5 non obvious tips to help you thrive during Plastic Free July
By now, most people already know that plastic is far from fantastic. We see more and more people ditching single-use plastics and companies getting creative with their packaging. However, even when you try your best, life sometimes throws a curve plastic ball from which it’s hard to escape. That’s why we stand for balance and introducing little changements where you can. We’ve listed up some less obvious tips to thrive during Plastic Free July. They’re all easy peasy lemon squeezy so that your Plastic Free July can be worry-free too!
1. “NO, THANK YOU”
The first tip is as simple as it can be: refuse stuff you haven’t asked for in the first place. Think about it, over time we collect a lot of useless items that we don’t want. The plastic promo bag, plastic straws at your favorite cocktail bar, receipts you don’t need (yes, there’s plastic involved) and even most chewing gum brands contain polyethylene, the same ingredient used to make plastic bottles and bags. The solution? Simply learn to say no, thank you.
2. CLEANER THAN CLEAN
Did you know that you can substitute most of your cleaning suppliers by 1 single home made product? When it comes to DIY cleaning products, white vinegar and baking soda are your best friends. They serve as a natural disinfectant for all around the house. Mix white vinegar with water to create your own multi-purpose cleaner. Pro tip: add in some lemon essential oil to cover up the vinegar-y odor. You can use this magic concoction to clean your kitchen and bathroom surfaces, sinks, windows and plugholes. Not only will this save you plastic, but also chemicals and money.
3. WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…
… you make your own bleaching agent. Citrus juice can actually remove stains from chopping boards AND it serves as a laundry whitener. Just throw around ⅓ glass of lemon juice with your wash-load for snow white laundry.
4. PUT YOUR PHONE IN A NEW OUTFIT
Ring ring, it’s the plastic police on the phone: they want their plastic phone case back. Did you know conventional hard cases as well as soft cases are either made up of polycarbonate, polyurethane or polypropylene. In human language: plastic, plastic and even more plastic. Luckily it doesn’t have to be that way. Small companies are putting some natural alternatives on the market such as cases made from hemp, wood, bamboo...you name it.
5. FIND SUPPORT IN A ZERO WASTE COMMUNITY
If the previous four tips, motivated you to go an extra mile, you can always reach out to like-minded game changers in an online community. There are tons of people out there willing to ditch single-use plastics. Just keep your eyes open for zero waste Facebook groups or Instagram pages and be amazed of all the creative plastic-free swaps out there.
We’ve made a tiny selection to help you get started.
Living Consciously Crew on Facebook
Zero Waste Community on Instagram
Trash is for Tossers on Facebook
Wastefreeplanet on Instagram
Have you read our blog post on zero-waste picnicking yet?
