5 EASY ECO-FRIENDLY WAYS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS (AND THE PLANET) COOL THIS SUMMER
The weather is warming up, and summer is here, for now anyway.
The kids are getting back from school hot, tired and maybe a *teensy* bit grumpy. So how can we help them to keep cool (and keep their cool with their siblings and save mummy's sanity...) without trashing the planet with plastic?
I'm glad you asked....
PLASTIC-FREE(ISH) ICE LOLLIES
The easiest thing in the world is to keep a stash of ice lollies in the freezer - they tend to guarantee at least three minutes peace and quiet (until one melts and falls off it's sticks with resultant tears and wailing) BUT I'm reaching a point where I just can't cope with the guilt of binning all those lolly wrappers every day.
The solution it seems, is to make your own - and it's not as onerous as you might think.
Find yourself some ice lolly moulds - I've done a round up here of some the best/most recommended.
Fill them with juice, smoothies, yoghurt, squash, and pop them in the freezer. When you need one in a hot and cross child related emergency situation, run the moulds under hot-ish water for a couple of seconds and they should pop out nicely.
WATER BOMBS/BALLOONS
When did water balloons become a thing? You turn your back for a minute and suddenly the shops are full of teeny tiny pieces of plastic water balloons, some with bigger bits of plastic for filling them up , or tying them off. And then suddenly your garden is full of even smaller bits of plastic from where they've been thrown and popped, all just waiting to be snaffled up by a passing wildlife. Whose actual idea was this?!
And of course, the kids love 'em.
Instead of water balloons, be the mean (but ultimately far kinder by giving them an actual future) mum who gives them a bucket and a couple of old sponges to lob at each other/your clean windows/the washing that's been hung out and is just about dry.
If you're feeling really keen/have the skills/time/inclination, you can even crochet them their very own set of water bombs!
PADDLING POOLS
OK, hands up, not the most eco-friendly choice in terms of water consumption, but do what my parents did and fill it once, and then leave the water to get progressively more tepid and filled with grass/leaves/dead bugs.
The eco bit of this is what you do with it after it (inevitably) develops a puncture leaving you with a whole heap of plastic destined for landfill and the kids whinging at you to get another one.
Well I can't help you with the whinging kids, but I can help you with the plastic destined for landfill bit - send your sad deflated paddling pool off to Wyatt & Jack for their #inflatableamnesty and not only will you not be adding to landfill, it will be turned into a drool worthy fabulous bag!
Hear more about Wyatt & Jack and the #inflatableamnesty in this episode of the Sustainable(ish) podcast.
WATER PISTOLS
We have yet to find a water pistol that doesn't give up the ghost within a week or two.
So why not save the time, and the plastic, and use something you already have.
Plastic bottles with sports cap work well giving a fairly satisfying 'squoosh' (technical term) of water when squeezed.
ICE CREAM IN CONES
Oh yes, we all scream for ice cream.
When you're out and about, if you have the option of ice cream in a tub, or a cone, go cone. The tubs are plastic lined (that's why the ice cream doesn't leak out when it melts) and difficult to recycle. AND you'll get given a pointlessly small plastic spoon to eat it with.
Go with a cone and save the planet from not one, but TWO pieces of pointless plastic!
