticks but instead it was small round bars that she said gets 60-100 washes??? This I must question I have kids that would just leave them in the bath and it would dissolve in seconds all for the lush price of £8. Now personally I could not use any shampoo due to the chemicals SLS and MI so it would be no good me buying them as my skin would be flared up. 

I think with this shop there was too much on offer for me to get my head around but I have been there  and got prices. Maybe as my journey continues something might be needed from there.

This was interesting to me as my sunblocks all come in plastic bottles
I would give this ago just to see. Factor 30

Shampoo bars 

The soap collection, you buy this in 100g bars and some were priced high its makes me think though  as I use Dove soap at £2 a bar and it’s packaging is in a box do I need this Lush? 

This item is £5 you put your soap  inside it to make it a scrub apparently the soap lasts longer using a bag. Well I can crochet one for less but I liked the idea.

£2 for one reusable pad again I feel I should  have ago at making my own that can be washed. 

Conditioners contain the chemicals  that react with my Ezcema so again no option for me to buy plastic free at the moment. 

Scrubbing soap absolutely fantastic 

 

This I would buy amazing and my skim felt and smelt lovely

Just the amount to choose from amazes me

Brilliant

free from the chemicals I react to

When I think of £10 wow that's a lot but my shampoo now and creams rang from £8-£9

I will try to make my own by crochet

sold per 100g you would not get a huge amount