Single-Use Plastic Guilt

Last week was huge, like life changing huge. Like the bush fires huge but not, this life changing event was actually a bloody great one! I became a grandparent for the first time! My son's gal grew and birthed us the most gorgeous baby boy, and we are all completely and ridiculously head over heels in love (there's a photo of little Noah in my subscriber email, just in case you haven't seen him yet) .

You may be wondering what the heck this has to do with single-use plastic guilt as the title of this blog post suggests? Bare with me. Whilst I'd love to gush all about baby Noah for an entire blog post (no promises I won't at some point), I have an Instagram highlight for that btw. I am writing to confess I have been struck down with single-use plastic guilt since Noah's birth.

See, we traveled to our nations capital, Canberra for the birth, and whilst I packed basic necessities like clothing, toiletries and phone charger, I was most definitely NOT prepared for the onslaught of plastic knives, forks, spoons, straws, cups and plastic packaging from almost every eatery I encountered, particularly in the hospital, they were by far the worst offenders.

I found myself constantly cursing. Cursing myself for coming unprepared. Cursing the establishments that allow such carelessness. Cursing while watching hundreds of others disposing of their single-use plastics. And just cursing in general because I cuss more than I should on a daily basis anyway #notactallysorry. Seriously though, it near did my head in! If not for all the baby snuggles in between meals, I may have completely lost the plot and ended up in a very different part of the hospital.

So it got me a thinking, what can I do to be better prepared when faced with this situation again? So I've compiled a little list. This is what I aim to collect (both newly bought and secondhand where applicable) should someone hold a plastic knife to my throat again.

Plastic free travel pack shopping list

• Cutlery. Not a fan of the bamboo type, don't like the texture of it in my mouth. Makes me shudder thinking about it. Think some stainless steel pieces from the oppy will suffice.

• Stainless steel container/s. I'm yet to try asking for takeaway in my own vessel, not afraid to give it a go though. What's the worst they could say?

• Stainless steel straw. Own a few of these but they are of no use tucked away in my cutlery draw when out and about. Note to self - have one on hand always, they fit in my hand bag so no excuse really

• Re-usable napkin. I don't sew, I love the idea of it but jut never got the hang of it. Maybe I need to. I have a cute vintage sheet in my linen cupboard that screams 'make me into something!'. Will have to get my kids to show me how to use my sewing machine...again. And yes I own a sewing machine but do not know how to operate it, don't judge.

• Keep cup. Again, have a couple but no good if you don't have it on you.

• I'm all over drink bottles. Voss bottles are my favourite, I much prefer drinking out of glass to stainless steel, I'm weird like that. I grab mine from supermarket then refill, cheaper than a fancy pants drink bottle.

There's lot's of inspiration over on Pinterest. I've started a board just for this purpose. Click for the link

It disturbs the shit out of me that this mindless plastic use is going on every day, not just in hospitals and cafes but all over the world, makes me so sad and frustrated. All the more reason to make me my little travel pack, write about it here, share, and maybe even inspire. And hopefully get some more ideas and inspiration from others, you might even like to send me your list. Being pro-active is better than the alternative.

So tell me, do you have a travel pack? What's in it? What have I missed that is a must have? Have you suffered from single-use plastic guilt?

Peace out homies

x Kara