"Plastic just might be the best and worst thing that was ever invented." Me - 2023

5 ways I decreased Plastic Consumption in my household:

1. Stop accepting plastic shopping bags

You know the pockets on the back of your driver's and passenger's seat in your car? Stuff them with reusable shopping bags. That's what I do. In the event I forget to bring them inside the store, I just ask the bagger to place the items in my cart and I bag them at my car. I don't miss plastic bags at all.

2. Look for alternative product packaging

I used to buy things like milk, orange juice, and eggs in plastic containers. The one day, I decided I'd only buy these products in cardboard containers. Guess what. It didn't impact my life negatively at all. When you are in the store and go to grab a product, look to see if a competitor has a non-plastic packaging alternative. There probably is one and you can easily switch brand and reduce your plastic consumption.

3. Cook from scratch

We're all busy, and ready meals are great sometimes when you're strapped for time, but those prepared meals are wrapped in plastic. Don't get me wrong, I still have some handy for those nights when I can't even imagine cooking, but for the most part, I no longer buy ready meals. I dedicate a couple hours on Sunday to meal prep. I make some ready meals on my own using produce I've purchased and brought home in my reusable shopping bags. Sometimes, if I have a busy weekend, I will simply prepare ingredients to reduce cooking time during the week. The food scraps I create by meal prepping are mostly compostable which brings me to my next point...

4. Compost

Isn't it crazy to put organic waste into a PLASTIC bag?! I think so. I will publish a more in-depth post on my composting journey but I want you to think about this one. If food scraps can be turned back into dirt, why put them in a plastic bag when you can just return the plants back to the earth? Composting your organic waste will reduce the amount of trash in your garbage can and therefore reduce your consumption of plastic bags.

5. Stop using plastic water bottles

I stopped using plastic water bottles during the pandemic when water fountains were taped off and not accessible. I haven't missed them. I'm a fan of S'well bottles personally but there are a ton of brands that offer similar benefits. I don't use glass because I'm clumsy but the stainless steel bottles are a huge upgrade compared to plastic. I can keep my water cold all day and tote around a reusable bottle that is easy to fill and fits in my cup holder. Now that I've started using reusable bottles, I can't believe I used to buy plastic one-use bottles.