DIY : MAKE YOUR OWN REUSABLE DRAWSTRING PRODUCE BAGS

I made these little draw string bags to aid me on my zero waste en devours whilst shopping, for anything from loose nuts, veg, fruit to coffee, tea and even soap!

Whatever loose goods that usually require a plastic bag at the supermarkets you can pop in one of these reusable, earth friendly bags instead!


I used scrap, salvaged material and found bits of string, I even used odd shoe laces!

I am a fabric hoarder - I attempted to reduce the quantity- still a hoarder. Even so, I didn't have white cotton, so I asked my lovely neighbour if she had any bits and pieces, and the same day she filled my arms with the goods.

I chose a light, white cotton and a net/mesh material, as they both have varied levels of transparency - easier for everyone to tell what's inside when paying.

I made big ones, small ones and even smaller ones. 
Think about what you will use them for - potatoes will need a bigger bag, nuts can fit snug in a small one, even so, a bag is a bag and whether you use a large one for some lentils and a small one for a few potatoes, it doesn't really make a difference.

I cut different sizes, for some I cut a long piece and doubled it over or cut out two seperate sides, depending on the amount and size of the scrap material. 

I found this pretty easy, got the hang of it quickly and whizzed through them all in no time. I'm no professional sewer and if you're looking for a professional finish, it's probably best to look else where, but if you want a quick, no fuss result, read on! 

So.. keeping it simple, here's what I did -

First of all, you'll need:


Sewing machine

Fabric of your choice

Thread

String - if you're looking for loose bits and bobs or shoelaces, make sure it's long enough

Scissors

Pins

 - Cut out two sides / or fold the fabric over and then cut out your desired size - if you want to measure a specific size and mark it out, do so - I went by eye.

- I chose to do a zigzag stitch- I feel like it makes it a bit stronger - especially for the netting.

-You will have both sides of fabric, lets say front and back even though it doesn't apply, do a seam (about 1 cm) along the edges of the fabric before sewing front and back together - this will stop fraying. (I skipped this step so the photos won't show a seam).

- Place front and back on top of each other, and sew along the sides (and the bottom if needed), remembering to leave enough space on one side for the string, about 3/4 cm from the top. As shown below..

- Get your string, lay it across the bag and make sure it's long enough with extra length.

- Lay the string (in a single strand) along the top across the back and front, make sure the ends of the string will come out on the side where the edge isn't sewn to the top.

- Fold the top of the fabric over the string, tack it in place with pins and sew - not too close to the string - you want it to easily pull through. Be careful not to sew front and back together while doing this step.

- Once the string is tucked in nicely - turn the bag inside out and -  Ta Da - You have yourself a drawstring bag for all your goodies!

I like to tie the string together in a knot so it won't pull through and come out.

You may want to double up your fabric for extra strength and durability - maybe I would do that if I was to make the net bags again.

This tutorial is very basic and quick to make - I wasn't worried about perfectly straight lines and perfect right angles, I made them super quickly for my own personal use. If I made them for someone else, I would definitely get my inner neat freak working away! I just wanted to share how easy and simple it is to do and you can use up bits and pieces you already have instead of buying new materials.
 I've been using them for about 2 weeks and they do their job pretty well!

If you don't want to make them but think it's a good idea - you don't have to!
You can find drawstring bags in lots of places, although I think it's a bit harder to find smaller ones. Have a Google.

It's way better to use reusable bags rather than grab plastic every time you shop. It's such a waste and they just end up on land fill, in the oceans or stuck it trees!

Let me know if you have another way of making these or if you followed my how-to. I'd love to know, and see what reusables you've made.  



Thanks for reading,

Juliette

A ZERO WASTE DAY OUT

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!

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 

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DAIRY FREE VEGAN BANANA CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

I made these yummy treats last week when dying for something chocolatey (and package free). I found a recipe online and forgotten which and where it was but had jotted it down in my notebook - I recall it being a gluten free version and as I'm not allergic to gluten I used up my own ingredients.

They are super easy and quick to make and made up with ingredients usually always in your cupboard (well mine anyway :) and those bananas that you've been neglecting over there....

Ingredients - 

• 3 Ripe Bananas - all mashed up
• 1/3 cup Dairy- free Butter / Margarine 
• 2 tsps Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 cups Caster Sugar
• 1 1/3 cup Flour 
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Dark or Dairy- free Chocolate pieces broken up (I tied up the pieces in a tea towel and used a rolling pin to smash them up)

Method -

• Preheat oven to Gas 4 / 180
• Mix the Sugar and Butter in a bowl until smooth
• Add the mashed Banana and mix
• Put the rest of the ingredients in and combine together 

• Line your muffin tray with cases (you can make your own from 20 x 20 squares of parchment paper - just press the paper into the cup of the tin and define the creases)
• Spoon in the mixture evenly 
• Place in the oven for 15 mins (Gas Mark 4 / 180)
• ENJOY!

 I wrapped some up in parchment paper ( it says 'No Dairy' on the tag) and gave them to my sister who loved them and wanted the recipe! (so here it is ELF!)

These were yummiest when still warm and gooey but pop them in a tin to store where they'll be good for a couple of days. 

You can probably freeze them if you like too! 


Let me know if you've given these a go and if you added anything - I was thinking of adding some raisins next time. YUMMY!!



Thanks for reading

Juliette x

THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY TO ZERO WASTE

January was basically like this -

-Watching TV - Bea Johnson on 'This Morning'
-Who's Bea Johnson?
-WHAT? Only a litre of rubbish a year?
-Ok, Shes cool
-Zero-waste lifestyle?
-Google - Zero waste
-Eyes opened
-Ok, that's cool
-My kinda vibe
-Let's get on this awesome band wagon!
-Looked around me - what I used, wasted and chucked away
-Bought Bea Johnsons book - Zero Waste Home
-Read that in two evenings!
-Itching to re-evaluate my life!

February..

-Reading up on this and that - what can I change in my life?
-Refusing all plastic bags!
-Skipping stuff in plastic packaging where possible
-De-cluttered EVERYTHING!
-Bought a stainless steel flask
-Made my own hankies and produce bags
-Glass Jars Please!!
-Replaced  a lot of shop bought products for homemade or natural alternatives
-Got a pack of bamboo toothbrushes
-Minimalism? I thought that was just a style of interior
-Is zero-waste the same as minimalism?
-Note to self- get into minimalism
-Seeing plastic rubbish everywhere!
-Obsessing over recycling - even more than before!
-Got inspired by zero-waste, eco friendly, minimalist instagramers and bloggers
-Started my own blog - Hello!

 Zero Waste, has it changed my life?

I suppose so, and for the better!
I've always thought of myself as 'green', a litter-bug hater and a serious recycler. I've always hated waste and hoard junk until I can either mend it, reuse it or upcycle it. But I was blind to so much rubbish that I suppose became so normal! There was so much more I could have done - or not have done, like to stop consuming, purchasing and contributing to all that waste and land fill rubbish! It's become so normal to use plastic straws and bags and styrofoam cups and paper plates - that only get used once and then disposed of and it is just totally UNNECESSARY.
It's early days for me on the zero waste wagon and it's breaking those habits which is tricky - e.g -using that plastic wrapped hand wipe at a restaurant the other day! UGH


I'm still using products in plastic/un-recyclable packaging - like mascara, moisturiser and face wash- I will continue to use until the likes of these run out and I'll look for alternatives when the time comes - I've been so tempted to chuck everything away and start using natural alternatives now, but it just doesn't make sense to waste it. The containers will eventually end up on the land fill - but at least I can delay it for a while and use up the contents.
I have thrown/given away unused, toxic and unnecessary products (like deodorant), found alternatives and will never go back! But I'll leave that for another post..

I wonder how long until I really settle into this transition. How long it will take for the strange looks to not bother me. And how long will it be until all the rubbish and plastic waste used and left by others will stop giving me anxiety!!


Have you been trying to reduce your rubbish/trash?
What's that number one disposable/waste product you will never go back to?


Thanks for reading!

Juliette x

LUSH SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER BAR REVIEW

I recently purchased these two little plastic-free delights from LUSH!

The SUGAR DADDY-O Conditioner bar on the left and the MONTALBANO Shampoo bar on the right.

I mainly purchased these as I am trying to lessen the amount of plastic I purchase and use, and want to go down the more natural route instead of using all those chemicals you find in so many beauty and cleaning products.
So after ditching the plastic bottles of shampoos and conditioners, I looked to LUSH to find they have unpackaged, almost natural and vegan alternatives!

They were £5.95 each which I haven't spent on a single hair care item in a very long time (usually I spend £1-2 on a bottle!!) But I wanted to give it go, maybe they'll last ages and ages!

So far I've washed my hair using these little guys 3 times - the smell of the MONTALBANO Shampoo bar is yummy yummy yummy - I love citrus smells and chose it purely because of this. 
It lathers up really easily, seems to clean pretty well and leaves my hair with a light fragrance. I would definitely treat myself to this again.

I chose the SUGAR DADDY-O Conditioner bar as it's purple and claims to help banish brassiness from blonde hair. 
I'm not a huge fan of it so far- It doesn't lather, it oils up in your hands but not much at all- they say to stroke the bar onto wet hair, but it slips out my hands and is hard to hold on to as I do this and it doesn't feel as if it's leaving behind any of its oils on my hair - I just find it annoying and I wonder how it'll fare as it gets smaller and smaller to grasp.
The first time I used it I really didn't think it conditioned my hair at all as I was in the shower, but after rinsing, combing (which was surprisingly easy as my hair gets very knotty) and drying, it did feel nourished.
The second time I washed my hair it felt heavy and greasy - due to this, on the third wash I gave it a really good rinse and an extra one to be sure. 
Well I write this after that wash and as I've been waiting for it to dry - it does feel like there is a residue left on the hair when I run my fingers through and I know it's going to get greasy again pretty quickly!

SO, I don't think this conditioner bar is worth its price for me, I don't think it makes much of a difference to brassiness and leaves my hair a bit oily - but I will continue to use it until it's finished as I don't want to waste!

All in all - these products don't have any waste - no plastic bottles and no harsh chemicals -Woo! Go LUSH, let's have more products like this! 

I will be looking into homemade alternatives to cleaning my hair once these have run out - I have been noting some ideas on Pinterest and look forward to trying new things.

Do you make your own shampoo and conditioner? If so, what do you use?

And if you have tried any of the LUSH bars for your hair, what do you think? And which do you recommend? 

Thanks for reading!


Juliette x