On the Jersey path to zero waste - the end of week one!

It hit me, at exactly 3.30am on New Year's Day, that this path to zero waste isn't going to be an easy walk in the park.  Three and a half hours into my zero waste journey (and slightly tipsy) I was happily scrubbing the make up off my face with a single-use cloth wipe plucked from a plastic packet.  Luckily I only use make-up on high days and holidays, so this packet of face wipes will probably last me a good few months, but once they are finished I'll trial some other, natural, plastic-free methods of make-up removal and tell you how I get on - or better still, share your tips with me!We eat a fair amount of fish in our weekly diet, but in the last few years seem to have fallen into the habit of picking up plastic-wrapped fish as part of our supermarket shop.  This week I took the the baby step toward zero-waste by deciding to take a fresh look at what alternatives there are for buying fish on the island, starting by reacquainting myself with the Fish Market in Beresofrd Street.We're lucky in Jersey that we still have a thriving Fish Market in the centre of town, and have the choice of three fishmongers to choose from; Dunn-Ross Fisheries, Faulkner Fisheries and Fin and Feather.The first thing that struck me is just how healthy and fresh the fish looked.  Okay, so they looked like fish, with head and eyes and all, but I'm not so far removed from my food that I don't know what a fish looks like, so I'm happy to see them in their entirety.  The nice thing about being in the fish market, rather than staring into the sterile supermarket shelves, is that you can ask the fishmonger questions - is it caught locally, how do I cook it, please can you use your dangerously sharp filleting knife to prepare it for me.......The second thing to strike me was the selection of fish available, such a lovely variety of fish to choose from.  If I'm honest supermarket fish usually consists of salmon, cod or kippers, but at the market we had bass, grey mullet, turbot, gilthead bream, lemon sole, monkfish, plaice, brill and Dover sole.And not just fish, but a whole selection of fresh seafood too; oysters, whelks, prawns.....I chose to visit the lovely Graham Smith of Dunn-Ross Fisheries, taking with me my glass pyrex bowl and it's plastic lid. I made my choice of bass fillets and casually asked him just to pop it in the dish, With no other wrapping - and he didn't even bat an eyelid! No problems! My first major zero-waste win.  Huge choice, fresh and plastic-free fish, no fuss, and best of all no unnecessary packaging. Zero waste!I now have a zero-waste option when it comes to shopping for fish! There are other fishmongers around the island - such as The Fresh Fish Company and Battricks, as well as fishmongers in a few of the larger supermarkets.  All I can suggest is to ask; I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be acceptable for you to take your own vessel to buy fish.  The hardest part is getting in to the habit of taking a dish with you to go shopping in the first place.This is the extent of my rubbish for week one - one plastic bag weighing 1.9kg - destined for the energy-from-waste plant.  This mainly consists of non-recycleable plastics.  We also have a collection of recyclables - paper, cardboard, metals and plastic bottles and, as we have been finishing off the last of the christmas chocolates, a collection of crinkly wrappers for various crafting groups.AND (drum rolls please.........) I haven't purchased anything new this week, except for food items.  Which, to be honest, is quite normal for me anyway.  I hate shopping! But we'll just wait until I see that one 'must-have' item, and see how well my resolve stands up then.And as for the challenge about de cluttering my life of stuff? Well...... given that it's a bit of an odd week (think New Year partying, after-effects plus the starting of a new job) I wasn't inclined to start a huge decluttering project.  Baby steps........ Whatever I am tackling, be it decluttering, trying to be zero-waste or a project at work, I always try and break it down into manageable tasks.  That way I'm not overwhelmed by the huge volume of work to be done (have you seen the junk in my attic?) and I get a real sense of achievement when I finish the small task, which then motivates me for the next one.  So this week I tackled a small but messy set of drawers lurking in a corner of my kitchen.  Seriously, who needs 79 pens? Isn't that a life time supply? This has been suitably de-cluttered and now houses a modest supply of stationery (including 20 pens, which is still a lifetime supply), my (thinned down) map collection and my 2 birdwatching books for twitching out the the nearby window.  I have a small bundle of items to be gifted on - either to a local charity shop or the Jersey in Transition gifting table which we run on a month basis (https://www.facebook.com/groups/jerseyintransition/)I even have an empty drawer.  Empty! Nothing to fill it.  It has no purpose.  I'm quite traumatised and keep trying to think of something that could be housed there.  I think I need to de-clutter my brain as well as my belongings........So, all in all, a good start on my Jersey path to zero waste. How did you get on? Come and join the discussion on the Zero Waste Jersey facebook page.