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Bea uses baking soda and apple cider to rinse her hair until her husband mentions that he can’t stand the “smell of vinaigrette in bed.” What are some zero waste swaps you have made similar to Bea’s? What has been the most successful/least successful swap you have made?
I think one of my least successful swaps has been making hummus, which is surprising because it seems pretty simple. Mine always turns out chunky and not very appealing. Sadly, it winds up at the back of the fridge and gets forgotten about and then, after a few months, moldy.
A successful swap has been making our own pinto beans/refried beans, which is super easy, especially by using the instant pot. I also have started making my daughter’s playdough, its really easy and way cheaper. I can get almost everything for it from the bulk aisle.
Somewhere in the middle between successful and unsuccessful has been shopping at thrift stores. Its easy to get all of my own, and 99% of my daughter’s clothes at thrift stores, and we also get most of our random household needs at thrift stores – for instance, I recently picked up a pepper grinder so I can just refill from bulk peppercorns, and some butter knifes (for some reason most of ours disappeared). The downside is that I am so entranced by the low prices that I often leave with things I don’t need. During the aforementioned pepper grinder trip, I brought home a couple of childrens books, although we already have a ton, and frequently go to the library, and a puzzle that was clearly to easy for my daughter (But it was only 50 cents! And maybe we’ll have another kid that can use it!). A couple times, I’ve bought shoes at the thrift store for my daughter in a size too big, thinking I would be glad in the future, but when I put them away, I see that I’ve already gotten her something similar. I like Bea’s idea of keeping a tight inventory on what you have already. I should probably go through everything and keep a google doc that I can check on my phone when making a purchase.
This was an interesting question – it was fun to think of what’s going well, and a got a chuckle remembering the time last summer when I tried to serve a guest carrot sticks with moldy hummus.Ha! I love your honesty, Emily. You tried to serve a guest moldy hummus? Sounds delicious.
I definitely feel you on the thrift store thing. I love shopping at thrift stores because it is much better for the environment than buying new, but I often buy things I don’t need. I’ve also found myself buying things like plastic toys for my nieces and nephews, when I should be buying them something made out of a natural material like wood or cotton. I justify it to myself because it’s cheap and I think they will love it, but I need to get out of that habit.
About 6 months ago I tried making my own dishwasher detergent and it didn’t go well. First, I could only find some of the ingredients in plastic packaging. And one item I had to order on Amazon because I couldn’t find it locally, so this little thing came in a huge box with lots of plastic “pillows” for cushion. Then I made the detergent only to have the whole thing harden like a rock in a week. My husband and I were having to chisel out the detergent with a knife and it was really frustrating. The next week we were back at Target buying their convenient dishwasher pods. Help! Any suggestions?
Emily, I too am not a successful hummus maker! For whatever reason I never like my hummus as much as the store bought stuff.
I find the conversation about swapping things out to bring up different reactions in me. I’m frustrated and yet fascinated all at once. When I listen to Bea (I’m using the Audible version of the book), and hear about all the different things she’s tried to swap out I find myself thinking…”This woman is way too over the top!”. I have to say I find it somewhat ridiculous that in her move toward minimalism she is not able to give up things such as “lip plumper” and other cosmetic items. On the other hand, I do think it’s interesting to hear how she’s been able to get creative and use things such as cocoa powder for a bronzer. I think if the zero waste movement and core concepts are to become more mainstream there has to be a middle ground where people don’t feel overwhelmed or as if they have to change over everything they own to make a positive impact. Not many people are going to start washing their hair or brushing their teeth with only baking soda to lessen their impact on the environment. But they maybe willing to buy “green” products from responsible companies.
Hi girls,
I think Bea’s book is very useful and practice for something, because she had experimented yet some products and organisations. On the other way, I think in Spain we shopped a beat different, it’s easier to buy fruits and vegetables package free. Every distric has a market and you can go walking, it’s important to conserve this!!!. For the cleaning products for personal care and home, I found in Barcelona a bulk shop only for cleannin products, it’s very useful because I don’t lost time preparing soaps, I prefered cooking meals :-).
Searching about the waste in differents countries, I found the Atlas waste, is a very interesting resource to know.
Finally, one meal tip, you can make another vegetable hummus changing chickpea for grilled eggplant.Nice to read yours opinions.
Hummus!!!!!I feared I was the only one.
I use a shampoo bar and then rinse my hair with apple cider, it doesn’t smell to me…?
A big fail for me was the deodorant, the coconut ruined a lot of my shirts so now I use a recipe I found from “going zero waste blog”I’ve really enjoyed these responses! Darcy, you summarized my thoughts very well. 🙂 I feel that Johnson seems to expect everyone to give up a lot of other activities to focus on making their own soap, etc. However, many people must work in full-time jobs outside the home, and many people want to devote time to their community — which their communities very much need. I’m now retired after 44 years of full-time work, and I’m still working as a volunteer in my community. I also spend time helping with my grandchildren. I have more time now to devote to my Zero Waste journey and am delighted to do it. But I won’t give up my time helping my grandchildren and my community. Those are legitimate needs, and I want to help meet them. There has to be a balance, which Johnson doesn’t recognize in her book.
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