To My Grandma, Plastic Wasn’t Disposable

Learning 'Joyful Inconvenience' from Grandmother's Kitchen

Last year, my grandmother passed away.

She raised seven children in a poor household during Korea's difficult times. When my grandfather suddenly decided to become a missionary, the responsibility of making a living and raising the children fell entirely on her. She sewed clothes that her children wore in turn and stretched every meal to feed the family. Perhaps because of this, my grandmother never knew how to throw things away.

Previously, I had talked about reducing what I own—but here was my grandmother, holding onto everything. At first, it seemed contradictory. But maybe it’s not that she didn’t know how to let go—maybe it’s that we, as a society, have created too much to begin with.

When our family gathered to organize her house after her funeral, we were shocked to find every cupboard filled to the brim—even the kitchen cabinets. She had carefully washed and neatly stacked plastic containers from finished supermarket food like yogurt or ice cream. Though she used them to store grains and other items with care and precision, the sheer number of containers made it clear—she couldn’t possibly use them all.

A Different Perspective on Plastic

We see plastic as something to use once and throw away. But for my grandmother, plastic was never meant to be disposable.

In her generation, everything was precious, and using things for as long as possible was simply the way of life.

Plastic Wasn't Always Meant to Be Single-Use

From the beginning, plastic was invented as an alternative to limited natural resources:

• Celluloid (1800s) – Created to reduce the over-hunting of elephant ivory

• Bakelite (1907) – The first durable synthetic plastic

• Polyethylene & Nylon (WWII) – Innovations that advanced military supplies and medical equipment

But as industries grew, companies made plastic disposable to sell more, faster.

Old advertisements promoted plastic as a "magical material that freed people from household chores." Though durable, it was cheap to produce, so throwing it away after one use became normal.

Now, plastic is causing massive global issues.
Only 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled. The rest? It’s still out there. And by 2050, there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

Plastic Isn’t the Enemy—Our Habits Are

Plastic itself isn’t the problem—it’s how we use it.

If we use it wisely, reuse what we can, and only consume what’s truly necessary, it can still serve a purpose—just as my grandmother believed.

Embracing 'Joyful Inconvenience'

Lately, I’ve been learning about ‘joyful inconvenience.’

Yes, avoiding single-use plastics can be inconvenient. But when I think about the impact, it feels good.

I can travel just fine without disposables, and even though it takes a little extra effort to use reusables, I often find myself thinking:

☕ "The coffee in my own tumbler stays warm longer."

This is what true convenience looks like.

I may never live as frugally as my grandmother did, but I’m trying—to own only what I need, use things for a long time, and reuse them whenever I can.

Would you like to try 'joyful inconvenience' too? 😊

Penny

Founder of Tidalove

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