Hey earth muffins! The start of August means the Plastic Free July challenge is over. Did you participate this year?? Ever since I started my eco journey, the amount of single-use plastics has drastically decreased in my daily life. But, the PFJ event is a great way to refocus on breaking the habit of using pesky plastics. In today’s post, I will be sharing my personal recap of this month long challenge.
What I Was Aiming to Do
Before the month of July, I had been getting lazy on my sustainable journey. I think this stemmed from a few things:
- Being busy at work
- Trying to furnish a new house with secondhand furniture and decor
- Feeling a bit uninspired with my content on Life of an Earth Muffin
Like I mentioned above, I don’t use a lot of plastic on the day-to-day. I did some reflecting before the challenge and decided I wanted to focus on two things during the month of July. First, I had been getting into the habit of ordering more takeout than usual. I really wanted to focus on reducing the amount of takeout, which would reduce my plastic waste as well. Secondly, I wanted to get inspired on my sustainability journey again! I’ve always had my ups and downs with eco-friendly living, so I hoped to get back to an upwards trend again.
Did I Knock the Takeout Habit?
I’ll be fully honest – this definitely wasn’t my most successful Plastic Free July. Compared to the year I conducted a waste audit, I used more plastic than I would have liked. Which means I totally ordered takeout a few times in July. 😬 I won’t be too hard on myself though, as I definitely was more conscious about meal planning for the week to ensure I did actual cooking. I am going to continue this going forward now that Plastic Free July is over.
Am I Feeling More Inspired?
I do think this challenge was successful in giving me a bit more motivation to get back into my journey. Maybe it was from all the PFJ content on Instagram or the fact that I thought about my eco choices a bit more this month… But my eco-friendly living was definitely more top of mind! I pushed myself to explore some eco centers/places around my city, read a few books about sustainability, and am looking forward to a long vacation where I hope to spend much needed time in nature. 🌳
Overall, I would classify this Plastic Free July as a successful one. I am feeling excited and motivated to continue to grow on this eco journey… And of course keep sharing it all with you! While I wasn’t able to knock the usage of all plastics, I made steps in the right direction and will continue to reduce my plastic going forward. How did your Plastic Free July go? Comment below and let me know your successes during the month of July!
Love,
Jenna ♥
I think it’s important to be mindful and make progress, but also allow for human moments, like takeout. You are doing amazing things!