Out With Plastics!
Look Ma-no plastic! It has been a long road (not too long), but little by little I have been able to replace just about all of our plastic with glass and stainless steel. I still have a few very large plasic tubbies I haven’t parted with but that’s about it. Some stuff was cheap and some things weren’t. This is by no means my entire stash-but you get the picture!
I purchased these stainless steel thermoses and water bottle from Target. Not too pricey.
I bought these mason jars and other large glass storing jars at various grocery stores and thrift stores. These were cheap. I now freeze everything in Mason jars and store all of our nuts, grains and dried fruits etc.. in these. I am always on the look out for more really large ones!
I bought this stainless steel water bottle and both re-usable stainless containers at Kids Konserve. Looks like they have some nice new products since I made my purchase!
These tiffins I bought at Life With Out Plastics. They carry several different kinds. I choose these because they have a silicon seal around the lid so they are leak proof-making them safe for lunch boxes and they also have individual lids. The other type have to be stacked and used all together as the they serve as lids for each other. But they sure are cute all stacked up and are really conveinant to tote around!
And my latest purchase—the “kids drawer” that used to be filled with plasic cups, melamine plates, plastic picnin cutlery, plastic bowls, is now filled with shiney stainless steel plates, cups, bowls and meal trays. My girls said they feel like royality eating off of these huge trays with many little spots to hold various treats. We have a thing about our food touching at our house-so this is a perfect solution!
These were more expensive and I bought them at an Indian Grocery (Thanks for the tip Sheri!!) I am on the look out for some bowls that are cereal size-I am going to try a few of the restaraunt supply stores around here. Most of the online stuff I found was only available in HUGE quantities!
My storage conainers are from the thrift stores. I love when I find them with the matching lids!! And I have a set of Martha Stewart glass containers that came from KMart pretty cheap.
A few other things I have aquired are TONS of cloth napkins from the thrift store
A produce bag that Molly made for me (That’s another post!)
I use it in place of the plastic bags I would use to put apples or handfuls of green beans in.
We also got rid of all of our teflon coated pans. I use parchment paper to line cookie sheets and wax paper bags when necessary.
I also LOVE our cast iron pans I have collected from various thrift stores. I even have a dutch oven waiting for me in the basement to be de-rusted.
And one other thing I am loving right now is our super large pump top thermos.
This was a gift, found at the thrift store, for my birthday a few years ago. It has a glass insert and stainless steel pump. It sure comes in handy when someone wants a cup of hot tea or gasp….a cup of hot cocoa. (I do buy those packets, hey, at least they are organic!). I fill it up with really hot water every few days. And in the summer you just slide over a little button and it keeps things cold! What a great find!!
I would love to find an alternative to the larger, gallon size, plastic bags. Sometimes things need to stay moist, that rules out the cloth bags, and need to be large-like for celery sticks or bunches of lettuce or greens. Although I do wash and re-use them.
This post was really sparked by an article I read about a women who tried to live with no plastic for a week or 2. There were so many things she could not purchase or eat because either it was packaged or served in plastic. It really got me thinking about all the plastic I use daily and how plastic has changed our lives. Funny how great technology is but it also causes so many unforeseen problems. Nature Moms Blog has a post about plastics and some alternatives.
It is India Grocers on the west side of Sawmill just north of Bethel. I am going to try Wasserstrom too! But I love those thrift stores the MOST!!
If you want a local columbus small business source for reusable bottles and non-plastic baby feeding, check out sprout soup at high and cooke. I just saw an adorable stainless steel baby feeding set there.
I have seen those wally bags, a friend has some, they are great! Thanks for the re-tweet!
Yes you can freeze in glass-just leave an inch or so of head space and don’t put anything directly from the freezer to the oven or the oven to freezer. The glass may crack.
http://thesoftlanding.wordpress.com/2009/01/16/bpa-and-pvc-free-food-storage-containers/
You inspired me to use my cast iron for the kids breakfast this morning. Worked great, so out with the teflon pans!
I’m glad you found the India Grocer. Isn’t it a neat store? They’ve got some great stuff there, I had to use serious self-restraint while shopping their stainless steel section!
I freeze in mason jars too, I’ve been finding them lately at the thrift store for 59 cents. The dollar general (by me) sells fantastic glass jars, quite big, with screw top lid, for a buck! Great for the pantry.
I made the swtitch many years agao — I read this great, inspiring book regarding chemicals in our kitchenware, and that was it for me. Andy came home from work that afternoon and I had ditched all the (lead painted) dishes, teflon pans, plastics, microwave, and changed our water filtration system! Poor Andy was stunned.
I have a few links that I’ll pass on to you, they might have the bowls you want. I found some online a while back at some Asian store in Canada.
Did you know that you can use and re-use the same parchment paper many times? After use, just wipe it, air dry it, and roll or fold it up for next time. A little frugal tip for ya’