Life Without Plastic Part Two/ Homemade Products
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode 70
Life Without Plastic Part Two: The Homemade Products
Despite our best efforts to rid our lives of plastic and reduce plastic pollution, there is the possibility that we may loose, meaning plastics may actually win out and we have to deal with this problem forever. But we have to remind ourselves to do the best we can and to make slow steady progress.
In episode one of Life Without Plastic, I covered some valuable tips on what I call the no brainers. This gives you an easy place to start going plastic free. In this episode I want to cover some some additional things you can do. But, these are going to take a little more effort and take some planning. If you want to know more then stay tuned for Life Without Plastic Part Two.
Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E70, which is called Life Without Plastic Part Two/Easy Homemade Products.
Despite our best efforts plastic may actually win. As much as I focus on sustainability and as much effort as I put forth toward that end, I still look at my own life and see a lot of plastic products that are going to be around for a long time. There are a number of reasons for that which I will get too in a minute. But what is most important is that I’ve made the commit to reduce my use of plastic products and to no longer purchase anything made of plastic.
My best example is food storage containers and freezer bags. Whenever I need to replace a food storage container, I purchase a glass product instead. When I replace my freezer bags I purchase a durable silicon product instead.
But despite my best efforts, why is it that plastics will be around in my life for a long time.
As I stated in the previous episode, the most difficult part of going plastic free is going plastic free. There are a number of reasons for this.
Plastic is extremely affordable. Just compare the cost of a 30 count box of quart freezer bags in the supermarket versus a 12 count box of silicon food storage bags. Compare the cost of plastic food storage containers to that of glass or stainless steel. Go into a home improvement store and check the price of plastic storage containers. Anyway, it doesn’t take long to understand that plastics are popular because they are inexpensive and cost effective to produce.
Plastics are also highly durable. Plastics can be tossed around, shoved around, stacked and take a beating and still be usable. I have a couple of plastic trunks in m storage shed that are used for tools. I used and abused them for years and they are still in good shape.
Plastics last a long time. Plastic products do not break as easily as glass or metal. This is a big reason that PET plastic bottles are used so much for beverages because they are so durable. But this durability is one of the characteristics of plastics that creates such an environmental problem.
Plastics are highly flexible. This is one of the reasons that plastics are extremely popular in the food and shipping industry. Glass and metal can be molded into numerous shapes but these can never out do the flexibility of plastic.
Plastics are easy to transport. This is another reason why plastics are such a popular choice. Plastic containers weight considerably less than glass or metal, are safer to transport, can easily be produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Food grade plastics are light weight, leak free and can be used for a huge variety of food items.
And it is for all of these reasons that plastics will still be a part of my life for a long time. I am certainly not going to throw away all the plastic products I presently have because if I did, that would be just plain wasteful. But the point is that I have made the commitment to replace things as needed with non-plastic items. And as I pointed out in the previous episode, you have to focus on making progress, not necessarily being perfect. This is also the point of striving for sustainability. Taking baby steps to change your lifestyle, produce less waste, and reduce your environmental footprint.
If you have listened to some of my previous episodes, then you know that I speak a lot about simplifying your life, being frugal, being a minimalist and learning to do things for yourself. But I also think that because we are so addicted to convenience we have lost the knowledge and skills needed to do many things for ourselves. And our increasing trend toward urbanization is making this even worse.
There is no doubt that we now live in a very different world. There was a time when educating yourself was considered a person’s duty, when doing things for yourself was a necessity. For example, the world wide economic disaster of the 1920s and 30s, during the second world war self reliance was center stage.
But as society made progress, manufacturing moved from the cottage industry to the factory floor. Even for the avid do-it-yourselfer personality, materials that were remanufactured made jobs easier. Commercial food and various other home products became readily available and more popular. But the end result is that the list of things we had to do for ourselves became smaller and smaller. And over time with increased urbanization, people have simply lost the knowledge and skills and the desire to do something for themselves because it is so easy to walk into a store and purchase it.
And of course everything comes in plastic.
Every time I learn how to make something myself, I am reminded that the list of things I no longer purchase from the supermarket keeps getting longer and longer. Not only do I have the pleasure of enjoying various homemade products, I am also reducing the amount of waste I am producing. And I am not doing nearly as much as I could be doing. But as I said, my list keeps getting longer and longer.
And that is really the focus of this episode. I just want to pass along some basic tips on products you can easily make at home with very little investment. Not only will you save money, but you will also reduce the amount of waste that you produce. And if you are a savvy shopper, the basic ingredients that you purchase can be found in packaging that is recyclable.
What I want to do is start with the basic cleaning, laundry and some personal care products.
One of the easiest things you can make at home is laundry detergent. We have not purchased commercially produced detergent in over a year now. You can make powdered or liquid detergent depending on your choice.
My personal preference is powdered detergent because it is so easy. You start my grating a bar of Fels-Naptha or envy Ivory soap. Then you add 14 ounces of Borax and 14 ounces of washing soda. All of these products can be found in most supermarkets in the laundry detergent aisle. Store this in a glass container. Use 1 tablespoon for a small load and 2 to 3 tablespoons for a large load or something with heavy soil.
The next thing we do is make dish soap. It is a combination of Fels-Naptha, water, white vinegar, vegetable glycerin for thickening and 3 to 5 drops of an essential oil such as lemon, lavender, peppermint or something else depending on your preference. If you have never done this before, just be aware that homemade dish soap does not make a lot of bubbles like the commercial products.
Now I can say from personal experience that these two products have a cleaning ability that is far superior to commercial products. Not only that, but you tend to use a lot less. And of course you are not purchasing yet another product that comes in a plastic bottle.
It is also easy to make an all purpose cleaner from a mixture of vinegar, water, and a lemon rind. A kitchen cleaner and deodorizer can be made from baking soda and warm water. Glass cleaner can be made from water, vinegar, 70% rubbing alcohol and essential oils.
I am telling you these things are so simple to make, inexpensive, and are superior to commercial products.
Now, one word of caution if you start making your own cleaning products. Never, ever, ever, combine ammonia based cleaners with chlorine bleach or products containing bleach. This mixture will release fumes that are extremely toxic. So, be mindful of what you are doing.
The next thing I want to mention is homemade soap and shampoo bars. Now the basics of making your own soap and shampoo are really very simple. It is essentially a combination of lye, water, an oil base, and other ingredients such as essential oils. Once mixed, you pour this into a soap mold and let it cure for at least 6 weeks. Our initial cost for basic equipment and supplies was about $60 USD. We make large batches at a time and then do not have to do anything for months.
Even though soap making is really very simple, I would suggest going to a website and focuses on making soap and read the instructions very carefully. This is one of those times you want to follow instructions to the letter. Lye is extremely caustic and has to be handled with care.
On to the next thing. Homemade shaving cream. Now this is one thing I cannot take credit for. Annette found a recipe which is fabulous. These can easily be found online. But, alternatives to shaving cream are things such as coconut oil, aloe vera gel, shea butter, olive oil, and soap. Before Annette came up with a good recipe for me, I was actually buying Irish Spring soap with aloe vera. But, Annettes homemade product was far superior. If you want to take it a step further, then switch to using a safety razor. This way you only have to replace the metal blade. This prevents you from using a disposable one time use plastic razor.
Now, all of this being said, my next project is to find or make something that is suitable as a deodorant. That way I no longer purchase a product that is packaged in plastic.
Now let’s move onto to some simple food products.
The first thing I want to mention is homemade bread. Now there are a lot of nuances to making bread. Since I love cooking, I am always experimenting with different things. Several years ago I went on a personal mission to learn how to make really good bread. The one book that helped me the most is called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. You can easily find this book online.
I started with a base recipe and kept detailed notes on the whole process. Then I would change something. It took me about 2 months of experimenting because I was baking at high altitude. But I finally perfected the process. Now we do a lot of sourdough products which is another easy thing to do.
I also started making my own pita bread. I would use a small amount of my sourdough starter as the base. The finished product, at least the way I choose to make it, comes out similar to a tortilla but smaller and thicker. Instead of making a sandwich the traditional way, I now make sandwich wraps. At this point, it is rare that we buy any sort of bread from the supermarket.
Another thing that is so easy to make is crackers. For the longest time I thought that was an impossible task and was purchasing them at the supermarket. I got weary of paying for them so I figured out how to make them. Turns out it is super simple. I have a base recipe that I can alter in anyway to vary the type of cracker I make.
Homemade pizza. Once again, I never purchase pizza at the supermarket any more not to mention having pizza delivered. I will often make a base pasta sauce recipe that is nice and meaty and that doubles as pizza sauce. I make the dough a head of time because it keeps well in the refrigerator.
Homemade protein and energy bars is another good product. I typically keep these in my vehicle for emergencies or keep some in my lunch box as a snack.
Homemade granola is always a bit hit in our household. Just the price of granola in the supermarket should be discourage you to the point of wanting to make your own. Again, this is one of those things where I have a base recipe and then vary it according to what I want.
Homemade yogurt is another fantastic thing to make at home. And don’t be convinced that you need special equipment. All that is needed is a large wide mouth thermos, milk, a thermometer, and small pot, and left over yogurt as a starter. I have been doing this for years.
Homemade croutons. Now this is something that was suggested to me by one of my vegan co workers. She explained to me how to do this and it was incredibly easy. The best part is that if you make your own bread, if the bread starts getting a little stale, turn it into croutons.
Salad dressings. Okay, one last thing I want to mention. And that is homemade salad dressings. Just recently I was standing in the supermarket looking at this huge bottle of ranch dressing. I started reading the label as I always do. There were 21 ingredients and it had a very high caloric content. I went home with a mission of finding an alternative. It did not take a lot of research to find a website with multiple recipes. On my next trip to the supermarket, I purchased some resealable glass bottles and the needed ingredients to make several recipes. I spent about an hour putting things together. I now had something that was not only healthy but much lower in calories.
And then I added something else to my list of things I no longer purchase from the supermarket that comes in a plastic container.
Summary
So the whole point of this episode is to show you just how easy it is to make things at home. Making your own laundry and cleaning products is not only cost effective but it avoids purchasing something that is packaged in plastic.
I only mentioned a few homemade food products that are incredibly easy to make and healthy. Some of them take a little fore thought and planning but in the end you are eating a better product that is also easier on the environment. If you have ever read the label on a loaf of supermarket bread you will know what I mean. I did this recently and there were 47 ingredients. My homemade bread only has five: water, sugar, yeast, salt and flour. Besides eating healthier, you are once again avoiding the purchase of something that is packaged in plastic.
And if you think all this effort will not make a difference, then get a load of this.
We throw away 552 million shampoo bottle yearly. If you switch to plastic free, you will keep over 600 plastic bottles from going to the landfill.
One billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown away annually in the United States alone.
700 million plastic laundry detergent jugs go to the landfill annually in the US alone.
We throw away 2 billion plastic razors every year.
Food packaging alone accounts for 45% of what is in our landfills. We throw away $165 billion worth of food every year.
At this point, I just want to reiterate something that I said in the last episode.
Going plastic free is similar to living sustainably or going waste free, it is a process. It is a journey. It is going to take some time. But there are things you can do to set yourself up for success.
First of all, do not focus on perfection. Focus on making progress. You don’t start at zero waste. You don’t start at 100% sustainability. Likewise, you don’t start at being 100% plastic free. Take one step at a time on focus on the progress that you make. One year from now you will congratulate yourself on your success.
Secondly, look for alternatives. Purchase silicon freezer bags, stainless steel or glass food storage containers when it comes time to replace something.
Thirdly, stop the single use habit. If you must purchase something in a plastic container, think of ways you can repurpose that item for multiple uses to extend the useful life cycle. This is far better than single use.
As far as food products are concerned, take a simple audit of things you commonly purchase. Then pick one thing and see if you can figure out a way to replace that with a homemade product. Start with something easy. Pita bread, yogurt, snack crackers, and granola are incredibly simple to make, inexpensive and are healthy alternatives to commercial products packaged in plastic.
From a personal perspective I am at the point to where my list of things I no longer purchase from the supermarket is getting longer and longer. I have learned to make many things from common off the shelf ingredients. And you can do the same. One step at a time.
In closing I want to leave you with one last thought.
Lou Holtz who was a former American football player and coach one said. “Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
What we have to realize is that this is the only planet we have and we must work to develop a sustainable future. It is a matter of having the right attitude and motivation, and mind set.
With that said, I am off to make some more homemade crackers. I will see you next week.
This is your host Patrick sighing off. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.
Patrick
