Update: Not So Perfect Plastic-Free July

Hi friend! Welcome back to the blog. Today I have an update on how my Plastic-Free July went. What I learned and how I hope to get better.

So this year I felt more prepared for Plastic-Free July, I thought and prepared ahead of time. This time I decided to buy essentials like totes and vegetable bags, buy Blueland cleaning products, and try out shampoo and conditioner bars. I continued my habits from the previous year like using my reusable water bottle and bamboo toothbrush. I made sure that going to work I bring my own utensils. I also made sure to give myself and others grace in reducing plastic. We live in a world where right now it is pretty impossible to not come across some sort of plastic. It’s everywhere but the whole point of Plastic-Free July is to make others more aware of that as well as create good habits.

Well, the beginning of my Plastic-Free July was going pretty well. I did notice that my plastic was coming from snacks that I enjoyed consuming. So what can I do with this information, well I can make my own snacks but I’m not going to lie that seems like a lot of work. While I do plan on trying to make my own snacks, I reached out to the company that I like and asked if they would be willing to change their packaging so that it's not plastic. This is something we often forget to do but as a customer, they care what we think since we buy from them.

I also made lots of content for social media to teach others about Plastic-Free July and how they can reduce their plastic. I also shared with others that it helps to share what you learning with others. I shared about Plastic-Free July with my coworker this year. I also learned a lot myself. I decided to read How to give up plastic: A guide to changing the world one plastic bottle at a time by Will McCallum. This book is great as it gave great tips on how to avoid plastics in different parts of your home similar to Kathryn Kellogg’s book 101 Ways to go zero waste. It also helped you with how to write petitions and make a change in your community.

So like I said first part of Plastic-Free July was going well but in the second to last week of July, my family and I got COVID. And well all my plastic-free processes went out the window. From medicine to disinfectant products a lot of that was plastic. It made me realize that when it comes to medical stuff a lot of it is plastic and for a good reason. The whole point is to not contaminate others. So at first, I felt bad but then I gave myself grace it was more important for me to heal and get better than worrying that I was using plastic. So this made me think not all plastic is bad, especially in the medical field, that is like that because the health of others is more important. While this year didn’t go as planned I am grateful for all that I learned and the habits I created.

Friends, I hope this reminds you that it's okay to fail and to change our perspective on how we approach situations. Progress and new habits even if they are small are better than no progress.