Becoming the conscious shopper

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Giving yourself a challenge is a great way to bring attention to something in your life. This month it is Apartment Therapy's January Cure challenge and it serves as a great reminder to do all those jobs that make your home a cleaner, happier place. Last year saw me on my hands and knees most days in January, scrubbing, sorting and clearing out - how cathartic! This year I am a bit more subdued, but today's great floor clean (yes, I am VERY behind with the challenge!) has made me feel better already :)

Challenges are about your feelings as much as anything else, and my reduce-plastic month would not have come about if I didn't care about the future for my family. It also makes me feel good knowing I am doing my bit. It may be a tiny drop in the ocean of humanity, but it matters to me.

Did you see Blue Planet 2? No? Click here to see why I care...

I realised today that I have become a super-conscious shopper. I was bad enough before! I have a good understanding of what I can recycle and what I can't. My problem was that it didn't stop me buying things because of the lack of recyclability...until now! Every item is scrutinised if I don't know about the packaging. There are things out there that will need to be reviewed as I move on this journey.

For example, I buy dishwasher tablets. Great, a cardboard box! But, think again - each little tablet is wrapped in non-recyclable material! On further inspection, I note that my previous box (Ecover) do have recyclable wrappers. Point noted!

Ok, so same applies to fast action yeast, but there is no getting round this. No other options - yet. And since when do we need cleaning sponges wrapped in plastic? I need to find an old hardware store...
And then, oh no! My muesli comes in a non-recyclable bag. Hey, time to get making my granola again...

And that is a huge point. Making your own food means you don't need to rely on the packaging that comes with it - the immense mountain of packaging that we all create each year! Today, I made bread again and rolls too. I know I can recycle my bread bag but why if I don't need to? I can make granola easily (check out past recipes) and quickly and it is delicious!

I could simplify my diet too, and make use of the not-so-local farm shop once a week, where I can put my veg in paper bags, or loose in my trolley, and my ham and cheese come wrapped in paper. Supermarkets are great for variety and I can easily choose organic if I want, but they need to allow us greater freedom in the veg aisles, begin to think 'greengrocer' instead of offering us the 'grab a pack' ethos we have developed.

Time is a big issue and shopping like our grandmothers did in the 50's, daily and locally, is just not possible. I would need to drive to a town that had the shops I needed, and have the time to pop in them all for the different things. Yes, I would love to have that freedom, but now we have established this culture of the supermarket, isn't it time these giants of the food trade took control of how we manage our packaging?

Food for thought... ;)