I hate plastic!!!
Well I don't hate all of it as some things just aren't available in something other than plastic. And some plastic things work well if they are good quality. Yes there are dangers to plastics as they off-gas into our air and foods. If they melt, watch out!
But living here is INSANE! It is the land of cheap cheap plastics.
1) Buy a bag of pens. Each one wrapped individually in plastic. Those pens in a pretty plastic wrap. Then wrapped in thicker nicely labeled package. 3 layers of plastic per pen. I avoid buying things in bulk just because of this! Yes I know I could even avoid buying the PLASTIC pens to begin with.
2) Grocery shopping. I should take a picture of what it looks like when I forget my cloth bags (which is more often than I care to confess). Never is a bag more than 1/2 full. Some items which could be bagged together (like a pair of socks and a snack) are not. And then there is the double bagging of things that don't need double bagging. We have never NEVER bought trashbags here because as much as we try (and there is no "paper or plastic" option) we end up with stupid bags so they are the trashbags. They don't fit our (plastic) trashcans but I don't care.
3) I got made fun of today. The pasta which of course comes in a plastic bag was cooked last night. I carefully cut open the bag, dumped the noodles in the pot, shook out the crumbs and put it in my "baggie" drawer. When I went to playgroup I decided to put my grapes in that bag. Recycling at its best as that was a nice thick bag that will take a lot of wash and wear before it finally gets trashed (as in too many holes).
4) We had a shelf installed in the kids' room for more storage space. I wanted to put in baskets that are labeled, such as "Barbies" (yes I know plastic), "Blocks," etc. So I went to look for baskets. Not a single useful wooden/wicker basket to be found unless I go to the touristy markets. Only plastics of every shape and color. So I think, maybe I'll just get plastic as at least I can wash them out and I need something now. Nevermind. Half are cracked sitting there on the shelf. Note to self, only ever buy quality if I'm going to buy plastic! I explain all of this today to a friend and she says, you want some of our plastic baskets? NOOOOOO, didn't understand it at all I guess.
So yes, this is a rant, and a big one.
posted by Erin @ 3:38 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I just decided this weekend that I want to replace our plastic food storage containers. Of course, when I checked the price of glass storage containers with plastic lids - the price was 5x sometimes 10x the price of plastic containers. That's my rant for the day!
I guess it would be cheaper to just buy a box of canning jars!!
Hi there. Do you know of any cloth diapering stores in Thailand? I've been looking and looking, but no luck!
There are no cloth diapering stores here. You can find flats in most stores, like Tesco or Central, but no decent covers anywhere other than maybe Mothercare at Emporium (expensive!). Most of us here that use cloth bring with us or order from overseas. Hope that helps!
well that's a bummer. There's a gazillion cloth diapering shops online in Malaysia.
I know exactly how you feel! We've got quite a collection of woven baskets now, although they are obviously nowhere near as cheap as the plastic stuff. One of the shops I go to is near the golden mount (I think Th Mahachai), and there are two or three shops down there. They have a huge selection of baskets, mats, hats, etc. They obviously buy in bulk and are not too keen on discounting although they will for Thai speakers who go regularly... ;)
If you like the recycled rice sack stuff, that can look cute in the children's room.
Oh and I'm with you on the packaging. Our maid likes to spend entire afternoons folding up the plastic bags! We also have masses of pretty paper bags (which on the plus side are great for cutting up for crafts). Recently some places have been giving reusable bags, though, and now there's Ikea with their no-bag policy...perhaps things are about to change...?
Anyway, keep on doing what you're doing. Every little bit, and all :)
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