July 3 was more camping and a fourth of July party. Today's photos document a lot of cleaning products, and determining if there were substitutes was a fascinating dive into the world of soap.
I also realized that I forgot to document hand soap on July 2's post, but I promise you I very much used soap on July 2!
Reduce and Reuse Highlights
We have small bottles that we use for shampoo and conditioner when traveling. If I forget my shampoo or conditioner when traveling, sometimes snag the single-use shampoo and conditioner from hotels so that I can use the full contents rather than letting them throw out a half-used bottle.
We buy dish soap in bulk and refill the little dish soap bottle. We also wash dishes when camping to avoid paper and plastic.
I saved the plastic sleeve my glasses cleaning cloth came in so that I can use it to store the cloth.
Single Use Plastics
Total items disposed of: 7
Total items used: 25
Total items with substitutes: 22
Item | Quantity | Disposed of Immediately? | Were there substitutes? |
Toothpaste (used twice) | 1 | No | Yes. Toothpaste tablets. |
Toothbrush (used twice) | 1 | No | Yes. Bamboo toothbrush. |
Lighter | 1 | No | Yes. Matches, flint and steel. |
Coffee creamer | 2 | Yes | Yes, bring milk in an insulated container. |
Coffee syrup | 1 | No | Yes. Torani sells miniature glass bottles of syrup online. |
Sleeve for glasses cleaning cloth | 1 | No | No |
Sunscreen | 1 | No | Yes. Sunscreen creams packaged in metal containers. |
Shampoo | 1 | No | Yes. Shampoo bars. |
Conditioner | 1 | No | Yes. Conditioner in glass bottles (sounds great for in the shower). Also conditioner bars. |
Dish soap | 1 | No | Yes. Dishwashing soap bars. |
Baby wipes packaging | 1 | No | Yes. A damp washcloth, my preferred technique 99% of the time. However, the baby wipes came with the camper when we bought it over a year ago so we might as well use them before we throw out the package. |
Peanut butter container | 1 | No | Yes. Glass jar. |
Bread bag | 1 | Yes | Yes, make at home or buy from a bakery that sells in paper bags. |
Specialty cat food | 1 | No | No |
Cat food | 1 | No | Yes |
Cat's iron supplement | 1 | No | No |
Syringe | 1 | No | Yes (reuse existing syringe) |
Fertilizer | 1 | No | Yes. Mulch/compost. |
Plastic fork and knife | 2 | Yes | Yes. Bringing your own silverware to the host's house or selecting only foods that can be eaten without cutlery. |
Beer packaging | 2 six-pack holders (I feel compelled to clarify that I did not drink all 12 beers) | Yes | Given the brand of beer, no. You could substitute a different brand, but since I wanted that specific brand it's not a true substitute. |
Hand soap (not pictured) | 1 | No | Yes. Bar soap. |
Paper towel packaging | 1 | No (already disposed of) | Yes. Towel or rag. |
Large garbage bag | 1 | No (used same one as yesterday) | Yes. Use a paper bag. |
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