Finishing off the week...

Now the dust feels as though it has settled after Waste Free Week I realise that a waste free month is going to take a lot of effort... Already it seems as though I have slipped into my wasteful supermarket shopping ways so I'm going to have to get strict with myself and my husband! He recently admitted to hiding things in his pockets during waste free week, which I found pretty hilarious, but do feel asthough I need to admit to!

So as punishment last night I made him eat cabbage. We bought it so we have to eat it! He doesn't like cabbage, but I managed to disguise it bubble and squeak made with sweet potatoes. I never had bubble and squeak as a child so I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing, but I used my advance copy of "Eat Well, Waste Less" to give me some direction. I would definately recommend sending back your feedback form so you receive your free copy, you also get the chance to win £100 of M&S vouchers, tickets to Pensthorpe country park and a WILD WILD WILD card for Bewilderwood.

So back to the book, I have to say I think it's incredibly well set out and very easy to use, there is a handy A-Z of leftovers with tips for storage and "Quick and Easy" methods of using things up. The next section is basic recipes for making things like chicken pie, curries and sauces but this section is all about flexibility, it tells you what ingredients you can substitute and will hopefully give you the confidence to try some new ideas. The last section is called individual recipes and is full of ideas for the most common types of left overs such as vegetables and cold meats. I think I'm going to find this a great source of information, so fill in your feedback forms and get them sent in!

The comments you make on your forms will be invaluable to us, we will find out how people have done and what if anything has stood in the way of a completely waste free week! We will be able to use this information to help us make next year's campaign even more successful!

Final Weigh in...

Sorry for keeping you all in suspense, it's been a crazy week! So here are my final results... I was a little bit naughty and didn't weigh my rubbish from the week before, but there were three weeks worth in one bag so I reckon my average was about 900g per week. Not a bad place to start from!

So a drum roll please.....

My final week weigh in was 200g! This waste included: One milk bottle top, one broken container (grrr...couldn't it have waited for the next week?!), "wadding" from a meat container and various bits of unrecyclable plastic film.

It's not as good as a plaster, but I'm still very pleased with myself. I am considering taking the challenge further and doing a waste free month as the changes I have made to get my waste down have been really easy to implement and I'm sure I've saved money! I'll keep you updated!

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog and making comments - they have all been very gratefully received!

Lastly for today please head over to Tracey Smith's blog on Monday for a live chat all about rubbish! Tracey has written a fabulous book all about how to reduce waste around the home, so she is an absolute guru! If you get the book (which I thoroughly recommend) you may also notice a few familiar names...!

http://bookofrubbishideas.co.uk/