The Kitchen Bin

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Posted on August 1, 2012

Tonight’s post is in response to a question posed by Jean in the comments of my post a couple of days ago about Zero Waste. She asked about alternatives to using plastic to line a kitchen bin.

I have read about using newspaper to make an origami-style bin liner and one day I might do that. In the meantime, I find that despite my best efforts, I always seem to have plenty of plastic bags for the purpose.

I line my small kitchen bin with whatever plastic bag comes to hand. I do not knowingly bring any extra plastic bags into the house but some is simply unavoidable at this stage. Any bag that looks as though it would be useful for this purpose is saved. I keep them in a ziplock bag in the laundry cupboard.

For example, I buy frozen peas so I carefully slit the top of the bag and then use that in the bin. Often, it does not tuck neatly over the edge but I am prepared to accept that. I use a rubber band to tie it off before throwing in the bin. If I get any plastic bags in packaging of items such as small appliances these are kept for the bin as well. They usually have a few air holes to avoid accidental suffocation but that is not a problem as my waste is usually just confined a small number of non-recyclable items which need to be contained rather than necessarily sealed in plastic.

I do not put any meat scraps in my kitchen bin. I generally buy meat that has no waste eg: skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets, premium mince etc. The exception is bacon as I trim the fat off it. I put the meat scraps in a bag in the freezer and occasionally add them to a kitchen rubbish bag immediately prior to putting the garbage out for collection.

Anything which can be composted is collected in the compost bucket – this includes all fruit and vegetable scraps as well as eggshells and butter wrappers.

Finally, here are the bins in a pull-out drawer in my kitchen. Each bucket lifts out for easy disposal and cleaning. On the left is the small one I line with my rubbish bag and on the right is the recycling.

I will do another post soon and examine exactly what rubbish we have for a week.

Let me know how you manage your various waste streams. Have you made a conscious effort to reduce the amount of rubbish you send to landfill?

Freezer Finds

6 Comments

Posted on July 30, 2012

My freezer is one of the most useful appliances I have. I am able to buy larger quantities of some items and avoid going to the shops as frequently as I would otherwise and of course it is wonderful to be able to store excess produce.

I have 2 freezers – one is the bottom 1/3 of my refrigerator in the kitchen. It has a narrow shelf at the top and 2 large pull-out baskets. The second freezer is the size of a bar fridge and lives in the study.

Since we are going on holidays in 3 weeks I have been trying to use up some of the food that is in the freezers with a view to being able to empty and turn off the stand-alone freezer. The first thing to do was to make an inventory of everything that is in them so here is the list.

Ground coffee
Pineapple (fresh, very ripe so will be juicing it)
Refried beans (homemade) 500g x 4 packs
Ice-cream – 3/4 of a 2 litre tub
Grated cheese – 4 large containers (I buy 2 kg block of cheese from a local factory and grate it)
Spreadable butter blend (homemade) 500g x 2
Grated zucchini – 400g packs x 2
Beef curry – 6 serves
Lasagne – 2 serves (lunch sized)
Chili con carne – 2 serves
Beef & vegie casserole – 6 serves
Tomato/pasta sauce (homemade) – 750ml x 2
Lasagna sheets (homemade) x 12
Fettucine (homemade) – 2 serves
Gravy beef – 500g x 2 packs
Chicken breast fillets x 4
Sausages x 2
Bacon (shortcut) x 7 slices
Sausage rolls (mini) x 5 – thawing for lunches today with salad
Sweet pastry (homemade) x 1 quantity
Savoury pastry (homemade) x 1 quantity
Baked sweet pastry (was tart shell which broke)
Sliced white bread (homemade) – 7 slices
Gluten free bread (1/2 loaf)
Breadcrumbs (soft and toasted)
French stick (sliced and in a bag)
Fruit muffins (crumbled in a small container)
Mashed pumpkin (to make pumpkin soup)
Lemon zest
Lemon juice (2 litres)
Lemon juice (ice cubes – about 4 dozen)
Lime juice (ice cubes – about 4 dozen)
Sliced limes – 2 containers
Orange juice – single serves x 3
Banana x 1
Passionfruit ice cubes x 15
Turkish bread rolls x 4

Bag of meat scraps

The freezers are a constant dynamic as shown by the following changes in the past 36 hours since I made that list.

Lasagne – ~~2 serves~~ (lunch sized) – now 1 serve
~~Fettucine (homemade) – 2 serves~~ – used
Chicken breast fillets x 4 – now x 3
~~Sausage rolls (mini) x 5 – thawing for lunches today with salad~~ – used
Lime juice (ice cubes – about ~~4 dozen~~) – now 3 dozen
Orange juice – single serves x 3 – now 8 serves – 2 used and 7 more added after juicing the remaining oranges from the tree

I have also added another 2.5 litres of lemon juice.

From my inventory I have made a menu plan and will be using more of the contents over the coming weeks.

I am confident that I will be able to empty the small freezer before we go away. I will post an update of the list in a week or so.

How do you manage the contents of your freezer? Do you keep a precise list or just a general idea with the occasional complete inventory? What do you mostly store – excess produce, bulk meat, prepared meals or baked goods? I would love to hear your story.

Zero Waste – Is It Really?

7 Comments

Posted on July 29, 2012

One of the things that I am really passionate about is waste – specifically packaging. For many years I have worked hard to reduce what I bring into the house and while I am nowhere near the nirvana that is ‘Zero Waste’, I generally do a pretty good job.

Today we went shopping for various things. One thing I bought was some sliced salami. Whenever I buy deli meat from the supermarket or meat from the butcher I always take my own plastic container and ask them to put the meat directly into the container and to stick the price label onto the lid. Most of the staff are really good and simply weigh the container before adding the produce.

However, sometimes it can be challenging and you have to constantly watch what is happening or otherwise you can be easily blind-sided. We have had instances where my request was followed and then they wrapped the whole container in miles of cling wrap or put the meat in a plastic bag before putting it in the container – AARGH!! Today the young girl clearly had no idea how to establish the tare weight of the container so she spread a plastic bag on the scales, placed the salami on it and then tipped it into the container I had provided. I chose not to say anything as it only causes distress to all concerned.

Also, there was not enough sliced salami in the display so she got more from the coldroom and sliced it. The piece she retrieved was wrapped in clingfilm and this was removed, discarded and a new piece re-applied when she had finished slicing it. The display trays are covered with cling film also.

So, by taking my own container and refusing plastic bags and outer wrapping, can I regard this as zero waste?

Buying dry goods from bulk bins creates the same dilemma because although you buy them loose from the bulk bin they have been decanted from some sort of packaging. At least it is usually a large quantity such as 25kg of flour or sugar so there there is less packaging per kilo.

I still buy my cheese from both the supermarket or the local factory where I can get 2kg blocks but they are still wrapped in plastic.

When I buy fruit and vegetables I always make the choice to buy loose produce that I can put in my own tulle bags that I made even if it is more expensive than the pre-packaged option. A good alternative is a Farmers’ Market, though you do have to check as some stalls do package things into plastic bags. It is a matter of being committed and voting with your feet as to where and how you shop.

Yandina Markets photo

The only true zero waste shopping is what I can collect from my own garden – eggs, avocadoes, citrus fruit, spring onions and parsley was the haul for today.

Do you try to avoid packaging when you are shopping? Does this influence where you shop and what you buy?

Cruel to be Kind

5 Comments

Posted on July 28, 2012

I always feel cruel at this time of the year as I have to clip our Border Collie dog in preparation for the tick season which usually begins at the start of August. Sometimes I have left it too late with very serious consequences for both the dog and my wallet.

Today was the day and here is the ‘before’ photo.

It is not a particularly good photo as Psycho dog was determined not to co-operate. He co-operated even less once he saw the clippers, however, once I convince him that it has to be done he just stands still and quivers.

I used to pay to have him clipped but then eventually decided that I could do it myself. It has only taken 3 haircuts to recoup the cost of the clippers. While my efforts are not up to show standard I think he looks quite respectable.

Here is the end result.

Once it was all done I washed him with handmade neem soap and then dried him off with the hairdryer and he does look rather gorgeous. I think he will be wearing his Drizabone coat a fair bit for the next month while the weather is still quite cool – particularly at night.

It was imperative that I got this done before we go on holidays as the housesitter will need to check him regularly for ticks and that is nearly impossible while his coat is long.

That is another job ticked off my ‘to do’ list before we head off.

Edible & Spreadable

11 Comments

Posted on July 15, 2012

What do you spread on your sandwiches? Butter, margarine, something else or nothing at all?

I used to buy margarine without giving it a great deal of thought, however, about 18 years ago I changed to spreadable butter that I make myself. My reasons are several:

Eliminate non-recyclable waste (margarine containers)
Health benefits (margarine is simply a chemical cocktail)
Easier to spread than pure butter
Know exactly what the ingredients are

This is the recipe.

SPREADABLE BUTTER

500g butter
250ml oil
150ml water
3 tablespoons skim milk powder

Allow the butter to soften but not melt. Beat butter using a mixer or food processor. Combine the other ingredients in a jug and stir well to dissolve the milk powder. Gradually add the mixture to the butter while continuing to beat. Beat for another 1 – 2 minutes until white and creamy. Spoon into containers and refrigerate. This made almost 1500ml so it is really quite economical. Actual costings would depend on the type of oil that you use.

I generally keep one container in the refrigerator and freeze the rest because we do not use a lot of butter and it will go mouldy/rancid if stored for long periods in the refrigerator. I use Pyrex glass containers as they can be put in the freezer and I am constantly trying to minimise the amount of plastic that I use for storing food.

This mixture can be used instead of butter in cooking and baking. The only exception I make is pastry as I prefer to use ‘real’ butter for that.

The type of oil you use is entirely up to you. I choose to use locally grown and produced organic olive oil which I buy in bulk at the Co-op in Maleny. Olive oil does have a distinctive flavour so you may prefer something more bland such as rice-bran oil. I do not consider canola oil as an option as most of the commercial crop is genetically-modified and I prefer not to use foods that contain GM products.

This is not a totally zero-waste exercise but it is certainly better than all of the margarine containers that you would otherwise use. I take my glass bottle to be refilled with oil. The butter wrapper is used to grease baking trays or line cake tins and then goes into the compost. I buy skim milk powder from Aldi in a 1 kg non-recyclable bag, however, I have recently discovered that I can buy this in bulk from Simply Good so will be doing that in the future.

Creative Play

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Posted on July 14, 2012

Today I want to share a tried and true toy with you.

This is a construction set which my parents bought when Belle and Missy were young. They enjoyed creating things with it and the set was used by other children as well.

When my mother was downsizing a couple of years ago, I brought it home. Last year I brought it out for Miss O and Izz. It has been really interesting to see how their use of the pieces has developed and increased in complexity over that time. They love this set and it is almost the first thing they ask for when they come to visit.

It packs away easily into a masonite box and I keep it in the wardrobe in my sewing room.

This set is about 25 years old and was made not far from where we live. I suspect that it is no longer produced, however, it is a very simple principle and one that you could do yourself.

This is the instruction/ideas sheet which is very fragile and unfortunately was ripped by a bit of juvenile enthusiasm.

There are many simple, self-directed play ideas which are valuable for pre-school children.

Shopping At Home

8 Comments

Posted on July 11, 2012

In years gone by the phrase ‘shop at home’ usually referred to mail-order catalogues. This meant that you could peruse the pages for your choice of everything from underwear to saucepans. It was a service provided to people who lived in remote areas. Imagine the excitement when the carefully-chosen and long-awaited parcel arrived from the city stores (Myer and David Jones) to families on outback properties.

Shopping in the comfort of your own home was also a driver of many ‘party plan’ and catalogue businesses. These included Tupperware, Avon and Nutrimetics, to name but a few.

More recently, much of this shopping activity has been surpassed by buying online. I have bought things online, but usually only after considerable research. It makes shopping easy, so easy in fact, that I think some people have accumulated much more debt due to the ease with which they can part with their money or more likely, credit.

My shopping at home, today, was none of these. I merely walked downstairs to my store-cupboard and replenished supplies which would otherwise have necessitated going to the shop.

This morning there was no cereal nor much psyllium husk which I have on my cereal. So I headed to my cupboard and picked these two buckets.

Here are my pantry containers refilled.

This afternoon I ‘shopped’ again – this time for raisins and sultanas as I wanted to make a boiled fruit cake.

Having a store of staples means less trips to the shops which in turn saves time, petrol and opportunities to spend money on other items. It makes sense to me to have a supply of goods on hand in case of a range of possible emergencies or disasters. As well as food I keep a supply of other items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and soap.

Do you keep a stock of foodstuffs or other items?

Decluttering Meets Damask

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Posted on July 4, 2012

I have decluttered my linen cupboard several times over recent years but there were a couple of damask tablecloths which defied decision each time.

We now have a small round table which extends to an oval but both of the cloths are rectangular and one is quite large. About a week ago I had a blinding flash of inspiration. I am unlikely to ever have a large rectangular dining table again so I decided to cut the cloths to fit my existing table and enjoy using them rather than storing them for some vague reason.

This is the larger cloth on my oval table. My mother gave this to me and I am fairly sure it belonged to my great-grandmother. What would she think if she knew I was taking to it with a pair of scissors? Probably happy that it was going to be used rather than stashed in the back of my linen cupboard.

I made a pattern of the tabletop, worked out how much drop I wanted and set about cutting out my ‘new’ tablecloth.

Here it is hemmed, pressed and ready for use.

Then I started on the other cloth which I planned to make to fit the table when it is not extended and is just a small, round table.

This cloth was much smaller and when I cut the biggest circle that I was able, it was still a bit short on the overhang. So, I decided to increase the diameter by stitching some extra fabric on. I cut 12cm wide bias strips from the leftover fabric which you can see below.

I then sewed them into a continuous strip and edged the cloth with it. You can clearly see the join but I am not particularly worried as I now have a usable cloth for my round table that I did not have before.

I have now been inspired to re-look at my collection of tablecloths and see which ones I really should be keeping and how I can re-fashion them so that they are able to be used with my current table, either as a round or oval.

What have you given a new lease of life to?

March to a Different Drum

2 Comments

Posted on July 3, 2012

I was reading the Down to Earth blog last week and Rhonda actually re-visited an earlier post from 2009 about how to start out living simply. You can read it here. In it she speaks about making your own choices rather than following a specific prescription for living simply.

The idea of being an individual and not slavishly following others really resonated with me.

It constantly astounds me how people are influenced by fashion and trends. It is not necessarily just about clothes but encompasses style of houses, interior decorating, colours and so much more.

Magazines are not generally part of my reading material, but occasionally I will flick through one when I am waiting for an appointment at the doctor or dentist. The constant, subtle pressure to conform and consume jumps out from every page. It is not only the advertisements but the articles with titles such as, “Gray is the New Black” which insinuates that you can’t possibly wear the black trousers you bought last year.

Everywhere you turn there is evidence of what is ‘in’ and heaven help you, if you actually consider breaking the mould. Several years ago we were re-building our kitchen and we decided to have a look at some display homes to get some current ideas as it was many years since we had looked at what was available in kitchen design. We headed to a display village of new homes – I think there were about 40 homes and we looked at the kitchens in at least half of these. I was totally disillusioned as they all featured the same basic layout with the kitchen as part of an open-plan living area divided by a long work bench which often contained the sink. The drawers all had over-sized rectangular handles with minimal variation and the decor was universally a bland grey/mocha palette.

People make fun of the 1970’s lime green benchtops which were ‘in’. In fact, if you want lime green laminate or any other colour of the rainbow, you can get it in 2012. However, you need to be prepared to do your own research and choosing by going to the suppliers rather than going to a ‘one-stop shop’ where you will be presented with a range which is really just a selection of variations of the current trend.

Whatever the product, idea, attitude or philosophy, do not feel obliged to follow the crowd. Be an individual, buck the trend and make your own decisions about you and how you want to live your life. It does not have to be based on the latest colours, mobile phone or gadget.

Do you swim against the consumerist tide and make decisions about how you live your life in an independent manner?