I went in the little cupboard to put a couple of salt sachets and a mayonnaise one in my little 'freebie bowl' and realised just how full it was getting.
It was time to do something about it. 😀
I sorted them all into like-with-like piles and was amazed at how much that little bowl had held, and how much I had collected.
I then started adding the salt to the salt tub, the pepper to the pepper pot and the sugar to the sugar jar. The sauce sachets all went back into the bowl, along with a few each of salt, pepper and some sweeteners just in case we go self-catering anywhere in the near future.
The biscuits were popped on the shelf ready to take out with me should we go somewhere for a coffee. Alan usually buys himself a cake too, but there's rarely any dairy-free options for me, so a biscuit stops me sulking. 😁
After trying one of the coffee sachets, I decided they were so like the Nescafe instant coffee that I usually drink, that I might as well open them up and tip them all into the little jar that I keep on the worktop.
Of course I will continue to bring home any sachets and napkins that are given to us and that we don't make use of in the shop. In fact I have even gotten to a stage whereby if I see something that is completely untouched left behind on a table, I will claim that for myself too.
I'm not quite at the stage of Sarah Wilson, who used to write about asking strangers for their leftovers if they were about to get up from a table in a restaurant leaving good food on their plates, always having little zip-lock bags and containers with her just in case.
I don't think I'm that committed to avoiding waste ... yet!!
Sue xx
I hate waste, so like yourself I have accumulated a small pile of sachets. I now have a small pile of Barbecue sauce pots (McDonald's), gathered from meals on the hop during the few weeks I spent hospital visiting.
ReplyDeleteI would, however, draw the line at asking strangers for their leftovers. Xx
It shows that we haven't had any holidays this year, usually I would take all these freebies to our various self-catering cottages or lodges and they would be used up throughout the year. I only this realised the other day after reading my post back.
DeleteI don't like to see food go to waste, but, like you, I don't think I would ask strangers for their leftovers! That would be a bit too much, I think.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't think I could ever ask a stranger, I did once almost take a large handful of tomato ketchup sachets off a table when the people left, but the table clearer swooped in before I could build up the courage and swept them into the bin, so I do need to get a bit braver. :-(
DeleteThere's a limit to what I'd do to avoid waste; certainly I wouldn't ask strangers for their leftover food. But I also feel awkward about taking salt, pepper and sugar sachets to bring home. Surely they aren't thrown away by cafe owners? Unused offerings on your table are for your use if you need them on the items you have purchased - sugar in your drink, condiments on your meal, etc. Otherwise, customers would have to ask for such things if needed which would then necessitate time-wasting efforts on the owner's part? Taking such items without paying for them is akin to stealing . . .
ReplyDeleteYes, those things are thrown out by the restaurant. 1) because they are considered to be used whether they are or not (somehow contaminated by the customer) and 2) not an efficient use of time on the part of the cleanup crew. But mostly #1. Anything left loose on the table has a very high probability of being tossed. So I wouldn’t feel bad about taking those items left on a table unless you are talking about cleaning out the table packet stacker (sugar). ~ Carol
DeleteRambler - I never take items that are out on the table in containers of any description where you help yourself to what you need. Virtually all the cafes we visit give you set items with set foods. Once they are on your tray they are yours to use. If you don't they are binned as soon as the table is cleared. Occasionally if they ask if I want a sugar with my coffee I will say yes and bring it home with me. As I drink my coffee black and with no sugar it was pointed out to me by a member of staff in the Booths café that I am 'a cheap date'. Coffee is the same price whether you take it as simply black or with milk and sugar. I never steal, and I'm hurt by your implication that I would. 😔
DeleteCarol - Thank you. xx
DeleteI don’t like pointless waste.
ReplyDeleteWe were at a festival during the summer and someone had left a pot of hand sanitizer on a fence post - it went straight into my pocket.
It’s got a secure click-open top and holds enough for a trip out.
I draw the line at finishing a stranger’s meal but years ago we joined friends for a drink in a pub while they were eating their dinner.
They left most of their meal - we asked if we could finish it?
Saved us having dinner later.
I'm always amazed at the things people leave behind especially when it's on purpose, good for you picking up the abandoned hand sanitiser.. My grandson has his own removals business and has a contract with a letting company to clear houses that people have moved out of leaving most of their possessions behind. I am always astonished.
DeleteYou only have to sit in a cafe for a few minutes to see that the little unused individual packets and sachets, stirrers and napkins etc left on trays and tables are usually binned...........these items are costed in as part of the price of the food and beverages on offer. It makes perfect sense to take them home .
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
Definitely when they are classed as part of your meal and costed into that meal or drink by the company, it just makes sense doesn't it.
DeleteWow, it's completely different here, rarely any "freebies" ☹️ On the occasions we have breakfast out we have to ask for ketchup or tomato sauce and there is certainly no HP sauce available😱 It was great to see the collection of all the freebies you have🤩
ReplyDeleteIn most of the places we go to you are simply asked 'red, brown or mayo', it's just classed as part of the meal. They always put a couple of salt and pepper sachets onto the tray and usually quite a few napkins. It's rare since Covid times that the condiments are in pots on the tables, but one place we go to still does it and obviously there we simply use what we need.
DeleteIf we are out and have scones, I always take the rest of the little jar of jam home and then reuse the jar for craft materials. I notice now that almost everywhere asks if you want condiments/ milks/ sugars and I think this may be to save waste. You are absolutely right to take away these little packages to save them from being dumped. At our lunch for older people we have now started providing it in a box so that people can take away any bits they want to eat later-it has proved a great hit and reminds them of Sunday School picnics! Catriona
ReplyDeleteYes, I have acquired quite a few tiny pots that way, there's usually way too much jam just for Alan's scone in a jar. If they give him too many butters I always bring them home too and he uses them when he's frying something instead of or as well as oil.
DeleteGood for you Sue. I see what you are doing with all the sachets as the same as reusing a shopping bag, taking your own non-plastic water bottle, etc. It is criminal when perfectly good, sealed items are put straight into the bin.
ReplyDeleteI went out for lunch this week with a couple of elderly friends who could not possibly finish their meals because the portions were, frankly, obscenely large (don't get me started on another cause of obesity!!) None of us expected this and had no baggies that we could take the surplus in, and the place we visited was just not geared up for us to take away the excess. It was such a waste . . .
Sue, I can't see another way to let you know that one of the blogs in your side bar has a problem, according to my security software. It's the Always Smiling blog: I got a warning about phishing, and BitDefender sent me back to safety. The blogger may not know there's an issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. 🙂
DeleteI have the same problem only I see a red large warning saying this website has been blocked😔
DeleteSue, I apologise unreservedly for my post causing you distress. Having read through my post again, I wish I could delete that last sentence. I honestly hadn't intended inferring that you were stealing, but it does look like that and I' m truly sorry. After reading the posts from others who use cafes, I realise that my own experiences are limited: I only ever go to 2 small cafes locally, run by volunteer and they are so very different to the ones described above. I merely buy my cappuccino at the counter then sit down at a table to drink it and chat with friends. There are dishes with sugar sachets on each table - that's all. If I buy a toasted teacake I am given butter and a serviette. Customers take their used crockery back to the counter.
ReplyDeleteSo I wasn't aware of the protocol where items are binned when tables are cleared.
I have loved your blog for ages and feel as though I know you so PLEASE forgive my stupid post.
Apology accepted and you are totally and completely forgiven, don't worry about it. Now excuse me I'm off with my swag bag as we speak, to round up sugar sachets. 🤣😂
DeleteIt’s funny I collect sachets when I’m out. Even when we stay over in places . My mum and dad do as well. We are not as bad as Chinese aunties you need to watch videos on those they are hilarious. They are well like hawks in for the kill.
ReplyDeleteAnything free they are there and includes, produce bags, loo roll I kid you and free tram rides. They push kids out of the way and they will fight to the death! It’s awful we watched one auntie on a plane once try to take a tray of packaged biscuits off the steward Paul had to step in and she was restrained and arrested at kansai it was horrid.
Wow I've never heard of Chinese Aunties. You know what I'm going to be looking up next time I'm on YouTube don't you. 😀
DeleteWow! That's a lot of sachets! x
ReplyDeleteHaha ... it really is. I didn't realise how many I had until I tipped out that bowl, how on earth did they all fit in there?
Delete