Wasteless Pantry Bassendean News: 20 August 2019

DIY Hair Gel

I’ve been recommended this recipe separately by two different staff members, so it must be good! It is especially good for curly hair and leaves the hair soft, smooth and smelling lovely.
Mix together 1/4 cup linseed (flaxseed) with 2 cups water. Heat in a pot until it comes to the boil (keep stirring to prevent the seeds sticking to the bottom). Turn the heat down once it starts to froth and let it continue to simmer until you reach the desired gel thickness (you don’t want it too runny or too thick). Once ready put a sieve or stocking over a container to strain out the seeds from the gel (the seeds are still good to use in your cooking or sprinkled on cereal!). Store the gel in the fridge as is, or you can add any of the following for added shine, body and fragrance: 1 tsp vitamin E oil, few drops of lavender, rosemary, tea tree essential oils (or your favourite fragrance), glycerin, macadamia oil. It can also be thinned out with water and put into an atomiser bottle for easy spritzing.
Recipe adapted from: https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/ingredients/the-best-diy-flax-seed-hair-gel-recipe-ever

Product News

We have found a new supplier of local WA Wildflower honey to tide us over until our regular supplier gets his bees back to work! We still also have the red gum honey as per usual.
We have added a number of new beauty products and ingredients to our existing stocks – rosehip oil, lemon essential oil, rosewater, magnesium salt flakes, avocado oil, aloe vera gel, stainless steel razors & shaving brushes, liquid deodorant plus atomiser bottles and roll-on bottles if you need something to help apply it.
Along with our Agreena silicone wraps and beeswax wraps, we have added fabric and silicone food wraps to help with your transition away from cling wrap.
Other new products in store now: hibiscus tea, stevia powder, rice wine vinegar, cinnamon sugar, 98% fat free tropical muesli.

Father’s Day
We have you covered for Father’s Day ideas, with gift vouchers, shaving kits, lollies and snacks, Dude Rock soaps, water bottles and insulated coffee mugs, and a range of teas and coffees.

In Store Recycling Changes
Please be aware that we are no longer collecting beauty product packaging for recycling as Terracycle no longer collects these items. We are still accepting donations of the following, but please make sure to separate them before dropping off – putting them all into a single bin here in store just contaminates the recycling stream.

Batteries
Plastic bottle tops (e.g. milk bottle tops)
Aluminium ring pulls
Oral care products
Printer cartridges

Donated Jars

Thank you to everyone that has been donating clean, label free jars for others to reuse in store. We are thrilled to see fewer jars with labels being donated as it is very time consuming for us to be removing them in store. It takes us away from being able to keep goods as refilled as we would like and being able to spend more time making your time with us as enjoyable as possible. So thank you!!

Know someone who’d like to be kept up to date with what’s happening in-store? Anyone can sign up to the newsletter here or like our Facebook page to be kept up-to-date with the latest news.

Wasteless Pantry Mundaring News: 11 August 2019

You are part of something big!

Did you know that 230 MILLION people participated in Plastic Free July this year?! Whether you made small changes or dramatic lifestyle shifts to reduce waste this month, know that everything you are doing is making a difference. The waste issues are still there, but every time you role model doing things a little bit better, you are helping to shift ‘normal’ toward better practices that help the planet and everything that is living on it. Jeannie & I now get to focus back in on the stores after being out in the community heavily spreading the waste free message, and it’s great to see old and new faces in the store. We love seeing the wide variety of containers being used over and over, especially because they are just ordinary containers. Macoona jars, jam jars, random plastic tubs, all sorts of ordinary things that everyone has available to them. Please know that you and your containers don’t need to be Instagram-able to shop with us and to make a difference. Ordinary is okay. Ordinary is great! Ordinary is what makes the world a better place. Pretty is nice, but totally unnessarily to improve things right now, today, in this moment. So bring out your ordinary and be your ordinary self. You’re in good company and we appreciate everything you are doing!

What’s been happening at the store:

* The liquid deodorant is finally in store! So if you want to go refillable on your deodorant we have scoopable paste deodorant, as well as liquid for spray or roll on application. (We have the containers too if you need them)

* We are gearing up for Father’s Day on Sunday 1st of September. We have new gift vouchers available and the new shaving kits are proving very popular. We are very excited to report that our supplier is now offering the shavers and shaving brushes without plastic in their packaging!!
* It seems that coffee is sustaining everyone on these cold days. Just remember that we have lots of teas and drinking chocolate available too so you don’t end up with an eye twitch

* We have recipes for dahl and soups on the wall ready for your winter cook ups. We’re stocked up with lentils, dahl, split peas, beans, coconut milk powder, stock powders, herbs and spices for making curries, stews, roasts, dahl and soups galore.
* Thank you to everyone that has been donating clean, label free jars. We are thrilled to see fewer jars with labels being donated as it is very time consuming for us to be removing them in store. It takes us away from being able to keep goods as refilled as we would like and being able to spend more time making your time with us as enjoyable as possible. So thank you!!
* You might notice that we have the Boomerang Bags box back at the front of the store. We have plenty of fabric to keep us going for a while yet, but if you have any bags to return, please just pop them straight in the box when you are next in the area.

Waste Less, Live More

Amanda & Jeannie

Winter Warmers without Waste

It’s not as cold as it should be but I’m still feeling the winter chill!

There is nothing like the comfort of a hot beverage to sooth the soul on wintery days. At Wasteless Pantry we have quite a range of goodies for making:

Hot Chocolate
Loose Leaf Black Teas
Herbal Teas
Coffee Beans
Turmeric Latte
Chai Latte
Beetroot Chocolate Latte (just add beetroot powder with cacao powder and your sweetener of choice to milk)

We have a range of tea and coffee making accessories if you need them too!

Did you know that you can make bath teas using our herbs and teas in one of our strainers or soap nut bags to add a bit of aromatherapy to your soak. If you add a small amount of bicarb soda and epsom salts (which we also have available) to your bath it will soften skin and relieve tension in muscles.

Warming foods can be comforting and healthy too!

How about trying out porridge made with oats, muesli (for added flavour), buckwheat, millet or quinoa? Top with our honey, maple syrup, golden syrup, dried fruit or sugars if you like something sweeter.

Or dahl, casseroles, stews, curries and soups made with our wide range of beans, lentils, split peas, powdered stocks (vegan friendly), herbs and spices?

Although, not everything has to be super healthy – maybe you’d like our custard powder and warmed brownie mix for a bit of an easy treat. The beauty of going package free is that you could just buy enough for to make one mug of custard or a mug chocolate cake if you wanted. You could, it is possible.

We have a bunch of recipes at the store to guide you and of course, you can buy just enough for the recipe to try it out waste free!

In case you want any of these recipes to go, we have insulated food flasks, travel coffee mugs and insulated beverage bottles that will keep your goodies warm for hours.

I tend to get into baking more in the cooler weather, the oven acting as a heater for the kitchen is an added bonus. If you do too, you might want to consider reusable silicone baking sheets or muffin cups to reduce the need for baking paper or pattie pans. We have them available for you to check out at our stores too.

There are lots of ways to keep warm on cool days without creating waste with Wasteless Pantry!

Low Waste Gifts for Dad’s

Father’s Day is nearly upon us (it’s on the first Sunday in September) and you might be thinking to yourself, “What should I get Dad this year?”

You want to get him something that is thoughtful, environmentally friendly (the search terms green gifts, eco gifts, zero waste gifts, gifts for waste-free Dad come to mind), and something that he might actually use.

We are here for you at Wasteless Pantry!

Firstly, let us remind you that Dad probably just wants to know that you love and appreciate him, which requires very little to express. Maybe you could cook him a meal, go out with him on an adventure, or just head out for a drink together? None of these things is hard to do but might mean the world to your Dad.

Secondly, if you feel weird rocking up empty-handed and you really want to give a gift, maybe consider something consumable like Dad’s favourite snacks or coffee (brought in a reusable container at Wasteless Pantry of course). Or you could find something secondhand that has sentimental value, like that book you used to read together as a kid or a beer mug from his favourite tavern when he was growing up. Or you could make something out of reused materials, like all those pallet frames and furniture that pop on Pinterest every year and show off all the carpentry skills he spent hours teaching you.

And if that’s just not going to work for you then we are happy to help you out with a few other ideas too:

Stainless steel lunchbox - something big and sturdy, or even stackable - that he'll think of you when he uses every day for lunch
Stainless steel water bottle - pick the size that works best for Dad, insulated or not, so he is always hydrated but doesn't have to buy disposable plastic ones any more
Food flasks - for keeping food and drinks hot or cold whilst Dad is out and about
Travel coffee mug - whether it's glass, flexible silicone or stainless steel we have one to suit Dad
Shaving kits - we have stainless steel safety razors, new blades, shave pucks (low waste shaving cream) and shaving brushes available
Coffee kits - think plungers, stove top espresso makers, reusable coffee pods and coffee beans with flavour descriptions like "strong great all rounder" just like Dad
Tea kits - we're talking teapots, tea strainers and so many loose leaf tea options (in both our tea and herbs sections)
Toiletries - maybe what Dad could use is a shampoo bar, dude rock (manly soap), bamboo toothbrush, plastic free floss, bamboo comb and natural deodorant (we have scoopable paste deodorant or refillable liquid deodorant in masculine scents on hand)
Toilet paper - if you have a Dad who spends a lot of time in the bathroom then maybe he'll appreciate the light reading that comes with each roll, particularly the red emergency roll

If it’s just too hard to pick, then don’t! We have gift vouchers too so your Dad can choose for himself (and we can email them if you prefer too).

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there!

Top picture credit: Photo by Szilvia Basso on Unsplash