Making my own Greek style yogurt
April 3, 2018As we move forward in this project, the challenges in terms of reducing our packaging are increasing. At this point, most of the things that we are buy are in bulk or from specialty stores (butcher, cheese shop, bakery). The only items being bought with packaging are: pasta (in a cardboard box; recyclable), vegetable oil…
Soap Making 101
March 29, 2018As part of this zero waste journey, I am experimenting. Today, I took a soap making class. I registered for the class in January when I wasn’t sure that I could find un-packaged soap. Now I know that I can buy “naked” soap at the bulk store! I took the three-hour class at Noblessence on St-Denis…
Not So Zero Waste Travel to Costa Rica
March 21, 2018Let’s be honest, travel is not a zero waste activity. But as committed as I am to the cause, I still need to have fun. Our first foray into zero waste travel was during the recent March school break. Our family of four headed to beautiful Costa Rica, which is nestled between Nicaragua and Panama,…
On the Way to Zero Waste: The 5 Rs
March 12, 2018I recently had the privilege of talking about the 5 Rs of waste management at my workplace. Our company, like many other companies, is interested in achieving “zero waste” as it represents cost savings and shows the company is a responsible corporate citizen. I wanted to share the key points raised during this presentation as…
Getting Started on the Zero Waste Life
February 26, 2018I hope that those of you reading this blog are starting to think about how you can get started on the zero waste-ish lifestyle. If you want to learn more about this, there are lots of good websites that can provide guidance in addition to this one: I like the blog by Kathryn Kellogg (Going…
Say NO to Single Use Plastics
February 19, 2018Does the idea of going to the beach only to find washed up plastic forks and plates sound appealing? You don’t have to look far to see this impact. From India to Brazil, our oceans are becoming increasingly polluted. There is only one thing that I ask each of you reading this blog to do:…
Making my own toothpaste
February 13, 2018With Valentine’s Day upon us, having fresh breath is critical but I still want to reduce my packaging (of course). This week, I decided to try to make my own toothpaste. I found lots of recipes on line with varying levels of complexity. I want something simple to make so that I will continue to…
Wearing the same dress for 5 days
February 7, 2018I heard an interesting documentary on CBC Radio about a woman named Elizabeth Withey who wore the same black dress for a year. I was intrigued. The idea behind this wardrobe approach is that you have one less decision to make every day, not to mention simplifying your wardrobe. Capsule wardrobes with 30 pieces (or…
Reflections after 1 month of the Zero Waste-ish Lifestyle
February 3, 2018Today (well actually February 1st) is 1 month after the start of our 52 week experiment in reducing our waste. It has been challenging and interesting at the same time. Some of my observations: Not clothes shopping is easier than I expected. I have surprised myself. In particular, as a diehard shopaholic (it’s too early to…
Don’t Throw Out What You Can Fix or Mend
January 29, 2018I was walking around the house when my husband said to me, “There’s a hole in your sock. You should throw it out.” That got me thinking about how we are so quick to throw things out when there is something not quite right with an item that we own. It used to be that…