Plastic-Free Kitchen Challenges

Last week I was all gung-ho about pushing my kitchen to be more plastic-free. I even had a plan. But here's the update: This is going to be a bigger challenge than I initially thought.

I knew this change wasn't going to happen over night, but this is certainly going to take some serious doing.

It's this new awareness that's surprising me most of all. I thought I had a good idea of the amount of plastic I bring into my kitchen. But once I really scrutinized what's at home and then the markets -- and what goes in my shopping cart -- I'm COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY. It's A LOT of plastic.

Let's start with coffee. When we moved to France, I got a cute little Nespresso coffee machine that makes me cute little cappuccinos each morning ... with single-use plastic capsules. Yes! No!

I guess I could clean each little capsule and recycle the plastic, but that's not really the point, is it?

It's all about the swaps, right? So, the swap here is to teach myself how to use my French Press. I found this handy article (which includes making frothy milk and homemade chia, who knew?!) and added a few guides to my Zero-Waste Pinterest board. I'll admit it, I'm intimated by the numbers: The water temp and the coffee-to-water ratios. But let's look at the benefits here, WAY less expensive and removing the coffee machines frees up space on our counter space.

Then there are the convenient (because that's what makes plastic so great, right?) of the plastic-wrapped meal helpers from the market. What are the swaps there?

We have a Marks & Spencer (it's a British company) in the neighborhood and they have these handy meals -- a bag of veggie mix, pre-diced meat, a dish of noodles and a bag of stir-fry sauce. Voila! Dinner is ready in minutes with no chopping! But each and every item is wrapped in plastic. Much I can't even recycle. Argh!

They also have great soups in plastic jugs (Alice loves the tomato soup) and frozen veggies, ham and the most delicious little cookies with a dark chocolate coating. I eat them all day. All of these things are sold in plastic wrapping! Let's not even mention all the exotic juices the girls have come to love and drink down in one sitting.

Grr! It's so prevalent! It seems impossible, really. How are we going to do this?

Some of the blogs or advocates I've found are finished with their transition and are producing just a little waste each hear (it's awesome), and they can provide great advice. But I'm also finding a few folks who are still in the process, such as the folks from The Slow Home Podcast who are a year or so into their plastic-less home shift and still looking for swaps. I find their advice inspiring and reassuring. They are all about going at your own pace and hitting only a few things at a time. But enjoying the process; being creative, problem-solving, experimenting. There's no finish line and no one is keeping score.

So, step by step.

And as a reminder ...

From an Instagram Accounts I Find Helpful, Jarfull Co

Here are a few more Instagram accounts that all are about Zero-Waste living:

Go Litterless (based in Chicago)
Zero Wasted MN (based in Minnesota, obvi)
Zero Waste Nerd (Kansas City, MO based)

Behold! Everard Blue!

Here's the After picture of our master bedroom now that the walls are a dark and moody blue. Maybe the best part is I was at work while the painters were here, so I walked in and found -- as if by magic -- the room no longer minty green but a bold blue. That's pretty awesome. They also painted the trim an eye-popping white, which I just love against this blue. And the angle is a dark beige-y, tan color that I hope goes with the headboard. I spent the evening cleaning and re-hanging the drapes, and moving the furniture back into position. It will be a while before I dare hang anything in here. I'm too in love with the walls to put too many holes in them right now. So, just in case I'm looking for this information later: The walls are "Everard Blue" by Benjamin Moore . And the tray is "Curly Willow" by Behr . Now, does that furniture look too dark against the walls or is it just me? And wouldn't a lighter wood or white look fabulous agains...

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France and the Third Baby

Odd fact of the day .... The French government pays for a mother’s tummy tuck after the birth of her third child (you do have to have at least 3 babies to qualify). Found on this blog about raising kids in Southern France. Yes, I'm day-dreaming again. Related posts: All the fancy quotes My love of France runs deep, people

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So Long, Hanukkah Part Two

And just as quickly it started (in New Jersey, on the night of Thanksgiving, no less), Hanukkah is over. Our eight nights were full of fun and squealing! And lighting many candles, of course. We missed one night because we were in a hotel room after spending the whole day driving home from New Jersey -- and I just didn't have the wherewithall to pull out the menorah. Speaking of menorah, we've replaced our old, wax-filled menorah with this lovely silver beauty given to us by David's mother. It belonged to her mother and sat in the dining room for years. Isn't it pretty?! And, the wax cleans off it much easier, so we're sure to hang on to this one for many Hanukkahs to come. I'm a sucker for traditions. Here's some photos of the last two nights: Leah Lighting the Candles - in an Eli Manning Jersey, No Less Alice Lighting in a Top She Calls her Genie Shirt David Constructing the Cardboard Pirate Ship The Last BIG Gift? A Pirate...

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