A Little Difference

It’s so convenient to buy pre packaged food for lunch at work or school. Either a noodle cup from woolies or even a sausage roll from a cafe.

The convenience of a pre-packaged snack has changed the way we think about food. Since beginning this journey, my lunchbox game has improved tremendously.

I have really enjoyed taking the time to prepare my lunch by hand, using fresh produce to make healthy and environmentally friendly meals. The stainless steel stacked lunchboxes have been my best friends. They are a perfect size and I use them religiously.

I have also been practising mindful eating. Noticing each thing I eat and keeping distractions away while eating. It has been very refreshing acknowledging where my food comes from, and the energy that goes in to farming and transporting it to a store for me to buy.

I still have lots of room for improvement. I know I can reduce my waste more, and really try to make a difference. I also have a goal to grow my own food in the future. Wish me luck!

The biggest struggle I have encountered is budget.

I am a uni student with no job and life is tough. I have been trying my best and have definitely been more conscious of plastics entering my home. But shopping plastic free can be expensive. I can’t afford to make a trip to the city every week to shop at the bulk store.

Small changes I HAVE been able to make on my terrible budget are;

• Using Hankerchiefs. I have had the flu SO many times this season, and the good ol hanky has had my back. I have saved money AND about a billion tissues from landfill!
• Produce bags and jars. I mostly shop at Woolworths for meat and have mostly been met with kind understanding deli staff, however I have been turned down as well it was very disheartening as I was told I was wasting my time because they use plastic bags to weigh out the meat 😦
• Composting. Although I did fork out $50 for a worm farm, composting is something you can do for free by using ShareWaste.com. My worm farm is not actually consuming much so I think I will have to use share waste as well!

This lifestyle is hard but I am trying my best and not giving up!

I’ve gathered a few supplies for my zero waste journey. I bought these items from the local market and a local eco store. I’m pretty happy with these purchases as they will help me reduce my waste. I found the mother load of old jars at the Vinnies near my house, so I bought as many as I could carry! I’ve been doing some research about sourcing dairy products in bulk, as my boyfriend will not be going vegan anytime soon. I was excited to find out about St David Dairy in Fitzroy. A microdairy with Gippsland milk, where you can refill your glass bottles. I can’t wait to check it out along with the source bulk foods store, also in Fitzroy. Its a bit of a trip, but since a new rail station (mernda rail) opened right near my house, it shouldn’t be too far.

The first step is admitting we have a problem. A problem the whole world shares. The rate we are consuming and wasting the earths resources.

I have been taking small steps to reduce my waste for a while now. Such as saying no to plastic shopping bags, and straws (the two biggies of unnecessary waste). I have also been saving all my glass jars for food storage. Owning a lot of glass jars seems to help a lot when it comes to living zero waste, so I have been scrounging through op-shops and eating a lot of Passata for the last few weeks.

I recently came across two books about decreasing your waste. “A zero waste life in thirty days” by Anita VanDyke and “Waste Not” by Erin Rhoads. These books made me feel even more inspired by the zero waste movement.

I am currently staying with my older sister on the beautiful Atherton Tableands in FNQ. I was super excited to see that she owned stainless steel straws, beeswax wraps, and a bunch of huge coffee jars. Needless to say, I have borrowed a few items (without a return date). I can’t wait to put these items to use when I go home.