While Adrian was away (Belgium this time, on some beer judging panel) it
seemed like the doorbell was ringing every two minutes (okay, slight
exaggeration but still) and there would be some poor delivery guy standing in
the pouring rain with yet another box. Beer, beer, beer and more beer. Yes, Adrian gets sent a lot of beer. An awful lot of beer. Along with the odd jar of pickled onions.
So he had this great opening ceremony when he got back last night and all of a sudden
the one small bin bag that I’d used all week was suddenly full to bulging with packaging. And it bugged me. Cos, see, I don’t hold with all this
packaging stuff. It’s…wasteful. The other day I watched this item on the news about a local
beauty spot by the coast which was vomiting old landfill. The stuff had been down there twenty years or
so and hadn’t disintegrated one teeny tiny bit.
It’s why I’m into recycling in a big way. I simply don’t believe in
throwing stuff away – everything here gets reused or revamped or recycled or resold. In fact, I just
can’t get my head round people who don’t do this – who chuck everything out
into the rubbish – I even have friends who fling out perfectly decent clothes
and books that way. I mean… WTF?
Yes, it takes a bit more effect but hey… There is very little food waste in this
house (we don’t overbuy and the dogs eat most scraps) but what is left over is
either composted in the garden or goes out for recycling. Paper, cardboard, bottles,
plastic containers, batteries and so forth all get recycled and I try not to
buy stuff that’s been overly packaged.
Wherever possible, I buy recycled stuff too – loo roll, kitchen
towels, bin bags and so on. Why? Cos they’re just as good, not any more
expensive and, well, every little helps right?
So that was why I was interested when I got an email from a really nice PR for EcoForce. They make a range of household
products from recycled materials – not yer average loo roll but sponges,
scourers, cloths and dusters; recycled pegs (see below - cute huh?), pegbaskets and a recycled washing line. Plus nifty food bag grips. Neat, really neat. Yes, I’m getting excited
over pegs. It has come to this. I know.
Don’t say anything. Please. Just don't.
 |
| Cute pegs, huh? |
They asked if I’d like to try them out and I agreed with alacrity. Well,
hey, I did like the sound of them but I also wanted to show Dulverton that it
isn’t just beer that gets delivered to this house. So they arrived and we tested them out pretty
thoroughly and, yup, they did the business.
Really well. Well, just as well
as the ‘virgin’ variety and you get the added bonus of feeling like you’re
doing your bit somehow. In a small
way. Okay, so I already have a rotary washing
line, so couldn’t test out the washing rope but then I figured there are
other uses for washing line. So I unwrapped it and yes, it makes a darn good
skipping rope. J
They also sent me three Dishmatics to try. Now, stay with me cos this is a seriously
neat idea. It looks like a standard
scourer or washing up brush but the handle is hollow and you simply fill it up
with washing up liquid and, lo and behold, it dispenses it as you wash up. Seriously, brilliant little thing. I love it, as far as one can love a washing
up brush. Do I not have enough love in my life?? Don't answer that. Anyhow, it costs £1.33 (RRP but I've seen them online for under a quid) and, when the head wears
out, you simply replace that bit. Genius.
You’re shaking your heads, aren’t you?
But, honest injun, I love this stuff!
So much that I’m gonna share it with you. You can try out everything I did for free (see the pic below) – yes, you can experience my life. How wondrous is that? Just leave a comment reassuring me I’m not a complete saddo and I’ll pluck one
of you out the hat and you can skip and scrub too. J
I'll close the competition in a week, okay?
In case you don’t win, EcoForce and Dishmatic are widely available in
most supermarkets as well as from Oxfam, Homebase, B&Q and on line.
You can also find them on Facebook:
Here's the EcoForce page:
and here's Dishmatic
28 comments:
You may be a bit of a saddo - no, really, that stuff is very very cool. We buy a lot of our detergenty stuff from Suma, bulk, and it does make a difference. Also recycled toilet rolls and nuts and grains and things. Not a saddo, just doing your bit. As we all should be. (Should is not a word I use very often, but it's important).
Saddo who is in to recycling perhaps? We get two pegs made from recycled material sent to us every year. Sad to say (who's the saddo now?) that we've never bought any, but are building up quite a collection.
We have the equivalent of a 'Dishmatics' but it packed a saddo & died whilst undergoing it's first workout. I'm not sure that it was made from recycled stuff though.
Voila.
As a college freshman, sometimes I would go to the supermarket in the middle of the night and just marvel at the cleaning aisle. I still do this sometimes when I go to the supermarket by myself (though as far as product goes, these days it's mostly baking soda, vinegar, and Grumme).
Oh, but I agree on the packaging. I am always amazed, when we are in the US, at how ridiculously over-packaged everything is. China was like that too. We recycle everything. (Actually just an article in the paper about how we've had to start importing garbage for our incinerators because those heat the municipal hot water in the winter.)
you truly are a good person. I did go with ecover for a good long while until my hands were as dry as the Arizona desert. I know, I should have gone the Marigold route, but I went down Fairy Road instead. Maybe you can lead me back to the path of Righteousness. And recycling is uber cool. In fact it's such a simple concept I'm embarrassed that humans didn't think of it sooner. Duh.
those dishmop thingies look great, I'm always spaffing far too much of the bottles suds into my sink. Targeted soapy power. Yay! You're right to be excited ;-)
Oh and I agree about the packaging. There's too much, and I say that having done lots packaging design and artwork over the years. We don't need half of it.
I'm a scourer squire.
Jane has your blog been hijacked? or are they paying you?? :)
Thanks for all the comments. Nope, Ivy, I've never been paid for any post on the blog. I get sent stuff sometimes that I like and so I blog about it. Trust me, it's more interesting than the rest of my life. :)
@Ivy -- I miss Jane's more soul searching posts. (But I suspect taking a break from that kind of introspection is necessary for sanity. ;) And anyway... who else could make me examine whether my scourer needs upgrading? (Not really, though my gran has one that takes the fluid in the handle and it *is* pretty useful.)
I love it. We do the same, recycle, reuse etc. Our composters can be a sight to behold when the worms get going.
I get excited over new recycled products.
Okay re-cycling is my middle name (you should see the battery of bins outside our house so it is made easy for us by the city) but I do not agree that it is a modern day invention. My granny used to re-cycle a lot of stuff. Carrier bags were rarely to be seen in her house . If she had one it would come to many uses before it ended as a bin liner. She would use a basket for her shopping. Yoghurt pots were used to propagate cucumber and tomato plants. The contents of coffee filters were used as plant fertilisers and single stockings were used as washing nets for delicate fabrics.... and all that was in the 60's and 70's of the last century. Food waste? she never wasted food, but her waist line showed that! My grandpa started drinking cold coffee rather than putting the last cup from breakfast away. And my grand parents were by no means poor.
Packaging of children's toys irritates me to pieces; you only need walk up and down the toy aisle in Tesco (and ours is particularly short) to see the amount of pointless packaging used and how most of it will probably never see a recycling bin. Shameful, it really is. And then they're trying to get you to use your own bags?!
Seriously though, I've used one of those washing-up-liquid thingies and they are pretty cool. If you're a saddo, then there isn't much hope for me because I don't even drink beer!
CJ x
Jane asked for confirmation of exactly how detergent is dispensed through the Dishmatic sponge scourer. Detergent is dispensed through a tiny hole in the sponge scourer head by applying pressure onto the scourer. The harder you press when cleaning the more washing up liquid will be dispensed. When not in use the detergent remains within the hollow handle and will not 'flood' out. The cap at the top of the handle clips shut to ensure washing up liquid cannot come out if the Dishmatic is inverted. Some people add a small amount of water to the washing up liquid in the handle to make it go further, but it's up to you. It's a simple but effective system.
Great blog as always. You're not a saddo, just someone trying their best to be eco-friendly. I try the best that I can, and even in the office we are trying to become paperless.
So glad you are taking this cleaning malarkey to heart!
If you're a saddo then I think you are a member of a growing club! I haven't yet cut up rubber gloves for elastic bands but if the postman stops giving them to me that will be the next step!
Oh they do look rather swish ! Like the lookie of them !
Vix
Great post, I entirely agree about the over- packaging, it drives me mad. If it weren't for packaging, our domestic bin would be empty!
I love recycling and I don't throw out clothes. I do things like bleach faded favourite tshirts to make a marbley pattern so don't look old, but deliberate. Or i bung them all in the machine with dye.
I recycle, compost, grow veg and fruit. I used cloth nappies when sons were babies. I send non-recyclable items to my sons school for junk modelling. it still wont be recycled, but at least reused.
Should have left a way to contact me, if I won. i'm @buttonf1fan on twitter.
Definitely not a saddo! I am so like you. Great giveaway!
I love a useful giveaway and dont consider you a saddo.
Oooh, I love those washing-up brushes, well, handled sponges. They're a godsend for someone like me who needs sponges not brushes (which I think are unhygienic and inefficient anyway). R
I am currently living in a block of flats and I am the only one who recycles...I am tempted to rifle through it (skip like) but as yet have drawn the line at my own rubbish..
Just found your blog and probably the funniest review I've read in ages. I get excited by feather dusters but that's another story.
Huge thanks for all the entries and comments. Comp now closed and the winner (plucked from a recycled peg bucket of course) was skybluepinkish. Recycled goodies on their way to you!
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