How to be an inspiration in a shared house instead of a dictator on woolen socks?
1. NEVER EVER JUDGE!
Instead of getting grumpy and preaching plastic bags are bad, cheer their good moves and show the benefits of alternatives!
2. JARS JARS JARS
Basically everything looks good in a jar. Transfer the beans, tea, coffee into a glass jar and your house mates will automatically copy that trick – if only for aesthetics.
3. BUY IN BULK
Living in a shared house means sharing! Buy your toilet paper in big bulks for a minimal package waste.
4. MAKE IT EASY
There are so many alternatives for plastic. It just takes some extra effort. Make it easy for your house mates. Hang canvas shopping bags at the doorhandles and put the jars in sight.
5. A PLASTIC CORNER
Whenever plastic does occur in the kitchen, make sure it gets re-used. Create a corner in the kitchen where you collect the plastic waste of the house and give it a new purpose.
6. INDOOR CAMPAIGN
Put a Plastic Free Tuesday poster on the fridge and post-its with fun facts in the toilet.
7. KNOW THE FACTS
Be prepared to explain your ideas. There is heaps of blogs and books that tell you why plastic is uncool which will blow away your house mates.
8. HIDE THE PLASTIC
Mysteriously, overnight, all the plastic kitchenware is stocked on the top shelf!! It must be dwarves.
9. GET THEM TOTE BAGS
Plastic bags are evil – tote bags are awesome. Get your house mates a tote bag of their favorite band, and they undoubtedly reject plastic shopping bags in the future.
10. BE A WEIRDO
Don’t be afraid to stand up for your opinion. Sometimes you have to be the weirdo to get the attention.
1 Comment
Haha Gerda, hadn’t read the post yet this weekend, but love it!
I think this would work wonders as well if you have a partner who is not yet so much into your new plastic-free life-style :-). I feel I am actually doing much of this to my colleagues at work at the moment..! Oops. Sorry guys. (if you’re reading along here). (Though, if you are, super that you visiting the blog, please make sure to come back ;-))
The no-judgy-thing is super important I think, though I find it a tad difficult sometimes, especially when you have just ‘blown’ people away the day before with your amazing and convincing plastic facts, and there are still plastic plates from the supermarket the next (Tues)day(s) ;-). BUT, you’re absolutely right! the process of overall awareness on plastics, and breaking plastic habits – however incomprehensible they may be once you have started to wear your no-plastic lenses -, is likely to be a slow one.. Let’s just hope, and try to make sure, that the PFT-virus spreads! 😉