Last Saturday my Boyfriend and I took a to drive down to Dorset to have a gander at the beautiful Durdle Door on the coast.
Of course, I had to make a picnic, and of course it had to be zero waste - this was the first time spending the whole day out since starting my zero waste journey, so I really thought about what we would need while on a long car journey and out and about. I wanted to have enough food and drink so we wouldn't have to buy anything.
I made a pasta salad the night before - with pasta I had bought in bulk! I also made some bourbon style biscuits (a British fave) which turned out really well!
I bought a jar of olives, bread, oranges and some nuts I bought from a bulk bin using a cotton bag.
I used a pan with a lid and a tiffin tin (which I absolutely love!) for the pasta salad, put some butter and olives in their own individual little tins and the bread in a cotton bag I made.
I found that tins kept everything super cool compared to plastic tupperware I used to use - which would warm up quite easily.
On Saturday morning I quickly squeezed about 8 oranges and poured the juice into a clip-top glass bottle - put the cutlery into a bag, two napkins, tea cloth and two glasses. Poured some fresh coffee into a thermal flask the other for water. Sorted!
On Saturday morning I quickly squeezed about 8 oranges and poured the juice into a clip-top glass bottle - put the cutlery into a bag, two napkins, tea cloth and two glasses. Poured some fresh coffee into a thermal flask the other for water. Sorted!
I bought the tins shown above in a kitchen shop in Alperton. They were on sale :) The tiffin tin was £4.95 and the others were £1 to £2 each! I've seen a similar tiffin tin in ASDA for £6.
We went through the New Forest National Park on our way down, it was very pretty - cold! - but pretty. The little Shetland Ponies were so sweet and friendly.
We arrived at the coast in good time, strolled down the hill and were met with the view of Durdle Door - it was stunning and the water was prettier and greener then I expected it to be.
We took a lovely walk up and down the beach - breathing in the fresh sea air, before climbing back up to the top
After taking a little stroll to the harbour we got back in the car and hunted for a good spot in the countryside to have our lunch. We went towards a place called Tyneham - a ghost village we had planned to visit, and found a spot nearby to eat.
But it was soooo cold!!! So it wasn't long before we retreated back to the car to finish our little picnic in the warmth.
We were pretty hungry by then and what I had prepared was more than enough to satisfy our grumbling bellies.
The Orange juice was so good and sweet - much better than the carton variety!
After lunch we had a little walk through the 'ghost village' of Tyneham, the main attraction for me was the sweet little old church and school.
It was taken over during the second world war to be used as a training site and is still used by the military today.
It was a lovely day and great to get out of the city. I would recommend to any one near enough to visit.
Durdle Door is very beautiful and I'm sure it would be even better on warm spring or summers day!
Preparation in general is key to having a zero waste lifestyle and was really important for this day out - Planning ahead meant that we didn't have to buy any food or drink, which is quite normal to do whilst on a pit stop -grabbing a quick coffee or sandwich - usually adorned in plastic.
I had thought about what we were going to have for lunch and snacks the day before and made a list.
The biscuits were baked the day before and I finished them off with the buttercream filling in the evening whilst waiting for the pasta to cook.
The orange juice was a last minute thing I prepared in the early morning - but it didn't take long and was nice and fresh!
It was pretty easy once I knew what I needed- next time I'd probably make enough food during dinner the night before and use leftovers as a lunch.
It felt so good coming home that evening, knowing that we didn't throw a single thing away and that everything we consumed was homemade. We didn't buy anything and everything we used was reusable - we saved some money and nothing was wasted!
All in all, my first adventure with zero waste in mind was a success. I managed to prove to myself and my boyfriend it was achievable, cost effective and more importantly, simple.
If you have any day-out essentials as a zero waster, I'd love to know what they are, and if you are new to this journey (like me) and planning your own adventure, whether it big or small, leave a comment and share your ideas! :)
Thanks for reading!
Juliette
It felt so good coming home that evening, knowing that we didn't throw a single thing away and that everything we consumed was homemade. We didn't buy anything and everything we used was reusable - we saved some money and nothing was wasted!
All in all, my first adventure with zero waste in mind was a success. I managed to prove to myself and my boyfriend it was achievable, cost effective and more importantly, simple.
If you have any day-out essentials as a zero waster, I'd love to know what they are, and if you are new to this journey (like me) and planning your own adventure, whether it big or small, leave a comment and share your ideas! :)
Thanks for reading!
Juliette
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