Almost three years ago I made a commitment to reduce my plastic use for 2019 Plastic-Free July. I took a good look at all my plastic use, but focussed primarily on the kitchen and bathroom. You can read about that HERE. Then I reviewed my approach in January 2020 with another push to further reduce my plastic use (that update is HERE). I recently did this again to see what other plastic bits and pieces I could get rid of, focussing again mostly on the bottles and tubes in the bathroom, and packaging in the kitchen.
In my last update, I had just decided to give Ecostore bathroom products a go. I started out with the refillable bottles of shampoo and body wash, using either GoodFor or New World’s refillery to replenish. I also started using these in the kitchen and laundry too. They’ve been very successful.
In April 2021 I changed my gym routine (i.e. I stopped going…story for another time) and decided to switch from body wash to soap. One less bottle! And then more recently I discovered that Ecostore also sold shampoo bars, so I switched to those. All that remained was the face wash and the toothpaste tube. I switched to tooth tabs from GoodFor and stopped using face wash. So now I use NO plastic in my bathroom. The only plastic “beauty product” I use is moisturiser / sunscreen for my face.
The next change I plan to make is to get rid of the pump bottles of hand wash in the guest bathroom and kitchen and replace these with soap bars – I’m just using up what I have first.
In the kitchen I’ve expanded my use of bulk bins for the basics – rice, lentils, nuts, dried fruit, sugar, cereal, spices etc. It encourages me to eat healthier – less refined food, less sugar. A recent addition to the house was a bread maker – this means no plastic bread bags, and we know exactly what is going into each loaf.
There is always more to do, but I am pretty happy with my progress.
The Secret Life of Bebe 
Hi Bebe, I have followed you from Outlaw Online as I was curious about you because I knew a Bebe as a child in the 1960s. We lived in Timaru, and Bebe, her mother and sister lived in Christchurch. I think though you are too young to be her.
Anyway your quest to eliminate plastic from your life. This struck a chord with me. I have been using Enjo cloths for 20 years because they only use water for cleaning, no additional chemicals and hence reduced plastic and aerosol containers. This includes cleaning the oven.
In my shower I have 1 plastic conditioner bottle, 1 shampoo soap bar, 1 soap bar and my enjo face cloth. I am amazed how many bottles other people have to keep themselves clean!
Hi! I’m definitely not your Bebe, but if she lives in Chch I might have meet her once. I met a Bebe about 55-60 years old a couple of years ago in the chemo ward at Chch hospital – her name is Bronwyn but has always been called Bebe.