Hey earth muffins! As I mentioned in my August newsletter, my participation in Plastic Free July wasn’t that successful this year… (Which, sidenote, if you aren’t subscribed to my monthly newsletter, you should!)
My success during the challenge last year (as seen by my waste audit) was pretty incredible, so I think part of my feeling that this year wasn’t the best stems from that. BUT, it is important regardless of the success to challenge yourself to live a more sustainable lifestyle. This blog is dedicated to sharing my passion with you all, so I thought I would share my failures and successes of this Plastic Free July. As Hannah Montana famously said, “Nobody’s perfect, you live and you learn it”. π So, let’s jump right into it!
The “Failings” of My Plastic Free July
As I have mentioned previously, my boyfriend and I just moved across the state into a new apartment. With moving comes a lot of plastic, paper, and other waste that I would not normally encounter in my daily life. While there are tips and tricks for avoiding some of this waste when moving, there were still unforeseen instances where I came across plastic this July. This doesn’t just include tape and packing boxes/materials; it also includes having to eat out during the move more than I thought I would have to.
When you are getting settled into a new home you also have to buy things that might result in extra plastic. While I was able to keep my plastic low in the grocery category by buying from the farmer’s market and bulk bins, I ran into some plastic in other places. A big one came from having to buy a Shark Steam Mop; all of our floors are original hardwood and there was a disgusting layer of dirt that we needed to get rid of. While the mop is amazing (and the pad is reusable/can be washed in the laundry), it came with a lot of plastic in tow. We also needed to buy a few things from Home Depot, which resulted in some plastic as well.
Successes and Looking Forward
Even though the move brought a lot of unwanted plastic into my life, it also allowed me to tackle some sustainability goals. Back in June I laid out 6 different things I wanted to achieve for this new apartment to help continue my sustainable journey. I am proud to say we made large strides on all of these during July!! In terms of decluttering, both my boyfriend and myself sold a lot of unwanted things on Facebook Marketplace. We have one box in our coat closet of items we still want to sell/donate; it is SO nice to have only the essentials in our apartment. π
For goal 2, we signed up for a composting service, which I shared on my Instagram a few days ago! The local grocery store I shop at has a great bulk section to stock up our pantry; and for goal number 4, this store actually sells milk in glass. It never did the past two summers I lived here for my internship, so I am excited! With this goal I also wanted to find a local to buy eggs from; but, we might be making our apartment egg free now. My boyfriend is actually allergic to eggs, so I don’t really see the need to have them in our home… Especially since I’m not a super fan of them myself. π€·ββοΈ
In terms of buying secondhand, I have been slowing buying the finishing pieces for our apartment from local thrift stores. Just look at this adorable soap dish I found for our bathroom! π
Lastly, I have been working on my boyfriend to keep his own plastic at a minimum. He loves to drink plastic water bottles and soda; but, he actually had an old Brita in his apartment. Now he is trying to switch to that instead. Baby steps are still steps in the right direction! π
Overall, while I wasn’t extremely successful in avoiding plastic this July, I do think I made a lot of great sustainable steps for my journey towards living low waste. π How did your Plastic Free July go?
Love,
Jenna β₯
