Adventures from my plastic-free challenge ♻
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I’ve mentioned this a few times, but for those who may be new here’s a small recap: this year, in addition to my usual long list of goals and resolutions, I’m also doing smaller monthly challenges. Dry January, Snail Mail February, No Spend June, etc. Last month was Plastic-Free July, and it went… okay.
It was easy to avoid single-use plastics like to-go coffee cups, water bottles, and shopping bags - I never leave home without my travel mug. Harder to banish from my life were other forms of plastic. Tubes of toothpaste. Dog food. KIND bars, which are free at work and thus extremely hard to turn down.
During Plastic-Free July, I absolutely used plastic. Quite a bit of it, actually. We live in a world where at least some plastic is unavoidable. My goal was to cut down on the stuff that's used once and throw away. The plastic in my car, which I will drive for the next ten years? That’s fine. The plastic bag of potatoes I buy each week at Trader Joe’s? Not fine. Kind of dumb, actually.
Although I couldn’t avoid plastic completely, I did make great strides in my plastic-free goals, mostly in the kitchen. I shopped at Harris Teeter instead of Trader Joe’s (if you know me, you know this was a real sacrifice) and bought all my vegetables from the loose bins. I took mason jars to Whole Foods, had them weighed at the front desk, and filled them with lentils and popcorn and peanut butter from the bulk food section. I ate watermelon and bananas, which come in their own 100% natural, completely biodegradable packaging. I still bought bread, but we used the bags a second time, to pick up dog poop in the backyard. Hey, no one said being eco-friendly was glamorous.
As always, there comes a moment in each of these monthly challenges where I wonder why I put myself through these things. If I skip one day of my self-imposed yoga streak, will it really make a difference? Will one glass of wine during Dry January negate all the benefits? Who really cares if my box of pasta has a little plastic window? I’m one person, and the world is full of garbage. Why bother?
And then I repeat my most powerful mantra, the words that guide my life: why not? Sure, the impact I make by bringing my reusable water bottle may be negligible, but so is everything else I do. Each sentence I write, each dollar I save, each person I love - it’s all temporary, all futile. We’re all going to die one day, so why not do the best we can while we’re here?
It’s August now, but I plan to keep up my July habits, and hopefully add some new ones. Plastic-free, zero-waste, living a life with less trash - it’s a long and flawed journey. We live in an imperfect world, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make it a tiny bit better while we're here. 💛
🌱 Plant of the Week 🌱
Yesterday, my husband and I spent the day visiting plant nurseries, and ended up bringing home quite a haul of new babies. My early birthday present, we decided, as we carried yet another plant to the counter. Our best find was a trailing succulent called String of Pearls. It had been on my wishlist for a while, so I was thrilled to finally score one. As we paid, the owner of the nursery told us how hard they were to find, and how lucky we were. He was right.
Relatable Reads
How We Stopped Counting Calories and Learned to Love Spindrift, Vox. I have only recently discovered carbonated water and started with LaCroix, the gateway beverage, mostly because they stock it at work. After reading this article, I immediately bought a six-pack of raspberry lime Spindrift. Reader, I'm never going back. 🥂
This is the Beginning of the End of the Beef Industry, Outside. "This will be generational. All change is. Most Baby Boomers are going to stick with their beef, right up to the point where their dentures can’t take it anymore. But Gen Z will find the stuff as embarrassing as Def Leppard and dad jeans." YES, YES, YES. 🐮
Why You Should Start Binge-Reading Right Now, New York Times. "There is no team of brilliant and vaguely sinister engineers, cooking up ways to get you binge reading. There is no auto-play technology frictionlessly delivering you from one chapter of the novel you’re reading to the next. There is only you, alone in the silence of your room with a chapter break before you and your phone cooing at you from the dresser." 📚
A Tiny Challenge
Today marks the six month anniversary of this not-so-humble newsletter. (Humble in subscribers, yes. In ambition, no.) I've learned so much about consistency, communication, and open rates, and I'm so grateful for every single person that takes the time to read this weird little experiment of mine. This week, tell me the last time you tried something totally new. If you can't remember, may I suggest today?
See you next Sunday! 💌
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Venmo: @Christine-Hennessey