I thought that it would be easy to do so for just one day but it is surprising how much we casually toss into the bin without thinking.

I started the day by avoiding changing the children as both were in a disposable nappy overnight. I had to let Mr Kat take that one on his rubbish count for the day. Nappies and changing were a challenge and this is how I dealt with them: reusable nappies for both kids, flushable liners for solids and reusable wipes. (A side note – I really need to get some new re-usable wipes as the ones I have are not great but I’ve heard great things about Cheeky Wipes.) This was fine until we went out and I realised I had forgotten to bring some in the changing bag – thank goodness there was no need to change either child.

I had planned ahead with our food and made sure that all purchases were packaging free. At first I thought this would mean going meat or fish free but by taking my own containers to the shops our purchases were appropriately packaged to transport and store. Vegetables were all bought from loose selections at either the farmers market or supermarket. I have gotten into the habit of using Ocado as with a newborn and toddler it really is a life line for my sanity. I quickly realised that this would not work as nearly all fresh produce comes packed in unnecessary cellophane – Ocado sort it out! The only issue with food was unusable toddler leftovers – can’t compost and can’t re-purpose in another meal. The only solution I could think of was a pig (but I don’t have one so they went in the bin – boo!).

The rest of my day passed without incident and I managed an almost blemish free waste free day. Spending time thinking about avoiding landfill waste has opened my eyes to how much we throw away despite being a high-recycling household. We will be thinking twice about where we get our shopping delivery (yes Ocado, I am considering leaving you as a customer) and I will be moving away from the few disposables we use on the children. I have also made a decision to give up bottled water for good. I just can’t justify the environmental cost, back to crap tap water for me.

Head on over to The Rubbish Diet to find out what other bloggers have been doing for Recycle Week.

©2010 Housewife Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

I am pretty good when it comes to recycling and have been inspired by The Rubbish Diet to reduce what goes into landfill via our home. A I scrolled down the list of pledges I quickly realised that there was only one option as I already do all of the others. So, I will be going rubbish free for an entire day lest I be struck down or worse still, be forced to go for a run – yikes!

I shall blog about my endeavours later in the week. For now, I invite my small handful of readers to take part in the challenge before the week is out.

Take part the rules are easy:

1. Visit www.recyclenow.com and sign up to one of the pledges to waste less.

2. Share details of your pledge on your own blog.

3. Chose five other bloggers, who will also be up for a bit of recycling fun.

4. Come back to this post at The Rubbish Diet and share your pledge with others, by placing a link to your pledge in the comments field.

5. Optional – as a thank you to all involved The Rubbish Dietwill be publishing a British Mummy Bloggers’ Recycle Week carnival on Monday 29th June. To be included, simply submit your favourite post revealing the progress of your pledge by Saturday 27th June – email to karen[at]therubbishdiet[dot]co[dot]uk.

More specifically I would like to tag Abby at Juicy Tots as she was complaining that she never gets tagged….

©2010 Housewife Confidential. All Rights Reserved.