Category Archives: green living

Remembering my reusable totes…

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Photo by Dave Takisaki on Unsplash

Do you have a hard time remembering to take your reusable totes into stores with you? I do, at least for non-grocery stores. I’ve trained myself pretty well to remember to bring at least one in with me, but when I shop for other things, clothes, household items, etc. I rarely remember.

But I’ve come up with a couple of ways to help me out.

First, after emptying my bags, I put them on a hook by the front door so when I’m grabbing my keys and purse I can grab them too. If you don’t have a hook or place to put them by the front door, how about putting a note on the front door or with your keys reminding you to grab them as you walk out.

Second, I put a little note on my car dash to remind me. I usually store my tote bags in the back of my car. And as we all know, out of site, out of mind. Hopefully, with a little practice I’ll get the hang of it. Depending on where you shop, some stores are offering a little credit when you bring your own bags. In my area, Whole Foods and Target both offer this, although at Whole Foods I’ve always donated my credit. I know it’s not a lot, but I hope that it will add to others and make a difference.

Do you have any ideas on how to remember your totes?

Jane

 

I’m going plastic free… well, sort of.

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photo of single use plastic bottles

Photo by mali maeder from Pexels

I recently read an article about how much the plastic patch in the Pacific Ocean is growing. (You can read the article by clicking here  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43490235 ) Not only is this patch getting larger, but I learned that there are actually 5 plastic patches circulating in our oceans.

And that’s only the plastic getting caught up in the gyres.

Plastics can take 100s of years to breakdown. Nobody really knows how long, and some estimate that some types could take up to 1000 years. If we keep adding to the pollution at this rate, where is it all supposed to go? Will we all be living on mountains of it?

And it’s not just the fact that plastic takes so long to breakdown, and there’s no conceivable way the planet can hold it all at the rate we’re using it, but the environmental impact is truly disturbing too. Do a quick internet search and you’ll find plenty of articles on the subject. Most with pictures to further convey the message. Pictures of various marine life dying from eating plastic objects or plastic particles. Stories about chemicals leaching from the plastic getting into the water supply and the havoc it cause to the human body. The list goes on.

So, as they say, I must be the change I wish to see in the world, so I’m committing to reducing the amount of plastic I use by challenging myself to a Plastic Free April. You may have heard of Plastic Free July, if not you can learn more by clicking here http://www.plasticfreejuly.org/ .

Let me start by clarifying that this doesn’t mean I won’t be using any plastics during the month of April and beyond. I need to use a computer to keep my job, as well as the phone, the copy machine, I need to take transportation to get to said job… you get the idea. It means I’m going to avoid single use plastics, unless medically necessary, as well as any other plastics I can learn to live without. I have no objections to a plastic free life, I just don’t know how to do that.

Looking around my house I’m becoming more and more aware of how much plastic I have laying around and how much ends up in the dumpster. It can get very discouraging. I like to think of myself as a super green, environmentally enlightened steward of the planet. But the truth is I’ve been trashing on mama earth pretty bad. Time to step up and do better.

I hope you too will look for ways you can reduce your unnecessary plastic consumption. Together we can make a huge impact. Who’s going to join me?

♥ Jane