apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Same thing happened to me with plastic sandwich bags. I KNEW they were wasteful, but they were convenient, so I didn't try very hard not to use them, until I ran out. I went for like two weeks without any. I finally bought some to use when freezing meat, but have continued not to use them for other purposes, like packing my lunch. For me green changes happen slowly and in stages, but progress is progress.

what did you use in place of plastic bags?

This is why we're getting into as many green habits now as possible, several years before thinking about kids - means we'll be more likely to be able to cope with things like reuseable nappies, rather than trying to go green all in one hit...

A lot of my changes happened as a result of moving to New Zealand - a lot of the convenience items I was used to were unavailable here or I didn't know where to find them in the store. Other changes happened when I moved in with my husband - he's quite frugal, which often equals green!

Examples - stopped using dryer sheets b/c there's no bounce here - and now I don't use a dryer at all (people have commented about "Americans and their dryers" - which is sad but true.)

Reusing plastic bags - one box of sandwich bags lasts 6 months or so, and if we run out (I throw them out if they rip, get manky, or are used for marinating meat), I normally have a stash of bags from bulk bin purchases.

Reusable grocery bags - been doing this for years here, but I still surprise the checkout operators in the US when I visit (some are very suspicious about me bringing my own bag!).

Cut way down on processed food and soft drinks - this was to save money and calories, to be honest, but the packaging savings have been huge!

Composting and recycling - garbage bags in my city cost money but recycling is free and my garden needs the compost, so we only go through one garbage bag about every 3 or 4 weeks now. (We're nowhere near this level yet, though! http://www.rubbishfreeyear.co.nz/)

I still have plenty of bad habits, but I try to tackle them one by one so I don't get overwhelmed.

I suppose I might be greener than I thought as we have always had cloth towels in the kitchen for drying dishes, one for drying hands, one to wipe up spills... The only things we use paper towels for are as napkins (we don't need napkins every day, we are neat eaters) and to pick up accidents caused by our bouilimic cat. We go trough a roll of paper in about two months. Not bad considering I didn't even think of it as beeing green.

Phenomenal - I used all the small plastic reusable containers I have around. It's just that they were kept on the other side of the kitchen and when I pack my lunch it's quicker to grab a plastic baggie which is right where I pack my lunch. A simple location switch helped.