Out Of The Box

So I have been doing a lot of research. As I've said I'm totally inspired by The Zero Waste Home but she lives in Northern California so all of the sources she references for getting local goods without packaging are not local to me. I've had some trouble finding good sources of info about it online so if anyone knows of a good LA based Zero Waste blog let me know! In the meantime I've been searching the Internet and making calls and here is what I've come up with.

In Santa Monica there is a fabulous store called "Cooportunity" They have a ton of bulk items. I went there because the had bulk soap and lotion.  It turned out that even have shampoo and conditioner! It all smells great and I already love the Castille soaps and they have both peppermint and Eucalyptus so I'm thrilled - except...these one gallon bulk jugs hardly seem like they will make quite enough difference. It is certainly-no doubt about it - better for me to buy from these jugs than to buy my own 12 ounce bottle, it is saving but in truth they should be much larger. They should be barrel sized to really get into the zero waste spirit. I am going to talk to the store manager and maybe even the distributors of Castille soap and see whether this is something that could be changed. That said, I will use these products in my glass containers until I find someplace with bigger bulk jugs. My hats off to Cooportunity though, they really have the biggest bulk sections and I think I'll be able to get so much of what I need from this store - so I love them!

In addition to the cleansers, they have a gigantic bulk spice section - this picture is not even half. I will never have to buy another bottle of spices again. I'm certain that little specialty shops like Indian or Chinese would likely be good sources for bulk spices as well.

 



A few items that I have worried about are things like boxed pasta that are so convenient to have on hand. I've made my own pasta dough before but that was in my pasta maker - which I no longer have. I wondered whether I would have the wherewithal to make fresh dough whenever I wanted pasta but they have elbows macaroni in the bulk section at this store. Problem solved - I do intend to make my own pasta but it's nice to know you can still have some convenience foods. They have every kind of flour you never knew you'd need and of course to many nuts, grains, seeds to mention. They have all these different kinds of salt coming from exotic lands in an array of natural colors - one was bordering on purple. Think I'll have to try some. They also have a giant bulk candy section. With to many delicious looking things to mention but suffice it to say that you can have a plethora of tasty treats in the cupboards that don't come with a wrapper. I'm thrilled with this store and can absolutely delve deep into buying "out of the box"

A few items that I am still trying to figure out - laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, oils, vinegars and butter.

There is a farmers market in Santa Monica on Wednesday mornings and there is an olive oil booth. I'm going to ask them whether they would let me use my own container or if they would refill my bottle if I brought it back. We will see about that. Also - I know there is someone who makes homemade, good for the environment laundry soap somewhere in Santa Monica because her product used to be sold at Pure Sense on Montana. I'm going to see if I can get her contact info from them and see about purchasing from her into my own container. I am also checking with a couple of deli's to see if they have some of those giant glass pickle jars that I could have, I could use them to store the laundry and dish detergents.

I have decided to try to use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and baking soda for cleaning products. I have no idea whether they will really work or whether my house will smell like a baked pickle jar but I'm going to try and will let you know. I have no leads on vinegars or butter  yet...hope this all helps anyone who is looking for the same kind of info.