Once upon a time, there was no such thing as 'single use'. People worked hard and saved up to purchase things that they then held dear. Whether it was for function or sentiment or decoration, there was always pride that people took in their belongings. So, why did it change? When did it become so convenience based?
This brings us to Week 7 - to choose reusable.
Seems simple enough, and it is really. Have a think about the items you use in any given day. There are some that you would hope to be reusable, from the clothes you put on, to the crockery and cutlery you use in your kitchen for breakfast, but keep thinking, what else do you use in your day to day life?
When you wipe the crumbs or spilled milk from the bench top, do you use a reusable washable sponge or single use paper towel?
If you grab a coffee on the way to work, do you take a reusable coffee cup or use the provided single use?
What and how do you pack for lunch? Or do you purchase lunch? And if that's the case, does it come with steel cutlery and a ceramic plate to be washed and used again?
Have you committed to using REDcycle to recycle used soft plastic packaging?
This week, I want you to break down your days and recognise some small changes you could make to eliminate the single use mindset. A simple way of doing this is looking in your garbage bin, that's where all the single use items generally end up. Once you identify what fills your bin every week, you can work towards replacing those items with reusable options. You may surprise yourself how much single use you actually still use and how much of it can be replaced with reusable instead.
Simple changes like using a face cloth and some olive oil rather than single use makeup wipes, or instead of using regular, look into investing in some reusable nappies for your baby. Maybe you could even try your hand at home brew which you can reuse the beer bottles over the over.
It doesn't have to be big and it doesn't even have to be all the time to begin with to make a change. Nobody is perfect on this waste-less journey we're taking, even I sometimes use a plastic bread bag instead of a reusable Aussie Bread Bag. But any littles changes we make add up quickly when we all do it together.