We have a long way to go before we are anywhere near a Zero Waste Home. But, as with everything, when the overall goal is so enormous I feel better if I at least start to make some small steps towards getting there.
Since the 1980s we have taken many tiny steps towards being a low waste house. We already make our own bread; we don’t buy any sort of microwave meals [we don’t have a microwave] or convenience foods [with the exception of Linda McCartney’s sausages, which come sensibly packaged in just an easily recycled cardboard box]. We gave up laundry liquid for a cardboard box of powder earlier this year and buy as many fruit and vegetables that are both local and come without packaging as we can find. We have recently moved on to Lush shampoo bars, rather than buying plastic bottles. We keep leftovers in bowls and containers in the fridge [and then use them] and have a roll of clingfilm we have owned for decades and it just seems a shame to throw it away.
So, it has been a long time in coming but I finally got around to making our own hummus. This is something I eat lots of and the plastic pots it comes in have been taunting me every time I bought it and spoiling my enjoyment of this wonderful food.
For me the crucial step was buying a jar of tahini [we always have garlic, olive oil and chickpeas in the cupboard] … every time I went shopping I prevaricated because it was just something else to make space for in to our tiny kitchen. I know that making hummus is really easy to do and takes just a few minutes, after all I made my own back in the eighties when you couldn’t find it in a supermarket. But last week I got a grip, bought the tahini and whipped up some delicious hummus.
So for a day or two I will enjoy the virtuous feeling of taking a step in the right direction until I read some more and come up with the next thing to tackle … if I can find room for a five litre container of white vinegar it might be cleaning products.
Back on the road again 
One of my business ideas is to create an old fashioned sort of Mercantile store where you can bring your own bottles and jars to stock up on laundry detergent, and items such as vinegar, baking soda, lye, coconut oil etc to make your own soaps/cleaning products for both body and home. I’ve thought of having the addition of a bicycle delivery service that would deliver you a months worth of home cleaning supplies in reusable bottles – you could have a crate outsider where you put out the old to replace the new..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds a great idea … don’t these already exist in California? It would be all about location and I don’t think would work in Salford unfortunately. I have started looking at sources of Castile Soap and white vinegar and pondering on where to fit the five litre containers! So watch this space.
LikeLike