Avoid Temptation! Places or Things to Ditch on Your Plastic-free Journey

Hi waste-free lovers! In today’s post, I explore the places I’ve come to find create some of the most waste and just how easy it is to avoid them. Single-use plastic items are everywhere! It’s one thing to reduce your plastic consumption in your own household, but the challenge becomes that much greater when you try to dine out or hit the town for the night. Most places don’t even know where to begin when accommodating the plastic-free lifestyle. And some places can’t do anything about it.

Here’s a list of places (or things) to ditch on your journey.

1. Nail Salons
Have you had a manicure recently? If so, you probably noticed the amount of plastic they use once and then throw away. Fingers get wrapped, polish gets wiped off, and mini nail files get tossed. There’s plastic wrap where you set your hands down, and there’s plastic bags spun around your oiled-up fingers. My suggestion: stay at home and paint your nails in the comfort of your own house!

2. Take-out Food (bring your own!)
Nobody loves Chinese take-out more than this girl right here. Sadly, when you order take-out, the food comes in flimsy plastic containers with single-use utensils and straws. Avoid this waste by offering to bring in your own containers before your food is done, so they can package your meal using your dishes. Simply ask when ordering to not include utensils with your food either—after all, you’re taking it home where you have silverware. If you plan to eat your meal at the park, or somewhere other than your house, don’t forget to pack utensils before you head out. I love finding use for my travel-size bamboo utensils. Plus look at the adorable, convenient cloth bag they came in.

3. Coffee Shops
16 billion disposable coffee cups wind up in our landfills every year on average. These are coated in a plastic lining and takes ages to decompose—and in landfills where the resources to help objects decay are far and few, they sometimes never biodegrade. These are also definitely not recyclable. Easy hack: bring your own cup! Some coffee shops even offer discounts to people that use their own mug.

4. Cigarettes
I’m not here to preach the reasons why smoking is harmful. However, I will say that cigarette butts are also dangerous to the planet and its animals. Cigarette butts are almost always littered and can be consumed by birds and other creatures. Ditch the cigarettes—or dispose of them properly.

There are plenty of other places and things we can avoid (or bring our own to) in our plastic-free adventure. But like I’ve said before, I’m starting small! Send suggestions my way on how to go waste-free—I’d love to hear them.

Have a Holly, Jolly Plastic-free Holiday

As December quickly approaches (and so does the snow—eek!), I’m beginning to plan for the holidays. I love to be with family this time of year, and I especially enjoy giving just the right, thoughtful gifts to those loved ones. I’ve been thinking about this year’s holiday shopping list a lot, as it’s a little difficult keeping Christmas plastic-free. From gift bags to the presents inside of them, the majority of holiday items on the market are bursting at the seams with plastic. In an attempt to keep the festivities as zero waste as possible, I’ve provided a breakdown of easy hacks to keep this season plastic-free.

Hack: Wrapping Paper and Gift Bags

This year, ditch the gift bags, tissue paper, and wrapping paper, and wrap your gifts in newspaper or cloth. If you really want to use gift bags, tell your family and friends that you’d like to keep and reuse the bag and to return it once they unpack their gifts. You can continue to use these bags for every holiday.

I think this year I might not even wrap my gifts and just hand deliver them in cloth grocery shopping bags. I’ll pretend I’m Santa passing out toys from my sack to the children!

Hack: Single-use Plastic Gifts

I love getting scented candles and bubble bath as gifts—especially during the cold winter months. There’s nothing more relaxing than putting those and a glass of wine to good use. However, candles often come with harmful chemicals in their wax, and bath goodies are almost always in plastic bottles. I decided that this year I’d make as many of my gifts as possible, like all-natural soy candles (recipes here and here) and sugar scrubs in glass Mason jars (recipe here).

People will appreciate that you took the time to make their gifts, plus the candles and scrubs will smell amazing (and be all-natural!).

Hack: Shopping for Clothes

It’s funny; as a child, I hated getting clothes for Christmas. What a rip-off, I wanted a toy! Now, I love getting new clothes, whether it be a business top for the office or running pants for the gym. I do most of my clothes shopping at secondhand shops (in our area, we have a consignment store, Plato’s Closet, with a BUNCH of trendy, cute clothing to choose from). What’s old to one person is new to another, so give your family and friends the gift of a secondhand outfit. This helps reuse and recycle clothing, instead of letting it pile up in a landfill. Plus, you’re bound to find a great steal that you can’t get at the mall.

Hack: Retail Chains

In my city, we’ve got a great market that features local vendors, who sell everything from handmade artwork and handbags to bath bombs and soaps. You’re likely to have something similar in your area, just ask around or Google for suggestions. I like to support these sellers for a number of reasons; they’re local, yes, but their products usually come in minimal or no packaging and are made of all-natural, real ingredients with no plastic in sight. I actually got a really great reusable cloth sandwich/chip bag from a waste-free vendor there.

Writing this blog post has gotten me even more excited to get cracking on my gift giving this year. I can’t wait to share with you all what I give my family and friends!

Going Plastic-free with Your Dog

I love my dog, and he is a wonderful addition to my family! When we adopted him this past year, I began to brainstorm how to care for a pet as plastic-free as possible. Turns out, a lot of pet supply producers had a similar thought—I was amazed at how many eco-friendly companies were out there when I begun my research.

A major concern I had was taking care of my dog’s droppings. It’s common to use plastic shopping bags or even paper towels to clean up their messes outdoors, but I knew this wasn’t what I wanted to do. Luckily, plant and corn starch-based bags were invented specifically for cleaning up doggy doo. They are biodegradable and eco-friendly. You can order bags in bulk online, but I actually found plenty of options at Home Goods and Burlington Coat Factory (for those of you with these department stores in your area!). They’re also sold at pet stores, but at a bit of a higher price.

When it comes to giving my favorite pup some well-earned treats, I also try to eliminate any use of plastic. Store bought dog treats usually come in plastic wrapping, so the best way I’ve found to cut out plastic is to make dog treats myself. There are plenty of delicious and healthy recipes out there for dogs of all sizes and breeds—favorite ones I’ve found have you mix up some ingredients and pop them into a silicon ice tray to freeze. Of course, I still have to purchase the ingredients (most of them use peanut butter) that come in disposable containers, but I make sure to buy food that comes in recyclable or glass containers. When I have to buy plastic in this case, I prefer to use the kind that can be recycled.

Dog toys are also easy to find in zero or minimal wrapping. The less packaging they come in, the better. Unfortunately, it’s been difficult for me to find toys that are plastic-free that my dog won’t destroy. The most success I’ve had is buying durable, all-natural bones from farmer’s markets and butcher shops. These bones last forever and entertain my active chewer! They’re entirely plastic-free and just about as waste-free as it gets.

If you have any plastic-free pet owning tips, I’d love to hear them! Send them my way!

My pup! ^

Plastic-Free Vacationing

Even on our days off, it’s our responsibility to live waste-free. The mindset most of us have when on vacation—whether that’s relaxing on the beach or traveling the streets of a European city—is that “I’m only on vacation for this one week… I don’t normally use this much single-use plastic!” Last year when I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic, I was disturbed by the hundreds of plastic straws and cups that were used and discarded every day. The thing is, beaches are full of environmentally-conscious people that just spend one careless week by the water. But that careless week is every day for the planet. Therefore, I’m here to share with my fellow tree-huggers ways to vacation plastic-free (or close to it)!

• First and foremost, I try to travel with an idea of what I’ll need and what I can easily bring. This means that if I know I’m going to be sipping a latte every morning on my business trip, I bring my own travel mug. Even when I fly, I can store the empty mug in my carry-on with ease.
• Say no – if you already have a glass to drink from, and you’re just refilling it with the same strawberry margarita mixture, then kindly ask the bartender to refill the glass you’re already using instead of getting a new one. If it’s plastic ware, this easy trick will minimize the amount of plastic you’re disposing of. And if you’re drinking from glassware, re-using the same one will cut down on the amount of water needed to clean the bar’s cups at the end of the night.
• Nine times out of ten, if you’re served a drink at a hotel or restaurant and it has a straw and a lid, those items are going to be plastic. A simple fix to this issue is to just drink from the glass, making sure to ask for no lid or straw before you’re served. This significantly reduces the amount of plastic that will be used once and then tossed in the trash. Bonus points if you bring your own reusable straw!

It’s surprising how easy it can be to make a big impact. When you’re out in the sun enjoying your holiday, or if you’re at a company-sponsored conference, keep in mind—Mother Nature doesn’t take time off. 😉

How do you all minimize the amount of plastic you use on vacation? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Living Plastic-free (or close to it!): In the Kitchen

How do you live plastic-free in the kitchen? When it comes to food packaging, single-use plastic containers and wraps, and everything in between…it’s hardly possible to keep that space in your house waste-free. A beginner myself in the journey to live a plastic-less life, I’m starting with the basics.

To begin the quest to turn your kitchen plastic-free, start with a few key steps:

1. How to Say No to Plastic Wrap – it’s 2018, which means there are plenty of plastic wrap alternatives out there. Rather than single use wrap to cover leftover pasta salad, a block of cheese, or a bowl, use something more durable and long-lasting. The quality of items on the market right now will blow your mind. Personally, I use Bee’s Wrap multi-use wraps to cover dishes and leftovers. They mold to the item they are covering simply with the warmth of your hands. Typically, these wraps last about a year—and they’re easy to wash!
2. Bulk Food – to eliminate on food wrappers and packaging, invest in some large mason or glass jars to store bulk items. As green living becomes more and more mainstream, grocery and health food stores are providing options for bulk buying. Commonly, rice, coffee beans, and pasta can be found in this bulk food aisle. All you do is bring in your own jar and fill it up with your favorite dry food. This cuts out the “middle man,” in a sense, and allows you to stock up on food without having to trash any unnecessary plastic wrapping.
3. Clean Up – forget napkins and paper towels; be resourceful and waste-free with reusable cloths and towels. Instead of using paper napkins, invest in fabric napkins that can be washed and used time and time again. As an alternative for paper towels, I suggest buying rags or small towels to soak up those sticky messes. You can even cut costs by using old T-shirts or towels to wipe away crumbs and grime. While this doesn’t cut down on plastic usage, it does significantly reduce unnecessary waste in the kitchen.

I’ll later dive into more specific components to plastic-free kitchen (and all around the house!) living, but since we’re all just starting this journey, the basics are a great stepping stone. No need to get overwhelmed here. 😉

-Spencer