12: Hollie Barber and Sara Bills: Plastic-free family life

The Intentional Mum

“Zero- waste living is an ideal that really really hard to achieve so it’s about the journey not the destination”

In this episode I’m joined by the creators of the #setmeplasticfree challenge for Plastic-free July, Hollie Barber and Sara Bills.

In this episode we discuss going plastic-free and why it’s not all or nothing. We chat about how the #setmeplasticfree challenge got started, including planning during late night feeds and how it is such a positive movement. Hollie and Sara are honest about their sustainability struggles when it comes to family life. But Sara and Hollie also offer plenty of tips for being more sustainable.

Sara and Hollie connected on Instagram through their love of cloth nappies and found that they shared many of the same parenting values, including becoming more sustainable. After months of chatting online Hollie and Sara eventually met in person and found that they get on just as brilliantly in real life.

We also talk about how important Instagram can be for new mums to make connections – especially in Covid times where face to face connections at baby groups are limited. Hollie and Sara’s friendship is a brilliant example of why online friendships can be just as important as face-to-face friendships, especially if you are struggling to find like-minded parents.

Hollie and Sara give an insight into what’s coming up in this month’s challenge including sustainability on a budget and why this is so important. It’s a great challenge to join in with if you are thinking of doing plastic-free July.

Mentioned in this episode:

• #setmeplasticfree hashtag on Instagram
• Zero-waste periods
• Mooncup
• Eco guilt / eco shaming
• Baby-led weaning
• Cloth nappies
• Ebay
• Facebook Marketplace
• #haveyuleselfanecolittlechristmas hashtag on Instagram
• Hollie’s zero-waste Christmas
• National hygiene week

You can find Hollie on Instagram @rainbeauadventures and on her blog Rainbeau Relaxation.

And you can find Sara on Instagram @raising_earth_punklings and on her blog Raising Earth Punklings.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/a.minimalist.mother

Website: www.aminimalistmother.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/intentionalmum