My Journey Towards a Plastic-Free Life

Ok, ok don't freak out–I am not completely quitting plastic cold turkey. That's a little intense...at least for now. In the past few months, I have been seeing more and more bloggers and people in my life taking steps to limit their plastic use. At first, I didn't see the point and I continued to use my Ziploc bags and Starbucks plastic cups.Then, I guess from all of the exposure online, I became hyperaware of how much plastic I really use waste. Each plastic baggie that I pulled out of the drawer only to throw away 2 hours later began to pain me. I have been on the reusable water boat since I got my first Swell bottle last year but I have never been aware of all of the other waste I produce, until now.We are aware that plastic is not good. Plastic pollutes our oceans, is not biodegradable, and honestly plastic products are expensive–because we keep on buying and buying. While there are a lot of things I need to eliminate in my life in order to be completely plastic-free, I wanted to take a few steps because that's better than nothing, right?

FIRST STEPS:

First off, I placed an order on Amazon.

1. 2 Stasher Bags (reusable silicon baggies)
2. Washable produce bags
3. Avocado Saver
4. Healthy Human Tumbler

I realized that the biggest things I wanted to reduce was Ziploc baggies and the to-go cups from coffee shops/restaurants. I have a tendency to only eat half of an apple or half of an avocado and then I just put it in a plastic baggie...the next day when I eat the other half, that baggie goes straight into the trash only for me to need another one for some other type of food I don't eat all of. I also buy a good amount of fresh produce at the grocery store and the plastic bags for that are just getting to be too much.

Why Am I Doing This?

Besides the obvious of reducing my carbon footprint and taking steps to save the planet, there are a few reasons why I wanted to do this.

• I will save money! I go through Ziploc bags like nobody's business. With all of this fresh food in my fridge, I will be more apt to cook instead of ordering in or going out to eat. #win
• I will eat healthier, whole foods! If you notice that (most) all processed foods come in some kind of plastic packaging. While I am not giving up all processed foods (one day!!), being more aware will lead me to buying more whole, unprocessed foods and maybe even experimenting with cooking my own cookies, breads, etc.
• Inspired by Lee From America (and many other wellness influencers!
  • Lee did a whole post on Plastic Free Week! Some really good articles on what is problem with plastic is are included. These three articles really helped me wrap my mind around everything.
  • Plastic affects our health! I had no idea but "plastics are xenoestrogens, meaning they mimic estrogens in the body. And an excess of estrogen can cause hormonal imbalance. This can effect weight, mood, energy levels, sleep, fertility, sex drive and appetite." Read more here. (got this from Lee's post :))

Next Steps

So I am going to enjoy drinking matcha out of my new Healthy Human Tumbler, continue to drink so much water from my Swell, and avoid plastic baggies at all costs but there is still so much more that I can do. In the next few months I am going to research and try and eliminate more and more plastic from my life.Things such as:

• Switching from tampons to either a period cup/disk (I want to do a whole post on this but I am still in the research phase so just be patient)
• Invest in more glass jars/containers and carry them everywhere so I can find better ways to store leftovers from restuaurants (will be annoying but whatever, I already make so many substitutions for my food that not much could make me a more annoying customer haha.)
• Start drinking looseleaf tea instead of bagged tea (there's plastic in the packaging...annoying, right?)
• Keep on researching ways to reduce my plastic. There are a lot of things (like laundry detergent, toothbrushes, bottles for soap/shampoo/etc., and I'm sure more that I'm not even aware of) that have plastic in them/in their packaging.

All in all, a lot of this is about awareness. While it may not be completely feasible to swear off plastic for the rest of your life, there are things you and I can do now to reduce our plastic use. It's crazy once you become aware of your habits, you see how wasteful you are. This is in alignment with my intention for the year of being more present. How can you be present in the moment without being aware of your daily habits?Here's to growing my S'well bottle and Mason Jar obsession!