It’s the most wasteful time of year
With those popsicle wrappers, and tinfoil tacos at the beach with your pals! It’s the most, wasteful time...of the year!
we recently did a bit of a work-cation in Florida with the family and we were been able to hit up the beach the last couple afternoons after homeschooling.
While it’s literally just the most restful thing every, we were super disappointed by the amount of trash we found even on the beautiful West Palm beaches. It‘s one thing to see a bunch of washed up trash, it’s entirely another to see people actively leaving trash behind because they can’t be bothered to pick it up.
Surely it’s always been the case, but this year our lenses is different. we see plastic and waste in a new light because of the choices our family has made.
So this begs the question, what do you do about your own wastefulness in a time of year that so easily lends itself to excess trash?
Well...lest we sound like a broken record...but you plan. You plan even just a teeny tiny itty bitty bit.
Here are FIVE tips on how to be less wasteful this summer that won’t have you breaking a sweat:
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1. REUSABLE CUPS
1. Keep reusable water bottles and cups with you at all times. Even have a few extra in the car so that you can refill on the fly. This way you aren’t tempted to impulse buy a beverage.
2. TIP: If your kids are melting and you’re out of water, buy a big gallon size at the store and fill everyone’s jugs up from there instead of buying a ton of single use bottles.
3. Our favorites: Involved & Evolved
Involve & Evolved make amazing double-walled, sweat free, BPA free, insulated water bottles that keep colds cold for 24 hours and hots hot for 12 hours. Plus they have pledged to donate 1% of all yearly generated sales to nonprofits that conserve our planet!
2. KEEP TO-GO CONTAINERS ON HAND FOR TAKEOUT
1. Having reusable plastic cutlery, plates, bowls and napkins on hand is a beach saver and a time saver. Just store them in your car so that when you order take out your prepared!
2. TIP: If you really can’t with all the extra dishes, just buy some biodegradable options and keep them in your trunk. Then you can still toss everything but you don’t add to the problem!
3. Our Favorites: Earth Hero Bamboo Utensil Set
EarthHero is an incredible shopping site where you can buy all things eco-friendly and beautiful. They have their own set of bamboo utensils for on-the-go at a really reasonable price and they even come with a carrying case so you are less likely to loose them. Also check them out for their kids sizes.
3. SKIP THE STRAW
1. This is the #1 landfill killer because we are entering into the season of SO MANY DRINKS. Just say “no” to the straw and either use one you have on hand or put that drink into your handy reusable bottle we talked about in #1.
2. TIP: Straws are generally most useful for iced beverages, if you ask for LESS ICE you get MORE DRINK and you don’t need the straw. You’re welcome.
3. Our Favorites: Kleen Kanteen Reusable Straws
If you just can’t say “no” to the straw life, I get it. I’m all about those smoothies with pretty straws. These are our favorites because they’re durable, made of metal, and have a tooth chomping protector in different colors. I can’t say that they’ll make your drinks taste better...but they’ll at least look cooler. Plus Kleen Kanteen is one of our favorite eco friendly brands!
4. BRING A BAG
1. Of course you already have your reusable totes in your car for groceries. But what we’re talking about here is having a stash of trash bags at the ready so when you do hit up the beach you can quickly do a trash check of your surrounding areas and clean them up quickly. Leaving the place better than you found it!
2. TIP: Know that you will encounter other people’s trash when you hit any public space. Teaching your kids about caring for the environment starts in these inconvenient but pivotal moments where you make it a priority to clean up your surroundings, even if it isn’t your fault.
3. Our favorites: Honeydew Golds Organic Cotton Produce Bags
Filling up one of those beautiful bags by Honeydew Goods means you can just tuck it into your glove compartment with extra old grocery plastic bags in them so you can pick up trash when you’re getting that goddess tan.
5. CHECK YOUR FRIDGE
1. Before you head out on vacation make sure to go through your fridge to see what you can freeze so that you don’t have tons of rotten food when you get home. Consider seeing if a neighbor or friend would want any perishables. Sounds weird, but actually it’s a total blessing for other people.
2. TIP: Use our inventory charts to stay up to date with what you have in your fridge, pantry, freezer and spice draws so that this doesn’t take ages.
3. Our Favorites: Honeydew Goods Pantry Inventory Chart
Keeping a running inventory of what you have on hand helps you save money because you aren’t buying ALL THE THINGS at the store when you’re hangry. Plus it’ll help you know what to freeze and throw before you go.
6. BONUS! MEAL PLAN!
1. I’m obsessed with meal planning. This will save you HUNDREDS of dollars people. If you’re going on vacation, try to come up with a loose (or specific, whatever you like) meal plan so that you know what snacks to get, what items you’ll need for the meals you make, and what meals you’ll want to throw out.
2. TIP: Having a plan going into vacation helps you save loads of money and also keep tons of single use items out of the trash, which lands....that’s right...in a landfill.
3. Our Favorites: Prep Dish Meal Plan Service
I love PrepDish because they give me the menu that I shop for each week. This has made travel an absolute BREEZE. No having to remember to cancel subscriptions boxes, or throw away impulse buy perishables from last week. You’re always stocked with what you need just for that week so when vacation time comes you haven’t wasted anything! And then you can just access that same menu from your airbnb and stay on track with your health goals.
Kudos to you if you decide to do every single one of these things, but honestly, even if you just tackle one of them this season, that’s fine! It’s an improvement on last year and if everyone just tried to improve one behavior every year, we’d be in a much better place.
Plus, caring about this stuff is great for the planet and we all know that. But the real benefit here is that as you learn to be conscientious of your surroundings, so will your kids. By teaching them to care for their environment and showing them the impact they can have, you’ll teach them that they are powerful and able to create change. It is also proven that children who are taught to care about more than just themselves are more compassionate people. More compassionate people have the ability to completely change the world. And we’re all in the business of raising little world changers aren’t we?
Let’s Do This Together,
Alyssa
P.S. Check out our amazing Organic Cotton Produce Bags that revolutionize your environmental impact immediately!
