Hello, beautiful Roermond!
Things are going along quietly for me these days. I do live a quiet little life – there’s not much interesting to share with you.
For example, here’s an uninteresting subject – cleaning products. I’m getting to know the products here in Roermond. They’re a little different from the things I used before. It’s great that cleaning-strength vinegar is available here! I try to avoid plastic but almost everything seems to come in plastic spray bottles and no large bottles to refill them?
A few months ago, a friend told me about a smart new Dutch company called Pieter Pot. I signed up on their waiting list at first, but now I’ve been ordering from them for a while.
Pieter Pot is a crowd-funded Dutch company that started in 2019 with a mission to get rid of plastic (and other) waste. They purchase in bulk and deliver my orders in recyclable glass containers, which I return when I place my next order. Their prices are comparable to Albert Heijn and Jumbo. Ordering from them REALLY cuts down on waste, especially plastic.
Their food products are great, but I especially love the cleaning products they offer. Laundry soap in a thin sheet – weighs nothing and the box is completely recyclable or biodegradable. Dish soap in a bar – no plastic container! Cleaners in tablet form; put them in a spray bottle and add water – and they work just fine. Cleaners we buy in the store are 90% water – why pay for that? Not to mention the endless flood of plastic bottles.
Pieter Pot also offers personal care products. Toothpaste in tablets. Shampoo, conditioner, and bath soap in bars, without plastic wrapping. Like I said before, these products are mostly water – why should we pay to ship water? Why waste fuel carting heavy loads that are mostly water? And Pieter Pot has toilet paper and paper towels in paper wrap, not plastic. Hooray! That made me so happy!
Another thing I like about Pieter Pot is that their website is easy to use. It’s all in Dutch, of course, so I need to translate a lot (still…sigh). But it’s well designed and easy for a non-tech-talented person like me to use. And one time when I had a small problem their response was immediate, friendly, and thorough.
Now I see that Pieter Pot is negotiating with Albert Heijn so bulk products in re-useable non-plastic containers may be available there soon. That would be just wonderful!
So here in my quiet little life things are going along as usual. Next time maybe I’ll have something more interesting to chat about – we can hope!
Recherche Roermond 