Zero-Waste Car Kit!

A.K.A. your 'no-more-excuses-because-you-have-everything-you-need-to-reduce-waste' Kit. :)

Having a car kit has made my journey to eliminate single-use plastic so much easier!! I can only imagine this would be a lot more beneficial for coffee-drinkers too! How many times do you need a mid-day pick me up and realize you forgot your mug? I know it happens to me when I feel like I need a little caffeine or go meet a friend for coffee (I like to get it to-go and walk and talk!). Keep reading to find out more little items that you can keep in your car for all your reusable needs!!

First and foremost, water bottles!

Who uses plastic water bottles anymore anyways?!?! No one likes luke-warm to hot water that's been sitting on their car seat all day anyways... The truth is, "almost 3 in 10 Canadian households used bottled water as their main source of drinking water in the home in 2006" (Statistics Canada, 2006). What's the point! Convenience? Tap water runs in your home! My friend Tuesday, the photographer who took all of the beautiful photos that you see in this blog post, re-uses beverage containers or jars and stocks her fridge with them, pre-filled with water so her kids have convenient ready to-go water for their lunches! We are so lucky here in Canada to have that available to us. We literally shower in potable drinking water!! Also, my S'well bottle keeps my water cold all *clap* day *clap* long *clap*!

P.S. S'well has a limited edition Earth Day bottle in support of Earth Day on April 22nd! It's gorgeous.

Reusable Cutlery!

Okay, you can either be all fancy and buy some cute little cutlery-set, usually found in camping stores, but you can also find it here! You can also go the money-saving route and walk over to your cutlery drawer, pick out a mismatched knife, fork and spoon (I know you have mismatched cutlery in there somewhere!), and throw it in your brand spankin' new zero-waste car kit! Ta-Da! Easy!

An empty container!

I know, this might seem a bit weird but I've used mine more than I ever expected!! When you go out to eat, you don't know if you'll have leftovers or not, and when you do, it usually comes in styrofoam (ugh), or plastic-lined cardboard! So nice having my container in my car ready to go! I've also used my container for to-go

orders! Depending on how long the food takes to make, I'll let them know on the phone when I order that I have my own containers and cutlery and to PLEASE not use a takeout container. Just ask if they can leave it on a 'to-stay' plate until you arrive, or tell them you'll try and be early so they can put it directly in the containers for you!

Reusable shopping bags & produce bags!

I would say this is probably the number one thing you hear about all the time, but it's also the hardest to remember! I've gotten into the habit of bringing it in to the grocery stores with me every single time, but it's still not in the memory bank to bring it into stores when I'm shopping! I'm working on it! I think I'll start keeping one in my front seat and putting my wallet in it as soon as I know I'm going to the mall or going shopping downtown. As for produce bags, it's really no big deal if your produce goes in the same bag as your other groceries but it is nice to have separate bags for the smaller things! I usually stuff my small bags into the big bags so I don't forget when I'm walking into the store!

A coffee mug!

Do I even need to explain this one? You know you need this in your car, maybe keep it in your glovebox or your middle console, or even your cup-holder! Bring it in, wash it, put it back! Or leave two in your car kit if you're an avid coffee drinker so that you're never without one if the other didn't make it back to the car that morning!

An empty jar!

Quickly picking something up from the store? Can you get it at bulk-barn? I've wanted this so many times, you just need cashews but you don't want to use a plastic bag, what do you do? Buy a glass jar? Get them another time? Nope, grab that jar you packed, who knows how long ago and head on in! I also suggest keeping a jar full of snackables nearby! Do you usually pack snacks in ziplock bags? Throw some trail mix in a jar and keep it for emergency snack breaks or hangry attacks!

That's it, that's all!

You now have everything you need to get started! Get going! I'd love to see how you put your car kits together!! Send me pictures! Let me know if there is anything else you think I should add to my car kit!

Happy Thursday Friends!

Kaits xox