It’s day six of the zero waste challenge! We’re almost through the first week
I love this switch because it’s easy to implement and will have a HUGE impact on the amount of trash that your throw out. Today, I challenge you to use real stuff at your dinner table. This means real plates, real forks and knives, and the oh-so scary cloth napkins.
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the problem:
Disposable products use a lot of resources, and as we know, the earth doesn’t have an infinite supply of resources. We talked about Earth Overshoot Day in Day 1 of the Zero Waste Challenge.
We’re consuming on average a year and a half worths of resources every year and it’s completely unsustainable.
A lot of people assume that using disposable products will save water, but what they forget to take into account is the water used in productions and manufacturing.
It takes 8 gallons of water to make one paper plate! The modern dishwashers that are energy efficient use 3-5 gallons of water per load of dishes. So you could potentially wash A LOT of plates with all of that water you saved.
There’s so much water that goes into these products that we don’t even think about.
the solution:
The solution is pretty simple. It’s to use real stuff! When it’s time to grab a snack or make dinner use real plates, real forks and knives, and real cloth napkins!!
Cloth napkins are typically only relegated for formal dinners but once you get used to using one, you won’t even remember why you used paper ones in the first place.
I have around 30 cloth napkins, which might seem like a lot but I use them for cleaning around the home too. I tried to keep them separate, but it didn’t work out.
Justin and I both sit at the same place at the table for every meal and we leave our cloth napkins there until they’re dirty. Once they’re dirty, we just throw them straight into the base of the washing machine so they’re washed automatically with the next load.
When we lived in the tiny home, and didn’t have access to a washer and dryer in the house we would just place them in the hamper unless they were damp.
If they were damp, we’d hang them to dry and then place them in the hamper.
take the challenge:
For the next 25 days I challenge you to use real stuff around your home and office. Instead of using a disposable plate and plastic forks and knives - use real ones!
If you’re in the office, this might mean you have to bring your own plate, fork, etc to work. Thankfully, my office had a place to store real dishes that you might want to bring from home in the kitchen. If you don’t have that space, maybe there might be room at your desk?
Will you be taking the challenge?
want more?
Just starting out? Have 1,000 burning questions!? Get access to my private Facebook group, where I’ll be hosting weekly lives throughout the challenge and I answer all of your most pressing questions.
I’m the head content creator over at pelacase.com and have partnered with them to create an email version of the challenge. I will be sending out weekly recap letters with Pela if you’d prefer to have this challenge in larger chunks and delivered straight to your inbox.
PLUS! I’ll be sending out a brand new e-book at the end of the challenge called the Game On Handbook. Which is all about individual ways to fight climate change. You don’t want to miss it.
miss a day?
