I recently read about a woman who has been trying to live without plastic. No plastic bags, no plastic packaging, no plastic containers, no plastic anything. If it comes in a plastic bag or wrapper, she won't buy it. She won't buy clothes on a plastic hangar or cosmetics, household goods, etc. if they come wrapped in plastic. She even carries her own glass straw and (presumably) glass take-out containers when she goes out to eat. (Seems to me she should look into getting some paper straws (above) on eBay!)
It occurred to me that she's living like our grandparents did before WWII. Simply by forsaking plastic, imagine the change that would take place in your life. We'd all be eating better and living better, but it would take a lot of getting used to.
Since reading about this woman, I've been consciously trying to limit my consumption of plastic. I've carried my own shopping bag to stores for awhile now, but now I'm trying to purchase items with a minimum of packaging. And when I get them home, I'm doing my best to store/use things without plastic. Vintage glass refrigerator dishes, mason jars, pyrex bowls, etc. are all things that I use which are better for the environment, and mesh with my love of vintage living.
Another thing I use a lot of is waxed paper, a favorite of homemakers for over 75 years. Recently, my brother-in-law was astonished that I wrapped up a sandwich for him to take home in waxed paper rather than use a "baggie". He was even more astounded when I told him that I didn't even have a sandwich bag in the house and I haven't used them for years.
Yet another reason vintage living is better for the environment!
