People are very "out of sight out of mind" that is why participating in this challenge is so beneficial. It brings our consumption habits to the forefront of our minds. After several weeks of participating I am hyper aware of little things, like which restaurants use ceramic or metal sauce containers and which have single-use plastic containers.

I think that bamboo toothbrushes are great. I do not currently compost, so I am worried about how to properly dispose of it once I need a replacement brush. But it definitely uses less plastic and is an easy switch!

It was very easy for me to bring all of the reusable items. The hard part was convincing my family that we needed to use the items instead of paper plates, plastic bags, and plastic cups. I convinced them that I would do any dishes we created and I would bring all bags/cups/containers with us places for everyone to use. It was hard because my family didn’t really understand why I cared so much and they actually felt like I was telling them they are bad people for not trying as hard as I do. I want them to change their ways, but they don’t listen too much because it hurts their pride. It’s has definitely been difficult, but I just try to do what I can and hope they let me.

I would explain to them I just don’t want to use the single-use plastic or styrofoam containers when I have my own reusable ones. I could tell them that it would cost them less money in the long run. If they have a problem because of sanitation, I’d ask them to just put everything on one of their plates and I’d transfer it myself. If they even refuse after all of that I honestly would tell them that I’ll just have to take my business elsewhere.

Growing my own herbs allows me to avoid buying pre-packaged herbs from the grocery store. Over time it will save a lot of plastic and energy from packaging and transportation. 

I’ve been meaning to buy one all month, but they have been out of stock. I ended up buying another type from the Plastic Free Shop. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m excited to! I hear they are a much closer shave. What I really like about it is that you can mail all the dull razor heads back to the company so that they can recycle them!

I loved doing this challenge this month. I don’t eat fruit very often, but in order to do this challenge I ate fruit lots of days this month and I really enjoyed having the cool snack on hot days at work. I will continue bringing fruit to work as snack from now on!

Picking up trash is something I’ve always tried to do, but it’s not always the easiest to want to do if I don’t have a trash can nearby or a way to wash my hands. However doing it this month has shown me that it’s such a simple thing to do that can have a big impact.