Bathroom - The Stock Check

The bathroom seems to have plastic hidden in every corner. Is it really necessary to have so much plastic packaging on everything?

The List....

Things I rather like

• Plastic tooth brushes x 3 (one electric, two manual)
• Toothpaste x 3
• Deodorant x 1
• Tube of gel for my TENS machine pads
• First aid box full of plastic wrapped things of joy
• Bag of cotton buds (can't think of a non plastic alternative for these!)
• Plastic lid on my tube of pain killing muscle rub
• Shampoo x 3 bottles. I'm not sure I have much confidence on a "natural" make your own method working on my hair.
  

Things I could live without

• Sanitary liners x 1 box
• Plastic box containing plastic wrapped soap ducks x 1 (birthday present)
• Plastic box containing vitamin D tablets (Vitamin D is said to improve energy levels in people with CFS - but there has to be a nicer way of getting ones D than trying to swallow huge tablets!)
• Pack of wax strips (owwie!!)
• Plastic Packaging containing 24 loo rolls (do you really need to wrap them in plastic?)
  
• 345 cream. I'm sure there's something else out there!
• Facial scrubs. There are loads of recipes for make your own cleaning products. I'd best get reading!
• Body scrubs (smell nice, claim to make your skin tingle, don't help the environment with all that plastic wrapping!)
  
• Bottle of body wash for the chemically sensitive (why not get rid of all chemicals and make your own?)
• Bubble bath x 3 (makes bubbles and smells funny in the bath.... I can do that)
  
• 6 plastic razors
• Shaving gel (it has a plastic lid)
• Mouthwash
  
• Hairspray x 2 (plastic lid)

Things I don't use but haven't recycled yet

• Plastic tube containing denture cleaning tablets (from when I wore braces!)
• Hair gel
• Hair removing lotion (used it, hated it, but didn't want to throw it away)
• Nail polish remover (work ensures my nails are never suitable to be polished)
• Baby lotion (used it when I had sensitive skin, it didn't help. Having a baby seems an expensive way to find a reason to use it)
• Talc powder (what's wrong with a towel?)

Well there you go, welcome to my bathroom! Luckily I'm not about to run out of anything in there so all I have to worry about right now is how to recycle the plastic bottles as I empty them. If I had to choose two items to keep I would choose toothpaste and my toothbrush. I am very picky about what goes in my mouth and a good minty toothpaste just seems reassuring.

Everything else I am now looking for plastic free replacements, whether that be by making them myself or just finding another way around the matter - why use all those scrubs when soap will do the job? Does soap still come in paper packaging?

Does anything still come in paper packaging?