This year, I vow to reduce my plastic consumption. I’ve always been mindful of plastic waste since I was a little girl because of school and The Earth Day Special movie. I was really impacted by it when I visited the Arches National park in Utah and witnessed a ton of plastic bottles dumped at the bottom of Delicate Arch.

Its disheartening to view pollution anywhere, but I never expect to see it in nature. Hopefully, we are all aware that there is a ton of plastic in the ocean, with no end in sight. We, as individuals, need to take a stand and advocate for more sustainable products and packaging.

These are a few of my strategies so far(they are not extensive or exhaustive, but I’m working on it!):

• Make my own deodorant, I use this site. I try to buy baking soda with no ammonia. You can find it at Sprouts.
• I go to lush for the shampoo and conditioner:
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• I also try to visit Farmer Markets and bring my own bag.
• Make your own soap
• Use coconut oil as lotion, or other items that come in glass or can be transferred to reusable jars.
• Started buying yogurt from a jar. Nounos creamery is delicious!

I have not gone to Whole Foods to attempt to use my own mason jars to pick up the bulk bin items to reduce plastic waste. I will create a new blog once I do! I’m sure they will be game. I will also try that at Sprouts!

There is one issue with the plastic consumption problem: Instacart. If you have not heard of Instacart, it is a personal shopping company that delivers grocery items to your home. We just tried the service this year and I have not figured out how to choose paper, instead of plastic, for the bags. So, I have a ton of plastic bags that I use as trash can liners.

We have not started composting, which I think will be the next move after I have tackled all of the other plastic issues.

I hope this post was helpful and will also modivate you to reduce, reuse and recycle!

Please feel free to comment on your tips and tricks.