I spend a lot of time focusing on all of the things that I’m not doing to save the earth. I look at the one plastic bag I got at Target because I forgot my reusable bag that day. I look at the plastic on my veggies that I purchased in a rush because I didn’t have time to go to multiple stores to find all of the unpackaged items I discovered during my 40 day plastic challenge. I agonize over the gift bag I bought for my nephews birthday present because I didn’t have a homemade fabric bag the right size for it. I’ve been falling deeper and deeper into a pool of environmental anxiety over this as I see articles saying we have so few years, so few months, until we are beyond the point of return and we set ourselves on a path of destruction that we cannot reverse.
So, now that I’ve also depressed you, I will tell you how I’ve been combatting the problem. I remind myself of the things I do every day, the things that have become so routine I forget that I made that change to do my part to save the world. I may not be doing everything, but I’m doing something. And that counts.
1. Reusable grocery bags for every grocery store visit
2. Loose leaf tea - no tea bags or boxes or packets
3. Washing my hair less - saving water, saving energy from water filtration, using less hair product overall
4. Turning off lights - My sister is so good at this and I’m fairly terrible at this, so I’ve been making more of an effort lately to only have lights on in the room I’m currently using
5. Glass Tupperware - I own only two plastic pieces of Tupperware. The rest are glass with plastic reusable lids
6. Less ziploc bags - I refuse to use ziplocs for daily things. Only for oddly shaped vegetable storage as needed. I use a slasher bag and a lunch sac for daily lunch items
7. Replaced plastic wrap with beeswax wraps. I haven’t used plastic wrap in two months
8. Washing and reusing aluminum foil, then recycling it. The only time I don’t try washing it is when I cook bacon. And lately I’ve stopped using it to make bacon, I’m just scrubbing the pan a little more.
9. Mason jars. Mason jars for everything. I brew my loose leaf tea in them, so I’m not buying plastic bottles of tea anymore, either.
10. Reusing packaging - every time I receive a package that contains stuffing/bubble wrap I bring that packaging to work so it gets a second life and gets used again when I ship items at work, rather than instantly throwing it away.
11. Composting. All vegetable/fruit/loose leaf tea goes into a bag in the freezer. That bag gets deposited into my friend’s compost pile.
12. Glass jars. I have found glass options for most items I use, including mayo, which is notoriously stored in plastic. Thank you, Trader Joes!
13. Using silpat mats instead of parchment paper
15. Refusing to use plastic vegetable bags in the store. I carry my own reusable bags and if I don’t have enough bags I just dump stuff into my cart.
16. Responsible recycling. I clean everything to ensure that it does not contaminate the recycling system. I also research what can and cannot be recycled
17. I donate to environmental projects
18. I pick up trash everywhere and make sure it finds a home in a trash can
19. I add notes to online food orders saying “no silverware” and I refuse straws when I can. I also have reusable straws at home
20. I have eliminated plastic from my dish washing routine. I use Swedish dishcloths, walnut scrubbies, and a compostable brush head and vegetable scrubber
21. I consume less meat than ever. And do my best to only purchase sustainably sourced, healthy meat. Or eat meat that I procure myself
22. Bar soap. I do not use body wash
23. Education. I educate myself and I do my best to educate others
24. I buy some items in bulk: cashews, popcorn kernels, seeds, spices, rice, noodles
And that’s all I can think of right now! But, I do feel better!
