My order this time was a small one, which didn't qualify for free delivery, but I needed the items quickly, so sucked up the delivery fee of £3.95, which isn't very frugal, but there you go.
Anyway, I ordered the following:
More dishwasher tablets (for the stash). These worked out at 20 or 30p each, which sounds a lot, but we use one each day or every other day sometimes.
Fruit and veg wash (x2), which I use on supermarket bought fruit and vegetables. I realised, when looking back at my previous post, that I already had a full bottle of this in the cupboard, so now I have 3. Looking on the label, however, I noticed it is manufactured in Greece, so dependent upon the outcome of Brexit, it might not be such a bad idea to have a supply stashed away.
Degradable plastic bags, that I intend to use in emergencies, for sandwiches that I take to work, on the days I don't have a clean fabric baggie. (I normally have 3 of these, but two seem to have disappeared or maybe they're in the wash basket) Anyway, I'm currently using non-degradable plastic bags and I am not proud of myself for doing so, hence I bought these which at £2 for 50 are pretty reasonable, so I bought two packs, which should keep me going for a while.
Dental floss and Dispenser - This was by far the most interesting purchase. Since my last order, they had a new product in stock, which is made of plastic made from corn starch, making it a slightly better option than the floss I was using before. I did succumb to buying a new container for it, in spite of already having a glass container that I bought last time I ordered some.
This was mainly because I'm a bit nervous of the glass one breaking. I know that sounds really wasteful, but I feel a lot better about having a stainless steel dispenser, as it will be much more hard wearing and can just be thrown into a wash bag when travelling. I will just keep the old one as a spare, just in case I lose this new one.
I also bought 2 extra rolls of floss for refilling it, so I'm pretty well stocked up for a while. These new rolls gave me 20m more floss each than the one I've been using, for pretty much the same money, so I did save money in the long term by changing to the new brand.
This is the old one:
And this is the new one:
A much more practical solution.
In terms of service and delivery, what I love about Natural Collection is, there was no plastic packaging, save for the bottles the veg wash came in. Just scrunched up brown paper to fill up the box, which I can shred and put on the compost heap. Thankfully, there was no corn starch bits used as packing filler, that I would feel obliged to save and find space for until I can re-use them, nor bubble wrap or anything similar. At least it is one online shopping experience that is virtually zero waste and positive, which keeps me going back when I need to.
I keep meaning to check them out...and then forget so it is great that you post about it to remind me. It is quite hard to cut out plastic from your life but you are doing really well bit by bit.
ReplyDeleteI would be worried that the glass one would break as well. The steel one is a much better way to carry your floss.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Hi Ann, I'm a new reader of your blog and enjoying it very much, I just wanted to give you a tip about washing your fruit and veg, instead of buying store bought try filling a bowl with 3 parts water to one part vinegar, let them sit in the solution for about five minutes, scoop them out and drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. I've done this myself and it works and it saves you money.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan, Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and for passing on such a useful tip. I must try it.
Delete