Plastic Free/Zero Waste Challenge - Day Five, Six, & Seven FINAL (+ Fundraiser Update)
The past few days have been spent at my boyfriend’s place living a normal, everyday life with plastic. You see, we have many things in common but out lifestyles differ. It made me think how difficult it can be to find a balance.
Nonetheless, I have learned a lot in the past week while trying to live with less plastic. It was definitely a difficult experience just as much, if not more so, than an enlightening one.
Plastic pervades every aspect of our lives and it’s near unavoidable unless you do a complete overhaul of your current lifestyle. It takes determination (or just plain stubbornness), time, and research. But once you do the research, it gets a lot easier! So here is what I learned this past week…
The most plastic production came from three main sources: food packaging, hygiene products, and cleaning products.
To avoid plastic from food packaging you can make your own food, buy bulk, and shop at local farmers’ markets. A lot of plastic comes from pre-made food but sometimes even the most basic of ingredients are packaged - like lettuce in those square plastic boxes! Buy bulk ingredients using glass jars, shop for fresh produce at markets, and cook your own meals instead of buying pre-made. The additional benefits include saving money and eating healthier!
To avoid plastic from hygiene products you can cut back, make your own, or find plastic free alternatives. Most shampoos, conditioners, lotions, makeups, etc. are made with chemicals and come in plastic bottles. Once you run out, you feel the necessity to buy a replacement. I am fine with cutting out a lot of unnecessary products like makeup but if it something you enjoy, there is no reason to give it up altogether! So you can make your own with simple recipes! This is both cheaper and healthier, but it can be time consuming. If you don’t have the time, simply shop for alternatives. I was amazed by how many plastic free shops I could find with a little time and effort! That’s why I created my Product Spotlight Series - to share these awesome resources that not many people know about but could easily switch to if they wanted! It’s a minor change that makes a big impact!
To avoid plastic from cleaning products you can make your own, consolidate, or find plastic free alternatives. Almost every cleaning product that sprays, scrubs, and foams will come in a big, plastic bottle. Most of them contain a lot of unnecessary ingredients as well! That’s why you can easily make your own using simple things like vinegar, baking soda, or a cheap alcohol. You can also consolidate many of your products into one multi-purpose cleaner. If you make your own, you can even put them in the original plastic containers in order to reuse them before recycling. Otherwise, search for plastic free alternatives. Again, saves a lot of money and trips to the store.
Overall, the main thing I learned is to keep in mind that it is a lifelong process and it gets easier. It may be difficult to shop differently or make your own products at first, but once you get in the groove of things, a plastic free lifestyle will take less time and effort (and be totally worth it)!
Fundraiser Update
T-shirts sold: 0
12 days to go!
Photography from Pexels and used under the CC0 license.
Yes, I just love this! I was ranting about garbage and plastic just last week. Saving up some room for another one to come! I love that you've given options to get people thinking. I try to do this as well as I believe a big problem is that we are wasting blindly which is too sad. Great initiative Kiara <3
I enjoyed your challenge this week. I'm going to write about it today. Guess what; I failed. :)
So much waste going into landfills and the environment, even in the oceans. SMH.
Hence why I tried this challenge and am in the process of changing my lifestyle while sharing my story with others (to hopefully inspire them to do the same)! :)
And you are inspiring :)
Very useful and informative article..
I enjoyed reading it.