cleaning

Why aren't all single-use plastic bags banned?

Publié le 27 Juillet 2021 par Charly C.

Catégories : #advice, #bucharest, #business, #cleaning, #health, #people, #tips, #tricks

Hello everyone!

A few months ago I came across a post on Instagram, that made me think of this issue. I'll share the post with you later, in a different entry.

Well, i thought about it before, but I somehow didn't have the right muse around me to write about it. I think the time is better now.

Many types and shapes of plastic

I won't dive into what plastic is made of. We all know there are many different types and forms of plastic out there, and i believe this wiki page is only an opener for a whole can of worms on the topic.

Here, in the images below, you can see some types and shapes plastic can take:

the hard shell of a mouse and of a regular pen
the soft-cover protecting the wires of a mouse,
the faux-leather cover of an agenda (that i use as a planner AND mousepad),
my home-pants made of 100% polyester that you get a small snippet of as well (flowery blue, in the lowest part of the image)
a pencil - the green one (the blue pencil is made of the traditional wood)

In these images, most of the mentioned plastics can be used just once. Granted, they can be used for a VERY long period of time. I have to find a recycling program for the mouse, and I'll most likely keep the agenda -as I recorded some memories in it as well.

The plastic pencil is both useful (when writing or drawing) and wasteful (when sharpening), but it has just 1 life as well. When it becomes too short to still sharpen/write with, I'll have to somehow discard it.

I got the pants as already worn, but they were still in a good shape. When I'll be done wearing them, I can turn them into something else, until the fabric can no longer be used.

Speaking of clothes, I have 2 more types of plastics to show you. Well, one is a repeat, while the other is not.

The vest is made of faux-fur and the coat of faux leather and has a polyester lining. These items too, can be used for an extended period of time. Additionally, they can somehow be reused when they can no longer be used as clothes.

So, overall, this type of plastic is a tiny bit less problematic.

Soo ... single-use plastic bags?

I'm not sure where in the world you live, and what the situation is with single-use plastic bags over there. In Romania, these are seen everywhere, especially when you go do your groceries. just look here:

This is a typical plastic shopping bag. It used to be free of charge, now it costs a few cents, depending on the store. They say this bag is single-use. Well, it is not really, unless it breaks.

I often reuse these when shopping and sometimes as trash bags, when they become a bit too worn out. This particular bag is filled with other plastic bags, and many households across the country have a big plastic bag filled with other (smaller) plastic bags.

The irony is that most single-use plastic shopping bags of certain compositions have been banned. They have been replaced with "bio" single-use plastic bags. I'll show you one below:

This bag is for fruits and vegetables. it's very soft to the touch, breaks easily, and I'm not 100% sure, but i think it disintegrates quite rapidly once it gets punctured. Currently, shopping bags are very similar to the touch to this 'bio' bag. I still re-use these for lightweight trash, if they didn't already break.

I made 1 bag for fruits and vegetables, but as you can expect, I forget to bring it with me when shopping. And it's not even guaranteed I'll buy such goods.

Now, the biggest offenders

I'm not even done, because these previous items can be re-used or have prolonged use if you care to spend less and have a creative spirit.

Now, I'll show you the biggest offenders of plastic products.

Cling film!

Cling film is indeed a pretty decent invention for covering foods when putting them in the fridge, or for the sandwiches you make for your lunch break. It probably has other uses that I'm not aware of.

Regardless, this item should be banned! Or people should stop buying this product altogether! It can be replaced with at least 3 other items:

casseroles with lids: These can be used to store food in the fridge and to take your lunch in. These can easily be washed and reused. I wouldn't recommend the ones made of hard plastic, but it's not very convenient to carry glass stuff around. Maybe metal containers can do the trick here, but I'm not sure they still exist.
lids or plates used as lids: These can be used only in the fridge. These are more accessible to those who don't always have a fridge full, and they can occupy more space.
zip-lock bags: Yes, they're still plastic, not great, but if we carefully handle these, they can serve for a long(er) period of time compared to cling film.

Plastic bottles!

This bottle held apple cider vinegar. When you walk into any store, you'll see hundreds if not thousands of plastic bottles: for beer, oil, sodas, milk, laundry and dish wash, and on and on.

These are BIG one-time plastic use offenders. Granted, some of these products cannot be sold in a different type of container.

I think that all stores should request buyers to come with the old/empty bottles when buying a new product of the same type (regardless of brand), or else be forced to pay more. The empty bottles should be collected and recycled.

I know some people re-use plastic bottles for various things, mostly instead of a traditional pot for plants. This is great, but not everyone has a green thumb or is creative enough.

Packaging!

There are SO many items packaged in plastic! Above you can see a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and 3 small containers (I'm not sure what to call them), for milk for coffee.

The bag above is a single-use bag that should be banned. it's too small to be reused and breaks quite easily when not careful. The only re-use i can think of is for the above-mentioned lunch if it comes as a sandwich. I must admit, I'm not sure what can it be replaced by, and therefore it can be spared for some time.

Trash bags!

I saved the worst for last and i don't even know what to say here. We literally buy these bags to throw them away! Make this make sense because it doesn't make any sense to me!

As far as i saw here, these rarely have a 'bio' version. And even then, they're way more expensive than 'regular' trash bags. It's also not a guarantee those 'bio' bags last for less time in nature.

P.S.!

I know there are also single-use plastic plates, glasses, straws, and cutlery, however, i don't own any such items anymore. Precisely because of their single-use attribute. Additionally, it's not healthy to eat out of re-usable plastic plates either - plastic can leech into the food. This is akin to slow poisoning.

I don't think paper is a good alternative to plastic, especially not the plastic/paper combo we see on some products. We need to cut trees to make paper, and we need trees to breathe cleaner air. Also, many animals rely on trees to survive.

I think that paper could be recycled easier than plastic and it decomposes faster when left out in the open. Maybe we could make packaging out of bamboo instead?

I didn't watermark these pics as I didn't see the need to, but they were taken by me in june/july of this year (2021).

See you next time!

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Want to wake? give up these things

Publié le 26 Septembre 2018 par Charly C.

Catégories : #advice, #tips, #life lesson, #life experience, #meanings, #health, #people, #cleaning, #faith

Lately, I have heard many people saying "i'm so woke" or "he/she/.. is so woke! wow, i'd like to be like that".

However, there are a few steps to take to become "woke" - and gosh, can I not use this word? i can't staaand it!! Anyways. What does it mean to be "awaken" actually? hmmm, the way I see it is a state of mind in which the person:

is somehow above all the mundane things and events,
these don't affect the person anymore, as they feel unimportant
sees the deception of the world
(the individual) feels wiser as a result
feels that what matters more is related to spirituality, food for the soul, prayer, meditation
may try to change their eating and shopping habits
may act more level-headed

There might be other aspect and features I didn't mention here. Others might find another "definition" to the term.

I don't have much more to say as intro, so let's see the steps. Oh, it will take some time until you become "awaken," so be warned. I can't tell how long, as each person is different.

STEP 1

Give up your TV, radio, news paper, and all the magazines. WHY?

They're tools of mass brain washing. If this sentence made you laugh or scorn, perhaps you're not ready to awaken. And there's nothing wrong in that, as not everyone is meant to awaken. Please read this article I wrote about how annoying commercials are, and maybe you'll give this step another thought.

You probably know that all the traditional media mentioned above transmit news that is approved (especially in certain countries), sometimes made up (yea, fake news does happen), and through the programs and articles they present and the manner they do so, they try to influence your opinion and tell you how to think. - and yes, i also try to do this through my blog, i'd like to think that because i have only the LORD and my conscience to answer to, i don't do things out of malice, or for my own gain.. i'd like to think someone will find my writings somehow useful.

But i'm going off topic there. The mentioned media can also decide how much to disclose of the info they have - hence 'fake news' can easily happen. The practice can also be called misinformation of the masses.

If you have subscriptions to publications that are a must for your job, then keeping those should be fine.

One last thing here - if you think you were only checking for the weather/zodiac/[insert whatever] segment, you could surely find a free app for it. But haven't you wondered why isn't the weather forecast always accurate with what happens outside? or the daily zodiac?

By the way, you'd also be saving some money by giving up the items i mentioned here. yay or nay?

STEP 2

Get off of all your social media! WHY?

Social media is closely related to mass media. But that's not everything there is to it. Social media is also filled with a lot of negativism, and toxic people. These two aspects alone are enough to stop you from awakening.

This is especially true for those individuals who react in an intense manner to most things they see or read. These people somehow feel that what they just saw or read has an impact on their own life. Although, on another hand, these strong reactions could actually be a signal that the person is quite ready to awaken.

The thing is that some folks might fall under the pressure coming from their friends, no matter they're on or off line, because they're that easily influenced. Giving into that pressure, that can be more or less obvious, could mean they won't "wake" as fast or as easily.

Again, if your job is somehow related to social media, then this step can't really be implemented. Perhaps, just try to limit your online presence as much as you can, by having dedicated time slots for specific activities? I don't know.

STEP 3

Start researching and learning! WHY?

Do you know how those "awaken" people became so? Mostly by studying and reading. They study and read everything they can get their hands on. They do give the impression their preferred subjects are philosophy, religion and spirituality, politics, conspiracy theories, and on and on.

A person that reads a lot can only become wiser and smarter. It's really as easy as that. Don't be surprised when at a point you'll feel like you have nothing in common with your friends anymore, as this may happen at some point.

I think this is about it. some 3 easy (enough) steps for you to consider if you want to be a "woke" person.

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Some money saving tips

Publié le 13 Mai 2018 par Charly C.

Catégories : #life experience, #advice, #life lesson, #tips, #cleaning

Recently I started watching videos on finances and minimalism. I'm not good with money and I'm not a minimalist either ... well, not really. I guess, I decided to start learning about the mistakes I could be faced later on, or how to fix the ones I already made [and I'm too embarrassed to talk about].

However, I realized that in a way I can be described with both epithets depending on the situation. Now, I decided to share with whoever reads this blog, some possibly new [and some definitely old ways] in which you can spend less money.

yes, doing this saves me some money

"hacking" my clothes

Some of you might remember my post in which I shared how I added a pocket to my sweatpants that didn't have one.

How does it save money? I didn't have to go buy another pair with pockets [not that I would have found something I liked] and I didn't pay someone else to do it for me. Of course, for this you have to know how to sew [by hand or with the machine].

To do this, you'd have to sacrifice some time. For this project I wasted a bit more time than I was supposed to, because of extra steps that proved not needed.

I have a similar project going on for a bag. Hopefully I can post it soon enough.

old stuff to rags

If you were to calculate how much you spend in a year for certain cleaning supplies - mop replacement, kitchen sponge, dust cloth, whatever else you use, how much do you estimate that would add up to?

Honestly, I didn't calculate myself because I'd have to keep track of how often I need to replace them. But my wallet is a bit happier I didn't have to buy kitchen sponges anymore - for like a year.

Instead I use old kitchen towels that I cut into smaller pieces. Most my kitchen towels used to be bath towels that got too worn to still use as such. Yes they were that old.

By doing this not only do I produce less waste and pollution, but I also save a bit of money. Why are kitchen towels so expensive?

How about the clothes I mentioned, you say? Depending on the fabric type, I cut those into the shape and size I think I need, and use the rags to clean windows and their sills, doors and their frames, dust the few horizontal surfaces I have, or the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. Cleaning the toilet with those rags is a good idea because once that's done, I can throw away the rag feeling less guilty about pollution.

I have to mention that as long as I don't clean the toilet with said rags, I can wash them in the laundry machine, and re-use them until they can no longer be used.

Some towels make an even better mop than the one I have, so why not taking advantage of that? Not to mention that once the dishes are done, I can rinse off the piece of towel I used, and hung it to dry - it's more hygienic than a sponge in this regard.

Tshirts, sweat pants and matching sweat-shirts are the best candidates here. I find this a really good idea for when cleaning due to moving.

This is especially do-able for those who don't have a charity or some other place where to go donate or sell old clothes. Let's just say, towels are not a thing to make others use.

by cooking

Cooking can save you some money as oftentimes the ingredients are cheaper or add up to 1 meal at a restaurant, depending on what you order. Let's not forget that usually cooking means you get several servings of the food you make, and if you really like what you make, that's always cheaper and better.

What I cook is usually sweets, soups, and stews. I can't really find the stuff I prepare at home in the store. Even if I did, the taste is not the same, and may have ingredients I want to steer away from (garlic, onions, preservatives, food coloring) from a health related perspective.

If you want to prepare a meal that is not really specific to the country you live in, the ingredients can cost quite a lot. You might actually save money if you went to have a serving of an "exotic" dish at a specialized restaurant. You'll also realize whether that food is really worth trying to make at home or not.

eating directly from the pot

"Whaat? that's gross, weird!" - it's what you may be thinking.

And you're right when you cook for a whole family and not just yourself. It's also not really gross if you just warm the food on the stove, in a small enough pot to hold 1 serving of whatever you eat.

How does it save money? indirectly: you have only 1 container to wash, not 2. You save water and dish washer because you use less of both. Of course, this works only if you do the dishes by hand. If you use a dish washing machine, you might actually want to use a separate plate to eat in.

I have to say that these machines are not very common in Romania yet, though they can be found in stores. Younger families are more likely to own them, than older generations. They are more likely to be found in newer or renovated apartments. We don't own one.

Each household is different, of course, and what works for me might not work for you.

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how to become your cat's favorite human

Publié le 2 Juillet 2017 par Charly C.

Catégories : #animals, #cats, #cleaning, #life experience, #pet training, #pets, #tips

You might already know I own 2 cats, but I will talk about the younger one for he likes me a little more than the older one. You want to know a secret? You can also make your cat like you more than the rest of the family [if you have a cat, that is].

DISCLAIMER: this method is not 100% foolproof, and is more successful on kittens. It is still worth giving a try - hopefully your cat is not a the spawn of the devil and can be [gently] handled. i credit expert cat owners with the discovery of the method.

I hope everyone planning on getting a new cat or kitten will find this short entry a bit useful. If you dislike cats, I hope you will change your mind about them a bit.

So this is Mikey, the younger cat - he turns 6 years old on July 4th. I cannot tell you how attached to me he is.

in january 2016

To put it into perspective, he knows when I arrive home, he doesn't let his older brother come to me, he makes sure to leave his scent on me whenever he can [even when I'm in the bathroom], and he cried a lot last year when I would be gone to my 9-5 jobs. That's not all, he also gained a lot of weight last weight: it seems he ate his feelings [and i feel bad for it].

One of the ways he showed his affection was by 'cleaning' me while i slept - my face, hands, arms, hair, whatever he could. His older brother never did it. He also loves sleeping next to or on top of me.

November-December 2015

So, how come he prefers me?

You must know I got him when he was a kitten, and I basically stole him from his family and mother. I don't think he was fully weaned, but he was eating cat food.

When I got him, I had to act like cat-mom, and make him relieve himself. This is easily done by holding the cat over the litter and gently rub her behind with a damp towel - it should have the same texture as a cat's tongue. Your cat will believe it's her mother taking care of stuff, and in a way will think you're said mother - your scent is all around after all, and her mother's scent is not. It's almost natural that you'll be replacing her mom at this point.

There is one more important step you should not ignore, when going through this process: "burying the gifts" AKA the cat pee and poop. Gently grab one of the cat's front paws [or hands if you prefer] and move it from the front towards the back, while touching the sand [or litter bed. we use a special type of sand.. bentonite, clay? I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I recommend silica type because it disappears, so you throw away less stuff.] The movement should imitate the one the cat does when she covers her waste.

cat sand we can find in Romania

This paw movement should be done right after wiping her behind with the damp towel, even if she doesn't relieve herself. This is one of the best methods to teach a cat where 'the toilet' is, no matter the age. It is especially useful when changing houses and getting a new cat.

If for some reason you consider changing the type of litter, make sure to do it gradually, so that the cat will get used to the new type slowly - or better said so she won't realize. if you change it all of a sudden [because you couldn't find the one you usually get] try this method I described above.

Cats can be and are just as loving as dogs, perhaps even more so. This is why an older cat will take some time to get used to new humans, if re-homed. She might act distant with her first humans, but maybe she's generally more distant. Remember that not all cats are the same, just like not all dogs are the same.

I hope you found this article a little helpful.

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bullet journaling and cleaning

Publié le 4 Juin 2017 par Charly Cross

Catégories : #advice, #bullet journaling, #cleaning, #life experience

If you know me, you know I dislike cleaning the most. However, it's not something I can escape. Nobody can escape it. To make myself stick to a good cleaning routine I decided to use a bullet journal. It seems like it is a good way to keep people organized and productive. I only just started it now in June simply because I just learned about it.

I tried once in the past year, but I failed at following it. I hope to be more successful this time. The main weekly tasks are cleaning on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I started with Thursday’s task, the stove: it needs a single day, because reasons, see below:

Has your stove ever been this dirty? No? How did you do it? I won't lie, I'm envious because I never liked cleaning and on top of that, I wasn't good at maintaining the place clean either I really have no idea how people do it. But now, thanks to my bullet journal I hope to become one of those people.

The first thing I did regarding this mess, was to grab an old knife and start scratching like a scratch card while the stove was cold and dry. The mess is some cream soup that boiled over so my approach worked really well. It was gone in less than 10 minutes and it also worked on the greasy parts - at least some of them. After 20 or 30 minutes of working on it, it looked like this:

Since I'm not as healthy as I used to be [not that I'm very sick, but I get tired really fast lately], I had to take breaks from time to time. I can't know for sure how long it took me to clean it to this state, seen below. Maybe a grand total of 2 hours? 2 hours and a half?

Clearly, next week, my pretty stove will not be as dirty, and it will be much more easy [and fast] to clean.

Let's see some pics - from before and after, for a better understanding:

I do want to mention the cleaning products I used as well, because the end result was not possible with just scrubbing. I used:

- a piece of old towel,
- Axion the grease stripper
- Triumf for stoves and ovens [a Romanian cleaning products brand] - this think strips grease like crazy! and you need to wear gloves when using it, as well as a face mask because it's off-gasing.

So, what is the point of this entry?

I really don't know. I guess, i just want to tell people that even the most difficult tasks can be taken care of, even if at a slower pace. And that if you need something to keep you motivated, bullet journaling can be quite useful.

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Chores in Life: Cleaning - can i be better at it?

Publié le 4 Février 2016 par Charrly Cross

Catégories : #cleaning, #life experience, #life lesson

Hello everyone reading this~~

Today's topic is cleaning - cleaning the house, that is. I decided to share some of my thoughts and observations after I started cleaning my apartment. This post is actually a rant - therefore simply my thoughts. Look forward to my next posts related to my observations, some "useful" advice, AND why I like cleaning. [I'm not sure of their order though.]

First of all, I must say I am really bad at cleaning. I am a pretty messy person. Well, to my defense, there are people way worse than me and others who are far better than me at cleaning or keeping their stuff in order. I wish I belonged in this second group. Who know, maybe after I'm done with it all, I will slowly feel more motivated to stay organized and trying to keep up the clean state of things.

it never lasts for long

What I dislike the most about this chore, is that no more than 2 days pass since it's completed, and things magically go back to the way they were before the action. At this point I'm too tired and in pain to be able to start it all over again.

it's so tiresome

I guess, I was never used to physical activity, and even something as simple as cleaning get's me super tired. The worst part is that my spine starts hurting BADLY if I stay in certain positions for too long. The most common position is partly bend forward - used when doing dishes, using the vacuum, and mopping.

it takes so much time

The apartment is not very big, and there aren't THAT many things to clean. Regardless, it still takes time. I have to use the vacuüm properly to make sure no crumbs and cat hair is left, then I have to mop making sure no streaks are left on the floor, and then I should be dusting.

I believe it takes about 2 hours to vacuüm the place. Then, while mopping, I have to change the water from time to time when it gets too dirty. This might also take another 2 hours. I never checked, but next time, I will. By the time I get to dusting I'm too tired and in too much pain to continue.

the cleaning products are not that good

I will leave the vacuum out of it for now, and I'll complain about the chemical solutions used to actually clean things.

I tried several brands of floor cleaning products. The mop with strings leaves ugly marks on the tile floor I have. Granted, they're seen only in the light, at an angle - I hate that! There are various solutions I use - some leave marks, and some don't leave as many. None of them leaves the floor as shiny as the ad or the package claims. Same goes for the solution that removes dust off the furniture. Luckily my furniture is not the shiny type, but matte. I would die if my shiny furniture would become matte because of the bad solutions in the store.

limescale and grease removal? yeah, i wish it was THAT easy

What I mentioned above applies to the products used against old grease and limescale. Rubbing and scrubbing grease seems more effective than products for this purpose, but it's so tiresome.

skin on my hands becomes so dry

I tried using gloves. Several times. They broke within minutes of putting them on, and they were brand new. This happened while I was doing the dishes. Doing the dishes is a simple task I do daily [or almost daily, depending on the amount of dishes I have]. I guess I still have to try using gloves? or find a good hand cream for me.

With results that don't last, cleaning products that are not as good as expected, and getting all sorts of back pains, it's really no wonder I'm not THAT good at cleaning. Or that willing to complete this chore.

And you? Is cleaning such a difficult chore for you? Is it easy for you to keep up a clean state of things? Please share!

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