Here is the 2nd part of my Plastic-free July Round-up. Hope you enjoy and find it informative and thought-provoking too 🙂
Day 16 of #plasticfreejuly = Sustainable Toys
Again with today’s theme being conscious of the most important bit.
An awful lot of the boy’s toys have been donated by friends with older kids or sourced on Facebook Marketplace or from charity shops or eBay.
Not all plastic is evil when it comes to toys, for example, my Mum kept hold of the Duplo we had as kids and the boys love to play with it still now… I also got several jobs with lots of Duplo on Facebook (the one pictured above is going for £20 – which is so much better value than new!) to use at ours. I agree with that sort of lego, which stems creativity and lets kids build whatever they want instead of very specific kits that only build a specific thing. I’m sure I will keep the boy’s stuff for future grandkids too.
What I do avoid is the big toy hyper stores filled with themed plastic toys made in Asia… I buy the wooden version of toys where I can, but as I say, I don’t have too much problem with long-lasting educational plastic toys that can be adapted and adapted again and passed through generations of a family.
I also say to the boys frequently about how lucky they are to have all the toys they have, I keep them in categories, guess Montessori style, and encourage the boys to use their creativity and they make all sorts of things depending on the day out of all the different variety of building style toys which they have and I love that.
When it comes to gifting to children I wholeheartedly agree with the “something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read” method. Less is more, children don’t need endless quantities of toys, and it’s key to teach them this from a young age. If families and friends want to be more generous and have the ability to be so that is wonderful, I encourage donations towards a large gift (for example a trampoline was what we asked for donations towards last Christmas/Birthday season) and we are about to put it up this summer as a wonderful surprise, or experience days/ theatre trips/days out or even small holidays.
DAY 17 of #plasticfreejuly = Out & About
- Take packed lunches, use reusable bagel wraps and bento boxes rather than wrap
- Always have reusable carrier bags on you
- Whilst we still need them, bring washable masks with you
- Bring water/ hot drinks in reusable bottles/cups
DAY 18 of #plasticfreejuly = Homemade
OK – I’m going, to be honest with you here, a lot of the pre-kids homemade stuff has fallen by the wayside of the last 4 years of twin parenthood, eg. jam making…However, I can rarely resist when I am offered a glut of fruit or veg to not find something creative to do with it. I do therefore always have homemade chutney and marinara sauce in the fridge and freezer for quick and homemade meals…So really all the homemade generally is around food, I cook meals from scratch usually 1-2 times a week currently and I aim to increase that as the boys get older… we also always have leftovers of said home-cooked food in the freezer at any given point. Over the pandemic, I did get my first bread machine, and that is great for completely plastic-free bread… though I still do like shop-bought too – it’s good to know it’s there and I can always get a fresh loaf in 4 hours if I need it for any reason… I am also looking forward to trying out the jam-making setting on it at some point 
There is also though – HOMEMADE FUN – which is something which was 100% present today as the boys pottered around in our work-in-progress garden – using the paddling pool and the chalk and making muddy puddles (thank you @OfficialPeppaPig!) – but it was just lovely to see how happy they were, & I think sometimes as parents we forget how kids do that if you give them a little space to be creative they just fill it in spades and its a delight to behold – in the main anyway 
DAY 19 of #plasticfreejuly = Mend/Make Do/Upcycle
I said it before and I’ll say it again there is so much we can learn from the war generation in terms of thrift and in terms of making things go further and being more Eco and living a more simple way.
I read India Knight’s Thrift Book, I can’t remember how I learnt about it actually but, it was in my early 20s that I read it and if you’ve never looked at thrift before if it’s a new concept to you, I highly recommend this as a starting point as she talks about it in such a pragmatic way and just in the sense that she wasn’t in natural thrifter but she knew that she had to change her life and she was in a lot of debt and she just wanted to sort out her life and so she started thrifting and started thinking about how she bought things and where she bought things from and honestly it’s probably one of the game-changing books of my life as it really introduced me to the concept of conscious consumerism for the first time.
Make do and mend is one of my favourite sayings I think we really need to think about it, it again it’s part of this whole conscious consumerism piece, it’s just about making the things you own to go further and last longer be looked after rather than just throwaway culture which unfortunately some have fallen into. Probably the best example of make-do and mend in my house is the furniture which I own, at least what I’ve photographed for this post some examples of the cabinet under our microwave was actually my mum and dad’s first larder cupboard which was bought from MFI, I guess it was the Ikea of the 1970s, it was then our crafting cupboard throughout my childhood. 😊
Our kitchen wall cabinets were reclaimed from my mum’s cousin’s kitchen which they were getting rid of and were original 1970s shaker cupboards mahogany doors, which they sent on pallets down from Manchester so I could get them installed in my kitchen after painting them and replacing the handles on them and I absolutely love them and would prefer to have them to new cupboards any day. One of the delights of making do and mending is that everything you have has a story behind it and to me, that is an absolute goal of things I own. 😊
My final example for this post with the doll’s house I picked up from the house for free around the corner from me which I have gone on to paint with a fresh coat of paint with my kids and this dolls house is something which definitely goes be passed down to our family generation upon generation.
All of these things are worth taking into consideration. ❤️💚🙏🏼🌍 ♻️
DAY 20 of #plasticfreejuly = Favourite Eco Brands
I have discovered a lot of lovely brands along my Eco journey please click the profile links to check out some of my favourites below:
• @softonnature
• @mrssparkle_natural
• @joinpureplanet
• @olio.app
• @ecofreshies
• @ecovibeuk
• @thelittleecosewingshop
• @mysticbrewteas
What are your favourites? Please tag them in your comments below…
DAY 21 OF @plasticfreejuly = Parenting
Initially, I have to say I was shocked how hard it was to be green and make Eco decisions as a first-time parent of twins – though when I read that sentence out loud I get it – it was always going to be chaos and survival mode, to begin with! But once the boys became toddlers I just felt like I had the best reason in the world to really try to be as environmentally conscious as I could going forward and I haven’t looked back. I keep trying to make little changes month on month, and really do believe that it does all add up and all help and helps others to think too through the conversations I have.
A lot of the key changes I have discussed already in my daily posts…
but second hand, community sharing of toys/clothes etc is key, teaching your kids along the way about not wasting and putting stuff in the correct bins, caring for their belongings, giving to others once they’re done with them, not feeding the more, more, more culture, making sure they know the value of things – buying as natural and Eco as you can along the way are my general themes here.
DAY 22 OF @plasticfreejuly = Living Sustainably on a Budget
Here are a few ideas:
- Embrace 2nd hand everything! I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again it is so the way forward for everything- most especially clothes, toys and furniture
- Meal plan – and stick to it. Batch cook and always have something homemade in the freezer. Bulk buy wherever possible on dry goods – it will definitely make your money go further
- Get your kids into walking from a young age – this is a blessing which lock down brought to our family – as being cooped up without a garden the use initially got us into going for walks – and its a habit which has stuck – we all love going on adventures to new places and I love going to scope out new play parks with the boys too. It’s all free and it encourages kids to love the world and nature around them
DAY 23 OF @plasticfreejuly = Skincare & Make-up
- Make a conscious effort to buy from companies who think about their packaging and their ingredients wherever possible
- Buy bulk shampoo/body wash/conditioner from Scottish Fine Soaps or alike
- Clean your brushes (using a little shampoo and warm water) rather than chucking your products – eye shadows for me last for years as I don’t use make-up every day – but I just make sure that I clean my brushes to keep the product hygienic.
- Also use washable cosmetic pads 🙂
DAY 24 OF @plasticfreejuly = In the Sun/ At the Beach
- Share your buckets and spades: if you don’t often visit the beach/have a sandpit, you can totally share your buckets and spades, I usually borrow mines from my Mum who does have a sandpit for the kids at hers, definitely try not to buy a new set every time you go – as tempting as that is – just take your own or borrow from a friend or family member at home.
- If you are going to bring your own set of Eco-friendly buckets and spades, like the one pictured above and take it home with you to bring again next time 🙂
DAY 25 OF @plasticfreejuly = Zero Waste Snacks
- Fruit seems like the obvious one here, bought loose – then it is package free all the way through
- Home-baked cupcakes and breakfast bars again are a good shout – though you can bet your bottle dollar that some of the ingredients would have come wrapped in plastic
DAY 26 OF @plasticfreejuly = Homegrown
- So far my most successful homegrown are herbs and flowers… I have sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano and mint all thriving in the garden and I take great pleasure in adding them all to home-cooked food 🙂
- With flowers – I’d much rather have a pot plant than cut flowers any day – the amount of plastic used with cut flowers is shocking and I just love watching something grow on my window ledge rather than slowly die – its about as simple as that 🙂
DAY 27 OF @plasticfreejuly = Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
For this one the key is just going through it step by step – first you ask yourself “how can I reduce the amount of stuff I consume?” and therefore throw away, next you ask “how can I reuse what I already own in a different way?” rather than buying more stuff! Then finally, if you have to throw out then “how can I recycle as much as possible of what I am disposing of?”
DAY 28 OF @plasticfreejuly = Environment
Get your kids into the environment as soon as possible, and explain to them global warming and why it has come about and the important small changes we can all make to make things better. I really do believe that bringing up the next generation to care more than the last is one of the best and biggest legacies we can leave behind. (IMAGE CREDIT: Peak District Kids)
DAY 29 OF @plasticfreejuly = Best Tips/ Honest Chat
I don’t want this to just be a list of cliches but so many of them are true that I figure – sod it, why not just embrace that:
- a little goes a long way
- just think before you buy
- we can create a revolution from the ground up
- pick the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of changes you can make in your lives and it will still make a difference
- get everyone around you thinking about where stuff comes from too – we need to be better connected.
And if you still have no idea where to start this is a great article.
DAY 30 OF @plasticfreejuly = Most Recent Swap
Guppyfriend washing bag – I bought one of these in July – but I’m not sure if it is a good purchase yet. I love the idea of it, which is why I did get one, but actually, I don’t have a lot of none natural products in my wash, and it seems to throw off the centre of gravity on my washing machine, meaning that the whole machine starts shaking, which has put me off for the time being – maybe the way forward is putting it in the machine with just any non-cotton products in any given wash in it along with larger/natural items in it. Has anyone else tried one of these? Any tips on how to make this issue no longer an issue?
DAY 31 OF @plasticfreejuly = The Future
Educate the kids – talk to them – they are the future. And this stuff isn’t all just for the month of July is for always and should always be being worked on little by little – swap by swap. It will make a difference. Best of luck to you and yours. And remember this isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon 🙂