Biggest Kitchen Table Audit - Disposables

So much hullabaloo is made about plastic bags that it never occurred to me to look past those pesky plastic carriers to see the other disposables in my home and life that I could do without for the benefit of our environment.

A few of the blogs I've been reading of late have changed that and the next point for thought at the Biggest Kitchen Table audit has made me think on it further still.

What disposables are in my life that I want to be rid of? What can I do to replace them with a reusable substitute?

Plastic bags

• Make some more shopping totes.
• Buy a market basket.
• Say no to plastic bags when I can carry the items or put them in another bag.
• Put some shopping tote bags in the car so I don't forget them when I go out.

Paper napkins

• Don't get much use in our house anyway. Mostly just there for parties/BBQs.
• Make a set of 20 fabric napkins.

Paper Towels

• As Rhonda suggested in her entry, cut up an old towel and overlock around the outside.
• Keep the reusable rags handy for quick use.

Plastic Sandwich bags

• Lunches and cookies are now taken to work in tuppawear containers.
• Get some flat tupperwear containers for use when freezing meat.
• Store cheese wrapped in waxed paper (apparently much better for hard cheese storage anyway!) and a more permanent plastic container for parmesan and dry cheeses.

Disposable Piping Bags

• Reusable piping bags.
• Waxed paper for chocolate piping (works best anyway).

Water bottles and softdrink bottles

• I've already bought an aluminum water bottle for work (100% recyclable. Never to be used for hot water or acidic drinks. I intend to use this for cold water only so no danger of leeched chemicals.)
• Buy a stainless steel water bottle for home and another small one for out-and-about.
• Encourage Rhys to drink more green tea and less softdrink. Stop buying soda water.
• Use any large softdrink bottles for useful purposes (e.g. as mini greenhouses for seedlings).
  

Washing up Chux

• I've already stopped buying disposable chux and replaced them with textured cotton dishcloths (Woolworths have a home-brand of these). I need to buy a few more so that I have a large supply to ensure they get cycled and washed very regularly.

Ladies Sanitary Pads
Apologies to my male readers who may not want to hear about it... feel free to skip this point!

• I've been investigating the possibility of using a menstrual cup rather than the usual disposable products. There are a number of makers on the market so I'm doing some look-around to determine who supplies to Australia and what reviews they've got (usually they get rave reviews on the pregnancy/mothering forums!).
  

Tissues

• I need to buy some handkerchiefs
  

Soap, liquid soap, washing powder packaging

• I've already been buying hand-made shea soap from our local markets and slowly Rhys has become used to it rather than his favourite individually wrapped Pears brand translucent soap.
• Also I've been buying bulk refill packs of liquid soap and washing powder. Buying in bulk means less packaging is required. (I don't buy individually wrapped items except when it can't be helped.)
  
• I want to learn to make my own soap both for the shower and to replace the liquid soap. I may get some resistance from Rhys regarding the liquid soap.
  

Packaging in general

• I have been sticking (as best I can) to the goal of making most of my food from scratch at home. Though this doesn't entirely eliminate packaging from my household waste (I still have to buy flour, dried pasta and other ingredients for cooking) it makes a difference. No more biscuit packaging. No more packet meals or noodle box packaging.
  
• I intend to always buy food in bulk where possible.
  

Newspapers

• We don't buy newspapers but the free local papers get delivered regularly and I'm guilty of occasionally reading the farce of journalism known as MX. Rather than disposing of these I need to store them for use in gardening, composting, worm farming and cleaning mirrors.
  

Those I'm not willing to ditch yet:

• Toilet Paper.
• Cling wrap (too many uses in baking, especially dough.)

Reducing Food Waste

• I already have a worm farm to help turn kitchen scraps into fertiliser.
  
• I need to build a 3 box composting system.
  
• I need to get my chickens to help eat the excess food scraps from worm farming.
• I need to work toward improving my use of food so there aren't so many scraps. (i.e. ensure food is stored properly so it doesn't go off and therefore binned.)