The first trimester aka The Bread Days
Baby, lifestyle
Toast. My husband has started referring to me affectionately as ‘The Toast Monster’. These first few months of pregnancy have seen me gracing the kitchen one, two, maybe three times a…
Alright! Now we’re here in England I’m making up for all the times I’ve posted a blog and my links haven’t worked for all of you in the UK!
Going forward I’m going to try and give all links in US/UK forms but to catch up, here are 10 of my most followed links but in UK form! (There are clickable links if you click the photos and if you click the title on each item.)
1.The Keep Cup
This was the first thing we 100% changed in our journey towards lowering waste. The promise to ourselves of no more disposable coffee cups. We’d either get our coffee to drink in the shop or take it to go in a REAL mug. I’ve never had a problem getting a coffee shop to fill one, just ask – you often get a discount too.
2. The Miir Travel Mug
Until this year I thought Keep Cup would be my go to forever. But then Jared bought me a Miir. Honestly I prefer it to the Keep Cup, my one is a Patagonia collab one you can’t buy online and you can often find them (at least stateside) branded for different coffee shops. But it’s not glass which is a Kezia win, keeps your coffee hotter, and has a handle. It’s not at all spill proof though with the hole in the top which is the only con. But I love it. 
3. Who Gives A Crap Toilet Paper
People get funny and protective over their toilet paper opinions and I get it. when we ran the Airbnb, scratchy toilet paper felt like the number one way to a bad review. But we LOVE this stuff. It lasts forever so the price doesn’t really end up higher in reality, and it’s recycled and plastic free. The bamboo one is even softer if you want that but the regular one is also great. Promise! This link HERE gives your 5 quid off your order too.
4. Stasher Bags
Our life runs on these. We try to buy/store no food in plastic for the environment and also health. From a health perspective I think stainless steel or glass is the perfect bet but silicon is a lot better than regular plastic and when it comes to the environment it’s much better – not least because these bags are built to last. Silicon breaks down differently though so even if it does get thrown away it’s a lot safer for the planet and doesn’t contribute to micro plastics. They can go in the dishwasher too, be used to freeze anything, bake steam or sous vide. Highly recommend.
5. Cotton Produce Bags
These are officially my number one most clicked and purchased link on Amazon in the US! And for good reason, they’re a simple staple for zero waste living. You can absolutely sew your own but aside from doing that I’d say simple cotton bags are one of the only must haves. These have the tare weight written on the label so you can use them for bulk shopping without paying for the weight of the bag. Fill them with rice, corn, nut and seeds, or a pastry to go! We use them for shopping, travel, and even as a rag to clean up with once they’re empty on a trip or picnic. Highly recommend and use them every day!
6. Anti Radiation Cell Phone Case
I know people differ hugely on their opinions on cell phones but I use mine a lot for working and so for me it was one of those things where I decided to take a potentially safer route just because I could. Maybe it isn’t necessary (personally I keep my phone on airplane mode as much as possible just to be safe, and don’t carry it on my body) but I’m happy to take the risk of being few bucks down for the potential protection! For the people that believe it is a potential hazard, these are the ones I’ve seen recommended the most and we both own and love. They also carry a few cards so I don’t use a wallet any more, and protect my screen well.
7. Eco Lunch Box
Another one of my earliest purchases that helped this journey so much. This has two compartments for food storage and a smaller tin inside too. I use different pieces of it to many two plates for the kids and one bowl for me and it’s so versatile. You can even use it for bulk shopping, to get ice cream or food to go without taking a disposable plate/bowl and it’s compact. It’s my go to for plane travel every time. 
8. Thirsties Diapers
I’m certain there are great UK brands but I’ve tried a lot of US and UK ones and these are hands down my faves of anything I’ve tried. I like the duo snap with cotton prefolds inside and then a few all in ones for ease! 
9. Lodge Cast Iron Skillet
If there’s one item I recommend on this whole lifestyle we’ve embarked on learning from health to the planet to budget it’s one cast iron skillet. They last forever. They cook without chemicals and even give you iron (I’ve never been anemic on a diet with no meat and vegan for a decade!) They’re not expensive, if you buy the right brand and they can be used for everything. Bake a cake, fry and egg, slow cook meat, bake bread, make pancakes. You can do a lot just with one too. 
10. Package Free Shop
I’ve mostly talked about the AMAZING Package Free Shop as where I bought my razor but seriously, they have a fantastic range of items for a lower waste lifestyle. If you’re UK based then Plastic Freedom is a similar UK based shop with a lot of the same items but I haven’t personally tried it. I’m sure I will so stay tuned.
Hope that helps you! I’m trying out more and more English brands now we’re here and I’ll keep you posted on everything here we try and love, or don’t love… and so many of you already have but if you think there’s something British we’d love – shoot me a DM, I LOVE discovering them all!
