Day 8, End of week one

1 week of living plastic less

It's been a week since I started this experiment, here are my observations so far:

  • Living plastic-less creates an ongoing feedback loop within your household that once begun, makes it easier to continue. For example, buying in bulk means there is less delicate packaging and you get large storage jars to re-use. The packaging seems to be more basic too: cardboard, paper, fabric, glass.

  • Buying less processed foods means you buy more basic ingredients that can be combined into a wider variety of foods. Think flour, eggs, butter, sugar, oats, fruit & veg - to make pancakes, cupcakes, juice, soups, salads, bread, pizza, fresh pasta and so on.

  • Plastic consumption roughly equates to convenience, and by that I really mean 'instant gratification'. With just a little forethought this convenience benefit is almost zero.

  • The first 80% is super easy, the next 15% is hard, the last 5% is really hard (bordering on the obsessive).

  • Once the process is begun, it seems to take no effort at all.

  • It feels good.