exposing my recent zero waste fails, and celebrating my zero waste wins

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ต.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 80

  • @lovelearning8600
    @lovelearning8600 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    I'm glad you address (and forgive) the consumption of single use plastic in healthcare. As a doctor, it's so weird to try (imperfectly) to lead a zero-waste personal life while going through kilos of plastic at work. Those of us in healthcare should always try to advocate for more sustainable systemic choices (eg, maintaining the infrastructure to sterilise reusable supplies instead of relying on newer disposable ones), and I hope that there will be progress in medical-grade bio plastics.

    • @SwingAndAMiss.
      @SwingAndAMiss. ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I 100% sympathize with your struggle for being sustainable at home, but working in a place that uses copious amounts of single use plastic. I work at a biopharmaceutical manufacturing company, where everything is double wrapped in plastic. My soul dies a bit every time I have to take several trash bags that are 90% plastic wrapping to the dumpster.

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Advocating for more sustainable systems to prevent waste always! Also I think it is amazing that you reduce trash outside of work, doing what we can, when we can is all we can ask of ourselves

  • @j.totheworld
    @j.totheworld ปีที่แล้ว +56

    my most recent zero waste win: i was feeling stressed about my wardrobe because most of my clothes made me feel insecure, but a friend with amazing style gifted me all her old clothes!!

    • @denden798
      @denden798 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      thats awesome! I wish people normalized this

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Aw that's awesome! Me and my friends also pass our clothes on to each other if they don't fit us right anymore, it's like going on a shopping spree, but without overconsuming 🌿✨

    • @Ayshafr
      @Ayshafr ปีที่แล้ว

      Lol wish I could do this with my friends but we all have wildly different styles. Very cool that you got that, that's a huge W

  • @jordanpowell7075
    @jordanpowell7075 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I feel like recently my life has been nothing but zero waste fails! I had my first baby in December and a combination of traumatic birth and long hospital stay meant I created lots of medical waste that I was acutely aware of. Then, once home, my life was suddenly turned upside down caring for this tiny little human. I had romantic ideas of only using cloth nappies, but when you’ve had 2 hours sleep and your little angel poops 6 times a day, it becomes really impractical. My mental health deteriorated and life became about preserving the little bit of sanity I had left. Then, being on maternity pay and the cost of living crisis in the UK meant that a lot of the zero waste options I had been using for years suddenly became inaccessible. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, but I’m choosing to be kind to myself and follow the mantra of it’s not about doing it perfectly, but it’s about doing something

  • @annarawicz
    @annarawicz ปีที่แล้ว +26

    Love the idea of sharing zero waste wins and fails. It's very relatable. I just strongly disagree with one thing: the hospital visit does not belong to the failure category. It's necessity. Health should always be put in the first place.
    My sustainability wins:
    1) homemaking preserves so I won't have to buy out of season food in winter (which travels through half of the world to be sold at a ridiculous price),
    2) buying food without plastic packaging (90% of the time),
    3) not buying a pot plant (but it's so gorgeous I spent a few days thinking about it),
    4) decluttering my wardrobe and kitchen cupboards, selling things online and reusing bubblewrap and cardboard (which come from a local shop's garbage bin :))) to pack them safely.
    Fails/Inessentials/Luxuries:
    1) I'm going to have my hair dyed and won't be able to choose products and what they were packaged into,
    2) tons of the paper I stil use everyday,
    3) admit to still considering the plant 😭.

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว

      I hope it was also clear that I don't actually consider it a fail, I didn't feel bad about it at all, I just tried to stick to the win/fail format, health is always my number one priority!
      ps, the plant temptation is 100% relatable 😂

    • @annarawicz
      @annarawicz ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Gittemary REQUEST: Could you make a video about The Impact of pot plants or any indoor plants? I'm afraid it's bigger than I suspect 😭.

  • @lisaclairemont9579
    @lisaclairemont9579 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    My most recent win is inviting someone else to go with me for our grocery shopping. While it did not minimize my driving, it did minimize the overall footprint because we travel together.

  • @tjtay02
    @tjtay02 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    I have to take a number of medications all the time (for the rest of my life) and while I would rather it wasn't in plastic (that also isn't recyclable) I don't for a second feel guilty about it. If pharmaceutical companies can come up with an alternative with their enormous amount of financial resources that would be great but until then I'll do what I need to be healthy

  • @sophiaazevedo4013
    @sophiaazevedo4013 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Win: We went thrifting yesterday and I found some things that have been on my thrift list for a while - large umbrella that fits 2 people, small metal shelf to utilize more of our small kitchen’s cupboard space, and a rubber brush for our cat. Great feeling when you actually find what you’re looking for.
    Fail: The glass jar that I’m storing some flour in broke and there are some shards in the flour and I don’t know what to do with it so now it’s just sitting on the kitchen counter.

  • @chh1302
    @chh1302 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I also buy mascaras in plastic packaging because no zero waste alternative has ever worked for me, but I like to clean the brush when the mascara is done so I can use it as a comb for my lashes and eyebrows. I keep them for years and years and it generats a little less waste :)

    • @mikahoecherl7972
      @mikahoecherl7972 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      You can also usually donate the old ones to oil spill clean up efforts. I've never done it because I do the same thing you do, but I've been thinking about doing some research on it

  • @neurolotte2406
    @neurolotte2406 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    My most recent sustainability win is, in fact, a thrift-shop win: a set of two cactus jars!!! Jackpot!!! The thrifted cactus jar family is growing 😊🌵

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว

      welcome to the cactus gang!

    • @neurolotte2406
      @neurolotte2406 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Gittemary thank you!!!

  • @ChristopherDraws
    @ChristopherDraws ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I think our household fail this week is that my husband ended up signing up to Hello Fresh after an unsolicited doorstep salesperson pressured him into it... And, after receiving the first parcel, I can't fathom the amount of wasted energy and packaging used to individually portion the ingredients (such as three blocks of cheese, each about the size of a match box, all separately wrapped 😱). I understand it a little more for people who are insecure cooking... But it's a service we 100% do not need.
    We're cancelling this nonsense at the first opportunity!

    • @denden798
      @denden798 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I do think for some families, it might lead to less food waste, but i have no idea how much food waste they have behind the scenes from all those offcuttings you mention

    • @sustainfem
      @sustainfem ปีที่แล้ว

      My husband got into this for a short time too. So glad he decided it wasn't for him!

    • @Karincl7
      @Karincl7 ปีที่แล้ว

      Hmm I don t agree, if you just use a little cheese bying a big bulk is useless. It s your portions no waste so not that bad

    • @pativmello
      @pativmello ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Karincl7 You could also buy a larger piece and portion it at home yourself, just freeze what you won't use right away, There is no good reason to get 3 small pieces of individually wrapped cheese

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I have declined collabs with Hello Fresh multiple times haha, the small individually wrapped things would drive me nuts lol / for some families it's for sure a good option, but it's not for everybody 😅

  • @rileycollison2947
    @rileycollison2947 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I used a reuseable coffee cup rather than a single-use one quite a few times recently.

  • @LittleRedTeaCake
    @LittleRedTeaCake ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Definitely one thing that I cannot live without, which seems so silly and vain, but it's doing my hair. I do 99% of it myself(+husband). I only buy new things a few times a year to use on my hair, but it's the one thing that has always made me happy and given me a sense of control of things and in situations when I have none. Like last year we moved to Germany and it was very stressful, so I shaved my head. The colors make me happy. I also have some chronic health issues and sometimes I have to get convenience food because it's all I can do to feed myself. Success was finding the cutest dress from ModCloth that fit me like a glove! It's so perfect and darling, exactly something I have been looking for for years and there it was!

  • @dvstcod
    @dvstcod ปีที่แล้ว +10

    i recently transitioned to a plant based diet from veganism due to economical and health reasons, and felt really guilty about it bc i felt like i'd failed. however, this vid really uplifted my thoughts about it! thanks for sharing❤

    • @denden798
      @denden798 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      “Do your best and advocate for the rest!”

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I have gotten SO. MANY. comments like: "oh you're not vegan, you're just plantbased". and this "just" bothers me so much tbh.. Being plantbased is a massive win, it does so much good, so don't feel like your efforts are worth any less because of a label, it is making a huge difference 🌿🌿

  • @tinacarr6378
    @tinacarr6378 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    thank you for sharing this! it’s always refreshing to hear from the sustainability people i look up to, that nobody is perfect and there are non-sustainable luxuries even you allow yourself. it makes me not feel so bad about myself in my own sustainability journey.

  • @midoriioyama9548
    @midoriioyama9548 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hey! As someone who sews a lot, and thrifted a lot of my supplies, I have to regretfully twll you that unfortunatelly threads age. I had a red thread that I had to use a lot, because on this one red coat that I own the button kept falling of. I thought maybe I sew it on wrong, ir somwthing. For the life of me I couldnt figure out why this was happening. And then it turned out that my thread was too old, and it kept snapping. So i had throw it away :( after that I checked all my thread, and luckily only a few of them were bad.

  • @chrystaltuckness5298
    @chrystaltuckness5298 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    30 seconds in and you mention "compromises or failures” Got me thinking that compromises aren’t always failures (you mention intentionality later) and sometimes the difference between the two are others' interpretations of my choices… Thank you. I’m going to ponder that and watch the rest of the video 😁

  • @crystalp9304
    @crystalp9304 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Fail: shopping for my sons freshman dorm. EVERYTHING is plastic.
    Success: Getting my staff to be mindful of their waste. Not just in the office.

  • @giuliagatti1912
    @giuliagatti1912 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have just moved house and despite trying my best I still ended up giving in on a lot of things. I am doing this alone, the burnout is real. I am trying to forgive myself for using a lot of cardboard boxes then i immediately brought to the recycling centre, for creating a lot of waste due to necessary renovations, etc... not easy, but this video helps a lot. thank you!

  • @Lily-nu2mg
    @Lily-nu2mg ปีที่แล้ว

    The zero waste wins that always make me happy are my dumpster diving finds. Like today I had a fruit salad made of tropical fruit (that is so expensive and I can't otherwise afford it). Also not so long ago a found a landfill full of clothes. This makes me more sad than happy, obviously, cause you see how much gets just thrown away (with the dumpster diving too) but I got myself several tshirts (there was more but it was already moldy and falling apart💔

  • @7drunkenmermaids431
    @7drunkenmermaids431 ปีที่แล้ว

    As for hospital waste, ask the nurse if u can take hime some of the throw aways. The plastic bins and jugs and bowls (even metal thinga like scissors and tweezers they may use on you) just get tossed in the garage. They'll usually let u take that stuff home snd u can use it so it at least has a longer life than juat being tossed out.

  • @justineabruzzo7953
    @justineabruzzo7953 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Thanks for this content . We need to normalize that we don’t need to be extreme to be successful.

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      when so many platforms are broadcasting sustainable living as a radical lifestyle, it is even more important to show how down-to-earth this community is 🌿

  • @kristinaherrmann898
    @kristinaherrmann898 ปีที่แล้ว

    My recently zero waste success was or is a little Shop that sella fruits and vegetables unpackaged and they have no problems to fill my products in my own containers! We do have a farmers market in our town but it is taking place when I am not able to visit it. So I am very very happy that I found this little shop. And it is near the bulk shop where I go shopping, perfect! I also startet picking up trash I see in the landfill again. I used to do it some time ago but stopped for an unknown reason. And I stopped buying candy or protein bars. First reason to reduce my sugar consumption, second reason because it comes up with so much package!
    As I do not call my lifestyle zero waste (not yet) there are a few fails I think. But I am working on it. 💪🏼

  • @LennyKJ1
    @LennyKJ1 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I'm really loving this way of thinking and living. Very inclusive of all situations ❤

  • @merel8915
    @merel8915 ปีที่แล้ว

    LOVE this format! Going good/bad/good/bad, great! :) And also YAY for transparancy!

  • @antarktiida
    @antarktiida ปีที่แล้ว

    recently i managed to find time for mending all the clothes i had in the repair pile. lots of small holes and torn bits now again returned to wearable state. so happy! i'm particularly proud of a pair of ripped jeans that now have a tiny cute embroidered leaf on them

  • @marta_unicorn
    @marta_unicorn ปีที่แล้ว

    " i kind have to be alive to be sustainable" the perfect quote hehehe

  • @marijavelickovic8740
    @marijavelickovic8740 ปีที่แล้ว

    I really love this video format! Thank you for sharing this with us!

  • @marikabalgova1650
    @marikabalgova1650 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thanks for the heads up, yearly medical check up is around the corner😅

  • @LyrasLife
    @LyrasLife ปีที่แล้ว

    Zero waste success - 5 years ago i moved to an area with apples, plums, pears, hazelnuts, and loads of rosehips. Recently i even found wild oregano

  • @larissaswayze
    @larissaswayze ปีที่แล้ว

    I’ve always felt a major key in sustainability is simply being conscious about your consumption. There’s a big difference between buying some random mascara from the drugstore and researching to find a cruelty-free, more eco brand and then deciding after careful consideration to buy it. No one is perfect and we shouldn’t expect them to be. But we can celebrate our green wins, acknowledge our green fails, and try to make better choices whenever we can 🌱

  • @IlkikurinenHarakka
    @IlkikurinenHarakka ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I have gel nails, have had them for a while now. For some reason my natural nails are extremely fragile and I absolutely despise the pain a cracked nail causes. Otherwise I try my best.

  • @ChantalA489
    @ChantalA489 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    There is no need for anyone to feel badly for using plastic products because it’s impossible to live 100% plastic free. We all do whatever we can to reduce waste. The responsibility for plastic reduction is on brands and the supply chain management system. And definitely address your personal health concerns without feeling bad!

  • @breannajohnson1318
    @breannajohnson1318 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Win: started my own small veggie garden in wooden wine boxes that i thrifted, as well as old dresser drawers i found on the side of the road in my small town. Fail: i got my nails done as well even though I have polish at home.

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      sounds so cute with the DIY planters 😍🌿

  • @ruthhorndasch5244
    @ruthhorndasch5244 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love that all the little things count❤️ I buy all my clothes from thrift stores and I’ve think I found the perfect dress to wear to my daughters wedding in March‼️

  • @ashleystanley7941
    @ashleystanley7941 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I've never been this early! Yay - new week new video!

  • @earlgreyci
    @earlgreyci ปีที่แล้ว

    I’m so thankful for you sharing and being honest with life and that you can’t be 100% perfect with this journey

  • @larissaswayze
    @larissaswayze ปีที่แล้ว

    The paper clip necklace 🤩😻 Lurv it!

  • @karenfaircloth3335
    @karenfaircloth3335 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love you and your channel. ❤ Anything you want to talk about I'm listening. You seem like such a cool person!!!!!

  • @janika2356
    @janika2356 ปีที่แล้ว

    "The bottom lime" would be a perfect name for a bar

  • @sarahtrachte4426
    @sarahtrachte4426 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I don't look at myself as having wins and fails anymore--I do what I have to do every day as sustainably as possible and go with that. :)
    That being said, I do tend to produce a net negative amount of trash because I dumpster dive as I throw away any trash I've produced, and that feels really good!

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว

      I also don't think about these "fails" as actual fails, it's just a great communicative tool for explaining the imperfections that inevitably happen in this lifestyle, whether intentional or not.
      also as a fellow dumpster-diver, I absolutely agree

  • @V3ganer_Yogi
    @V3ganer_Yogi ปีที่แล้ว

    You really have a great cosmetics collection.😍 I would be happy to see a make-up video from you again, I love it, especially with sustainable alternatives.💚

  • @alexandracolors3971
    @alexandracolors3971 ปีที่แล้ว

    Also personally I don't look at grocery shopping in terms of wins and fails anymore. I tried for a long time to buy package free whole foods but not only since the pandemic I no longer have a bulk shop near me anymore, also I realize my partner and I cannot commit to making food from scratch often enough. I would buy before in bulk lentils and rice and quinoa and etc, but then when time came to make food we were reaching for the packaged quick foods. And it's hard enough to find vegan processed foods as they are, not to mention unpackaged or in glass, aluminum, cardboard... When I have a choice, I still pick the glass, aluminum or cardboard instead of the plastic wrapped thing, but I would lie to say that my majority of my grocery cart is not in plastic... I don't want to feel bad about it because it sustains my mental health, my being vegan, my capacity to have hobbies and do my exercise in a day. 9 to 5s even from home can get overwhelming and many days I would succumb to having take out which is very expensive and no better in terms of sustainability if I didn't have tofu, nuggets, frozen veggies mix for the wok, veggie balls, sausages, powdered mashed potatoes and so on...

  • @chloeb1642
    @chloeb1642 ปีที่แล้ว

    Success: purchased secondhand maternity/nursing clothes (which can be really hard to find, especially in my size) and exercise gear. We also have about 25 items out from the library.
    "Fail": It's my son's birthday this week and I didn't push for his presents to be second hand. Just didn't have the mental space. So. Much. Plastic. (And he only got non-experience gifts from like 3 people)

    • @chloeb1642
      @chloeb1642 ปีที่แล้ว

      I've been appreciating the discussion on medical waste. I'm on 5 supplements and 1 prescription medication at the moment. 2 supplements sell refills, which I utilize, and I get 90 days of my prescription. But all those bottles still add up to a lot of plastic. It really bothers me, but my health is important.
      I'll also be adding diabetes testing supplies to the roster in the next couple months, too (gestational diabetes). Then I'm going to have a baby. As a home birth, it will produce a lot less waste than a hospital birth, but don't for a second think I'm going to forgo disposable pads to protect the furniture!

  • @medabagdonaite7032
    @medabagdonaite7032 ปีที่แล้ว

    had no problems with using my own cutlery and coffee cup at a festival:)

  • @iridescentdaybreak
    @iridescentdaybreak ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love this content💚

  • @katelawrence7445
    @katelawrence7445 ปีที่แล้ว

    My win today was that my local supermarket has reintroduced milk on tap so I can wander down there with my glass milk bottle rather than buying milk in single use containers. Yahoo!

  • @TheHellmis
    @TheHellmis ปีที่แล้ว

    Have you seen, that Lush has now mascara without plastic.? Have you tested it yet?

  • @yanadaineris
    @yanadaineris ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Спасибо за ваше видео))

  • @neta565
    @neta565 8 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Oh I wish you could cook for me one time!😗

  • @snoertoft
    @snoertoft ปีที่แล้ว

    I would love to hear your thoughts on the zero waste monthly subscription box that loveofearth sells. I myself finds it contradicting to zero waste to get send a bunch of stuff every month that I may not even use

  • @Spirituallydiverse_
    @Spirituallydiverse_ ปีที่แล้ว

    You should try zerra and co mascara vegan and zero waste !

  • @kellymartinson5803
    @kellymartinson5803 ปีที่แล้ว

    Witch vibes only

  • @marieluise6907
    @marieluise6907 ปีที่แล้ว

    🤍🤍🤍

  • @Anni-zf6zn
    @Anni-zf6zn ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Yes, you said many times these aren't really fails. But still calling them fails throughout the video and in the thumbnail feel still toxic. Don't use such a harsh language :( I think imperfections would be a better word for it.

    • @Gittemary
      @Gittemary  ปีที่แล้ว

      I think the most important thing to be mindful of in this lifestyle, and community is nuance, so please be careful when labeling things as toxic. I am trying my best to explain that these aren't actually fails at all. So whether you would have preferred "imperfection", "mistake", "error", "fail" etc they're really just synonyms trying to explain the same thing in this context 🌿💚