How To Minimise Your Use of Plastic in the Bathroom
Today I have a fantastic guest post from Jai Richard, writer of the blog Tea for Bohemia, on how she has minimised the use of plastic in her bathroom.  
Like many people I strive to minimise the plastic that enters my house: I take my canvas bags to the supermarket, I don’t buy bottled water and, on occasion, I have been ridiculed for taking home and washing the plastic cutlery due to be disposed at the end of a picnic. However it was only relatively recently I realised that plastic need not be an unavoidable fact of life should I wish to be clean and smell nice.
For the dedicated the internet contains a wealth of recipes for cooking up your own soaps or how to boil linseeds to make hair gel. Fantastic! My bookmarks bar is filled with recipes and DIYs that I one day hope to get round to trying, but in all honesty being between houses, with all my worldly possessions in storage, and living in a pimped up cupboard under the stairs,there is a lot to be said for the convenience of simply being able to buy a deodorant.
After the jump find my suggestions for plastic-free alternatives to everyday bathroom products to make your bathroom a happier place!
Shunning all shower gels and liquid hand soap dispensers is an they not only use a tonne of plastic packaging but as they contain water as a main ingredient they are bulky and heavy, consequently requiring more vehicles and fuel for transport.
By comparison bars of soap are often cheaper to buy, require minimal (or no) packaging and more often than not, contain fewer environmentally damaging substances (for example the detergents in shower gels are often petrochemical products derived from fossil fuels).  Additionally, because you can’t be squirt happy with soap, soaps tend to last significantly longer.
This is a no-brainer, swapping your hand wash and shower gel for soap is win-win.
My favorite soaps can be bought online:
 The Little Soap Company describe themselves as an eco-savvy handmade pure soap company. The organic English Rosemary and Thyme bar is my favorite.
Soapnuts have a wonderful range of organic, vegan, hypoallergenic, chemical and cruelty free handmade soaps. How delicious does Banana and Buckwheat sound?
You’re Gorgeous carefully source products and handmake their soaps using traditional methods. They sell their soap by the kilo log for you to slice yourself at home – worth stocking up the cupboards with.
The same principle applies to shampoos and conditioners as to shower gels – the amount of plastic used to make the bottles, the often extortionate prices and the fuel consumption for transportation does not make them particularly environmentally friendly products.
Shampoo bars are the they last for the equivalent of approximately three bottles of shampoo, they require absolutely no packaging and their smaller size and weight make them more commercially portable.
If you ever tried using shampoo bars in the past and were disappointed, now is the time to give them a second go, they have come a long way. My first dabble in the world of shampoo bars left me with dry, static riddled hair but now, with the bar I use, I cannot tell the difference from regular shampoo.
Again, my favourites are:
I have used the Squeaky Green Solid Shampoo Bar from Lush fo it lathers wonderfully and my hair is shiny and healthy.
Soapnuts have a selection of shampoo bars that use the soapnut as soapnut shells are the only organic detergent that grows on trees. The Dead Sea Mud shampoo is on my wishlist.
The Funky Soap Company are a small handmade soap company based in London who sell their products, including some mean looking shampoo bars, conveniently, through Amazon and eBay. They carefully source ingredients to make intriguing bars such as Sea Kelp and Rhassoul Clay shampoo.
Hair Care and Styling Products
Despite searching high and low, I have yet to find a convenient alternative to the readily available hair products my partner depends on.  The best I have been able to find is Natural Hair Sculpting Wax from the Go Eco Store.  Ecocentric also have  has some incredible looking hair products but they are not a cheap alternative.  They sell styling wax, heat styling protection pomade  and conditioning treatments that all avoid using plastics.
Sadly with their high prices and postage costs and often less than generous serving portions, this is one of the less convenient changes to make. As for hairsprays and other such holding products, I think DIYs might be the most realistic, plastic free alternative.
Toothbrushes
Since discovering their existence I have exclusively used bamboo toothbrushes. It took a couple brushes to get used to the sensation of using a wooden toothbrush but really it is no different to using a regular toothbrush.  The key feature is that once exhausted the brush is fully biodegradable (although in our house they tend to get used for kindling).  I get mine from Save Some Green.
If wooden toothbrushes really aren’t your thing you could try Preserve T a plastic toothbrush that is ‘made from yoghurt cups’. You aren’t removing the plastic from your bathroom but you are minimising the damage caused by that plastic (although annoyingly they are packaged in plastic).
Toothpaste
Of all the changes I have made in my bathroom habits, changing my toothpaste was the biggie for me.  Whilst I can experiment with deodorants and shampoos, safe in the knowledge that the worst case scenario is I pong a bit – sensitive teeth and a dislike of the dentists mean compromise in the tooth department is not an option.
Whilst lots of ‘eco’ toothpastes are available, almost all use plastic packaging.  Toms of Maine were one of the few that used aluminum cases which could be recycled however they too have reverted to plastic recently (and in all honesty, the process that makes aluminum isn’t really all that grand).
In the end, after reading about lots of different toothpowders, I went for the most easily available option in the UK – Lush’s Toothy Tabs.  These come in a cardboard box containing 40 toothpaste tablets, which you chew on.  Once you’ve chewed on them they foam the same as regular toothpaste and then you brush your teeth as you would normally. Like tubed toothpaste, different tabs have different properties: Dirty is your bog- Atomic has antibacterial and antiseptic properties for combating par whilst Sparkle is the one to pick for tooth whitening.
Once you get past the weirdness of a non-tube based toothpaste, this has been both my most reluctant and my favorite change so far. In fact, when you forget to pack your toothy tabs and are required to borrow regular toothpaste at a friend’s house, you will be in awe that you ever could stand such a sludgy, saccharine product.
Again the market is saturated with ‘eco’ deodorants, all of which are
for example the Pit Powder deodorants look great, but you can only buy the product in a plastic pot.
Over the past few years I have tried many times to get along with the crystal deodorants that you can buy but, whilst some people swear by them, I never felt that they really worked for me. On quiet, wintery days they suffice but even mention the word exercise and their powers begin to fade.
I believe Lush deodorant bars are the b they are basically a roll-on deodorant without the plastic. I have used Aromaco for the last six months have no plans to change.
Bath Time Luxuries
Bath time is probably the highlight of my week and it is also probably the one of the easiest bathroom functions to keep plastic free.
Lush have a colourful selection of bubble bath bars, the perfect alternative to traditional liquid bubble bath, a little crumbled into running water goes a long way.
The Oakwood Soaperie sell perfect looking, luxurious bubble bath bars and bath bombs at affordable prices
The Eco Bath Company sell therapeutic, calming bath bombs either individually or by the kilo for the heavy duty soakers among us
I hope this guide helps you make a few changes to your bathroom shopping list.  A lot of Lush products have been included here because I depend on their products every single morning and I am a sucker for convenience – being able to get everything in one place is very appealing!  This by no means makes them the only or best product available – but they work for me!
Thanks Jai – what a great read!  It’s certainly made me think about the products I use, what about you?  
Be sure to have a read of Tea for Bohemia - it’s Jai’s daily chronicle, in which she documents her daily life and the simple things she does to help the environment .  I love it!
Images: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 /
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＞＞＞阅读理解。 It's 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (闹钟) r..
阅读理解。
&&&& It's 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (闹钟) rings in my ears. I roll out of bed and walk blindly throughthe dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favoriteexercise DVD, Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I face my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is of my face. It's a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit. &&&& Some people enjoy shopping, smoking, food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get througheach day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try justone bite of their grandmother's chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my "no thank you," orby my choice to have a salad. Over the years, I have learned it's okay to just say "no." I shouldn't feel sorry forrefusing food that I don't want to eat. &&&& So what drives me to roll out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say to ice cream?Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily anxiety, increases self-confidenceand energy, extends life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It's through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.
1. Why is there a smile on the author's face in the morning?
A. Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully. B. Because she finishes her favorite exercise. C. Because she enjoys the interesting DVD. D. Because she feels a sense of achievement.
2. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph?
A. She doesn't like others r politely. B. She likes to make others surprised. C. Others don't understand what she dose. D. Others try to help her by offering her food.
3. What does the underlined word "commitment" in the last paragraph mean?
A. Good health B. Firm beliefC. A strong power D. A regular habit
4. What can we learn about the author from the text?
A. She acts in a strange way. B. She wants to look different from others.C. She aims to develop a good body shape.D. She has difficulty getting along with others.
题型：阅读理解难度：中档来源：四川省高考真题
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健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。体裁有记叙文、 说明文、议论文和各种应用文。 健康环保类文章阅读技巧：
&&&&&&&健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。阅读此类短文要以现象或事物为中心进行思考，理解现象产生的原因、条件和客观规律等。同时要抓住事物的特征、用途和相互关系等。科普环保类文章一般为说明文，从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：&&&&&& 第一部分一般是文章的首段，主要用来提出文章的主题，即文章想要阐述、说明的主要内容；&&&&&& 第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干个段落组成，对文章的主题进行展开说明；&&&&&& 第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题进行归纳总结。这类文章多用一般现在时，而且一般多使用客观性词语表述。有时为了强调客观性，也常使用被动语态。&&&&&& 从近几年的考试题来看，科普环保类的文章越来越与人们的实际生活相接近。由于此类文章缺乏故事情节，很多同学对此类文章感到费解。但一般的科普类文章都是就事论事，需要逻辑推理和想象的时候较少，因此此类阅读题也没有同学们想象中的那么难，只要多加训练，就能较好地答题。【阅读策略】 1、概要(Summarizing)：&&&&&&阅完材料后，将所阅材料浓缩，摘要，做出所阅材料的书面或口头梗概。 2、组织(Organization)：&&&&& 阅读后根据阅读内容，识别观点、人物、事件之间的关系以及文章的结构关系。如：时间关系、比较或对比关系、相关关系及因果关系等。
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