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Articles on reducing your carbon footprint by living a low-impact,low- waste lifestyle that reduces harm to the environment.
Inspiring quotes on plastic for motivation
As the last post on Plastic-Free July, we will leave you with various quotes on plastic. Learn and make a change!
We covered Plastic-Free July for the whole month and we hope that you found something useful you can apply in your life. There is always so much to do, but usually so little time. But if we find some dedication to start, then the change will happen. You just have to make a decision. Today’s post is a selection of quotes to motivate you to get up and start implementing the knowledge into action.
I was inspired by DiverBliss.com for this list. She had put together a wonderful selection of inspiring quotes. Some of them are really simple, but most of them are thought-provoking and show you the real picture. We can always do something, so this is your chance to be inspired now.
- “If we pollute the air, water, and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.”– Dr. David Suzuki
2. “There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere.” – Annie Leonard, creator of film documentary The Story of Stuff
3. “It cannot be right to manufacture billions of objects that are used for a matter of minutes, and then are with us for centuries.”– Roz Savage
4. “I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.”– Saint Mother Teresa
5. “One of my big pet peeves is single-use plastic bags. I think it’s one of the stupidest ideas in the world.”– Philippe Cousteau, Jr.
6. “For all the environmental troubles single-use shopping bags cause, the much greater impacts are in what they contain. Reducing the human footprint means addressing fundamentally unsustainable habits of food consumption, such as expecting strawberries in the depths of winter or buying of seafood that are being fished to the brink of extinction.”– Susan Freinkel, author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story
7. “Forget bottled water; tap water is just as good! Pour it into a reusable water bottle, and always have fresh water on the go without wasting plastic.”– Ashlan Gorse Cousteau
8. “Of all the waste we generate, plastic bags are perhaps the greatest symbol of our throwaway society. They are used, then forgotten, and they leave a terrible legacy. – Zac Goldsmith
9. “When plastics do break down, they don’t biodegrade; rather, they break into increasingly smaller pieces, many of which end up in the oceans as microplastics that harm aquatic life and birds.”– Dr. David Suzuki
10. “We are being choked to death by the amount of plastic that we throw away. It’s killing our oceans. It’s entering into our bodies in the fish we eat.”– Kevin Bacon, actor
11. “Pollution from oil and gas development, toxic runoff, and miles and miles of plastic trash foul the waters and threaten marine life.”– Frances Beinecke, author of The World We Create: A Message of Hope for a Planet in Peril
12. “You wouldn’t think you could kill an ocean, would you? But we’ll do it one day. That’s how negligent we are.”– Ian Rankin, author of several crime novels
13. “I often struggle to find words that will communicate the vastness of the Pacific Ocean to people who have never been to sea. Yet as I gazed from the deck at the surface of what ought to have been a pristine ocean, I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic.”– Captain Charles Moore, author of Plastic Ocean
14. “Waste isn’t waste until we waste it.”– Will.I.Am, musician
15. “Plastic will be the main ingredient of all our grandchildren’s recipes.”–Anthony T. Hincks
16. “Pollution is a necessary result of the inability of a man to reform and transform waste.”– Patti Smith
17. “Outright bans on plastic bags may not be the best solution, but education and incentives to get people to stop using them are necessary.”– Dr. David Suzuki
18. “I think, on a personal level, everybody, when you go through the checkout line after you get your groceries and they say, ‘Paper or plastic?’ We should be saying, ‘Neither one.’ We should have our own cloth bags.”–Woody Harrelson
19. “The most environmentally friendly product is the one you didn’t buy.”– Joshua Becker, author of The Minimalist Home
20. “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”– Robert Swan, explorer
Even though Plastic-Free July is over I hope you will carry the beliefs of the month into your every day. Stores are full of plastic, but also full of choices. Choose the glass jar instead of the plastic container. Choose cardboard over plastic. And choose no package over any kind of packaging.
Please read our other articles published this Plastic-Free July here:
Plastic-free July is here to make the useless plastic go away.
Plastic detox: deplastify your life.
Plastic-free beach Toronto thanks to Dora Attard.
We highly recommend checking out this wonderful website My Plastic Free Life.com. This is an awesome website with so much interesting stuff to go through. She has unfortunately stopped posting, but still, she put so much work into introducing her plastic-free life, so go ahead and take a look.
Do you have your own favourite plastic quote to share?
Cover photo by FLY:D
Plastic Free Beach Toronto thanks to Dora Attard
Be open and let the world inspire you. Dora Attard inspired us when we met her at Woodbine Beach. Please find out more about her work below.
Since there is not much left of Plastic-Free July, which we prefer to call Plastic-Free Every Day, this is high time to introduce you to a wonderful woman, Dora Attard. Have you ever met a complete stranger in your city whose work inspires you? We did, on a warmish early September day in 2020, our last beach day of the year. It was Sunday, which is why we were able to meet her in the first place.
Who is Dora Attard?
She is a Toronto resident and a garbage collector. And Dora Attard is also the founder of Plastic Free Beach Toronto. Plastic Free Beach Toronto is an organization that educates people on the amount of single-use plastic that is used and thrown away daily and encourages people to create a cleaner world for future generations.
The way we got to know Dora was so random. As we were leaving our beach day and sending our friends closer to their bus stop, we noticed her giant globe made of trash. It is made from the garbage collected on Woodbine Beach this past summer. In the artwork, water bottles make up the world’s oceans while plastics of different colours make up the continents. We approached her to find out more, and we ended up having a refreshing conversation with her and her friend.
We found out that they have been doing this activity for quite some time. Presenting the beautiful artwork, which she had to install and dismantle every day, wasn’t all she did. Dora is a passionate fighter against plastic. She is bringing awareness to the problem of plastic use, promotes a plastic-free lifestyle, suggests skipping single-use plastic, etc. Plus she organizes garbage pick-up at Woodbine Beach. Since it was the end of the day, we couldn’t participate in this activity, but had a nice chat with Dora.
Why plastic is so bad near water?
Plastic is a substance that companies create to make easy money. It may be convenient, but is it worth the huge price that our planet and its inhabitants have to pay? Plastic will outlive us, and that in of itself should shock us. It should be a universal law that species do not leave Earth worse than they found it, that we do not destroy the planet for future generations.
In Canada, just 9% of the plastics collected will be recycled. This number is so ridiculously small. This long-lasting, poisonous material will be here for a long time. Plastic poses the most risk to the waterways. How will the beaches, lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds on Earth look in 5 years’ time? 10 years? 20 years? This is why it is important to deal with plastic now; today. This is crucial so that we avoid problems associated with each time frame in our home country.
We love Dora’s work, that she saw the problem and she took matters into her own hands. What a great way to make a change in your community! She said that the pieces of garbage most commonly found on the beach are cigarette butts, lids and bottle caps, water bottles, and plastic straws. She also finds needles, which humans and animals may step on or they may be found by children. The above-mentioned quite large plastic pieces are not the main problem. “The majority of the little bits I find are washed up from lake that has been broken down in microplastics. They’re eaten by birds and fish, and if you’re not a vegetarian and you eat the fish, then the plastic ends up inside of your body.” Dora stated.
What you can do to support Plastic Free Beach Toronto?
Participate at the Beach Clean-Up Day! It takes place on Sundays from 8-10 AM on Woodbine Beach up until the beginning of Fall. Always be sure to check Dora’s Instagram account for up-to-date information. Please share her handle with your friends and urge them to join you to the clean-up-day, to help keep our beaches clean and beautiful. Dora and her team will provide reusable gloves, buckets/bags, and pickers. The meeting place is out front of the Olympic Swimming Pool.
We are really interested in participating, but since Sunday is the only real relaxing day – read: sleep-in-day – then, unfortunately, yes, this Is the situation. BUT if a miracle will happen and I find myself wide awake at 7 AM, then Dora be sure, I will be there!
More about Dora Attard
Watch a short clip about Dora Attard and her work at CBC.com and read more on the same page.
Watch a video of Dora explaining what is it exactly she is doing in this video.
Visit Dora’s Instagram account Plastic Free Beach Toronto.
Support her work and buy her plastic artwork from Etsy.
Reference
Making peace with plastic. Is it possible?
We have been consciously plastic-free for 3 years. But we still hate it, so we are curious if there is a way to make peace with plastic.
When we first started with avoiding spending money on plastic, we had really no idea that it could really stick on us. But luckily it did. I can still clearly remember the first months of being plastic-free. How I was in a panic looking for items in tin cans, glass or cardboard. It almost seemed like a fun, but still difficult game. I didn’t want plastic, and I had very negative feelings toward plastic. The same applies today, but I started thinking maybe this hatred towards the god of the materials is unnecessary. Below is what helped me to decide.
Cry in the desert?
Being plastic-free only brings peace of mind to the one who practises it. Their contribution to avoiding it doesn’t really bring much change. It does if it is possible to cut down the fee of the container waste removal. But most of the time even that is not possible. Perhaps it makes a friend or two think about plastic and its nasty ways as well. But besides all that this is, is a cry in the desert.
Perhaps that cry in the desert is what one needs. Knowing that no money has been exchanged for the very expensive packaging, gives peace of mind. The material is actually cheap while offering a temporary home for the food items we are paying money for to bring home. What makes plastic expensive is its environmental impact. Another thing is plastic is not healthy. So yes, keep using your reusable drinking or coffee cup, ditch the plastic straws, and buy into your own container if possible. If making you feel better is the only thing, then sure continue with it.
This great little table at Chariot Energy’s website is sharing the estimated decomposition of various plastic items:
| Material | Estimated Decomposition |
|---|---|
| Cigarette butts | 5 years |
| Plastic bags | 20 years |
| Plastic-lined coffee cups | 30 years |
| Plastic straws | 200 years |
| Soda can rings | 400 years |
| Plastic bottles | 450 years |
| Toothbrushes | 500 years |
| Disposable diapers | 500 years |
| Styrofoam | 500 years |
| Fishing line | 600 years |
| Glass | Unknown |
Crazy stuff, eh? No wonder it makes one feel good not to participate in that. Even though while we are voting during buying, we do not stand an option of closing down any hundreds of plastic factories in the world. What would help us making peace with plastic is hope for a novel, environmental-friendly materials. Also, more bans at the country-level definitely would help to shake the situation.
What is really happening with the plastic?
According to packaging giant Tetra Pak, here are some really frightening facts about plastic. We may think that if we sort the garbage, put recyclable items in the box, then we are good to go. As all plastic gets recycled and we have done our good deed.
- Fossil-based plastic production is growing – and only 9% of total plastic is recycled
- 32% of all plastic packaging is not collected and plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade
- Plastic production, fueled by fossil fuels, reached 359 million metric tonnes in 2018
- Packaging made from aluminum is energy intensive to produce
- Paper-based packaging is catching high industry interest
- Plant-based materials are renewable and better for the environment
Imagine that only 9% of total plastic is recycled! This completely blew my mind! If current trends continue, roughly 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste will be in landfills or the natural environment by 2050. Twelve billion metric tons is about 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building. Imagine the pollution of the plastic to the groundwater, flora, and fauna, not to mention our oceans. Actually, it poses the biggest threat to the oceans.
What the world is doing to ditch plastic?
Actually, a lot is happening, though we are drowning in plastic, the world is making some direct changes towards using plastic. Governments in at least 32 countries have banned plastic bags altogether and at least 127 countries have implemented policies regulating plastic bags according to the United Nations. Many countries around the globe are implementing plastic bans and encouraging consumers to replace plastic with alternative materials including biodegradable single-use items and eco-friendly reusable products.
Forbes.com shares lots of information on the company’s promise to cut down on plastic waste. Seems like big-name brands such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, Henkel, Kimberly-Clark, Tetra Pak, and so on, are actually working hard on ditching the poisonous and annoying plastic. Why there is so much talk about packaging this year? Due to Covid-19 people got into ordering in and buying online, which probably made the plastic consumption 100 x higher than it has ever been. Results of such destroying behaviour don’t go unnoticed, hence many businesses have sustainable packaging on their agendas. 2021 is shaping up to be the year that packaging transforms from wrecking our environment with excess waste to making the planet environmentally wonderful.
One of our favourite Instagram accounts Live Kindly has put together a nice article on what the world has been doing to ban plastic. Reading this article gives hope, as more countries are banning single-use items, such as plastic bags, straws, plates, cups, etc. This gives us hope and makes us think of perhaps one day there is a way of making peace with plastic.
Conclusion
It has been relatively easy for us to ditch plastic. Being vegan, we do not buy food items, which are coming in plastic packaging. If we crave something such as cream cheese, for example, we make our own using cashews. You can get these in bulk or in no plastic container. Even though we are not giving our money for plastic, it still finds its way to our home. We are blessed to receive food donations for our volunteering gigs from many kind people. And have a good friend who is always sharing her surplus with us. So she kind of keeps our recycling box filled. While we take it out, we from now on think that only 9% of plastic gets recycled. And we get mad again. There is no making peace with plastic. Not at least in 2021!
The header photo is taken by Volodymyr Hryshchenko. We are very thankful for him sharing his creations for free with the world.
Sources:
Plastic detox: deplastify your life
We were thinking of different post ideas and came up with the quick and short way of getting the message out there. Let this plastic detox be the first!
It is the second week of plastic-free July. And more plastic has found its way to homes, forests and waterways. We are literally drowning in plastic. Wish the nature could plastic detox itself, but unfortunately that is not possible. As of 2018, approximately 380 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide each year. Our planet can’t cope with this amount of plastic polluting the environment, and calls to reduce plastic pollution and consumption have increased in urgency in recent years. Seems like plastic is here to stay!
Unless we can’t find other and cheaper ways how to create plastic like materials, which would have the same properties, then plastic detox in the world will never happen. Even if we avoid it, more will come. Plastic has a sneaky way of entering our homes. So plastic-free July is the best time try to do some plastic detox.
Take a look of this great graph we found online created by Learning Fundamentals.
If this is no news for you, well done! You are already doing your part. Keep going.
If this is all new for you, then happy exploring. Please do not forget to let us know how what was the most interesting thing you learned?
Have you tried to shop plastic-free for a day or a week? How did you do?
Go on a plastic detox and share what is it you find easy and what hard.
*Article photo is taken by Marc Newberry. It is a chewing gum wall in Seattle. It will be there for many generations. Unfortunately.
Plastic-Free July is here to make the (useless?) plastic go away!
Most likely not, but July allows us to bring more attention to a (useless?) material, which is polluting our world in every field of the world.
We are literally drowning in plastic and most of it is absolutely useless. It found its way to our home as a wrapper around so many products. The main task of plastic is to offer a case in what we are bringing food home. Or something else like beauty, cleaning and household products, most of the things really. It almost seems pointless to talk about the useless plastic we are trashing daily.
What makes plastic so good?
It is a unique material with many benefits.
It is:
- cheap
- lightweight
- resistant
So all this makes plastic a valuable material for many functions. Ir provides environmental benefits, as believe it or not, it actually plays a critical role in the food industry. It helps to maintain food quality, its safety and helps to reduce food waste. Though it hurts us to see produce packed in plastic, most of the time excessive, it ables for the products to reach to the stores and our homes safely and fresh. Of course one can skip the plastic while buying local and visiting farmer’s markets. But as plastic is convenient, so is shopping at the grocery malls.
Where you can find (useless?) plastic?
Even if we consciously are thinking of bringing less plastic home, it lurks in some little-known places. You can look around in your home, and not go that wild, as Werner Boote did. He bought out all the items at his home, which were made of plastic. And he set them on his lawn. Take a look at the photo and find out about the 2009 documentary here. So these are the most common items you can find at home made of plastic.
- Most of the food packaging
- Milk and juice cartons
- Metal cans – read more about our investigation here.
- Synthetic fabrics – polyester, nylon, rayon, and acrylic yarns and fabrics are all made from plastic. These are shedding millions of microscopic plastic fibers that eventually wind up in waterways.
- Baby wipes and diapers
- Wrapping paper – is most of the time a mix of plant fibers and laminated plastic.
- Chewing gum
- Cigarette filters
- Glue
- Coffee cups – unfortunately even those that appear to be made from paper often have plastic in the lining.
We all have most of these listed items at home. Can we live without them? Sure! Though it is difficult we can make wiser choices and eliminate as much as we can.
Skip the useless plastic!
What we all can do to create less garbage, or at least bring less of it home, is to choose plastic-free items. Yes, not only products, which are wrapped with a material that is having a negative impact on our oceans and wildlife. But also products which are made of useless plastic. People tend to create more waste in high-income countries. So it should be also easier to implement the changes in such places. If you are in North America, when reading this, please do your part.
Here is a list of materials to choose over plastic:
- Stainless steel
- Glass
- Platinum silicone
- Natural fiber cloth
- Wood
- Bamboo
- Pottery
- Paper
- Cardboard
Choosing these materials over useless plastic, which is so over-produced, because it is cheap and relatively durable, you will start seeing less plastic in your home. By choosing the above-mentioned materials you are already making the world a better place. A tiny step at the time. Based on where you are located the management of plastic determines the risk of plastic entering the ocean. High-income countries have quite effective waste management systems. So only a little will end up in the oceans. Worse is the situation in middle- and low-income countries. Because they are the main sources of global plastic pollution.
Imagine all this garbage in the ocean or waterways. Even if you do not see it where you are living, it nevertheless means that this is real.
How to break the plastic habit?
There are many easy swaps on how we all can start to cut plastic pollution. This is a small, but great step to make us feel good and do our part. Start with the basic manageable swaps, which are helping cut down the plastic use.
- Single-use plastic shopping bags – start using reusable bags.
- Plastic bottles – start using a reusable cup.
- Items packed in plastic – if possible, opt for not packaged or glass or metal packaging.
- Plastic toothbrushes – Bamboo toothbrushes.
- Liquid dish soap – in the kitchen use the powder for the dishwasher and a bar for handwashing.
- Plastic sponge and scrubber – choose a natural sponge, luffa, or wooden brush.
- Plastic trash bags – put the paper bags to good use, line with newspaper.
- Laundry detergent in plastic bottles – powdered laundry detergent or soap nuts (share your experience in the comments, if you have used them)
- Clothing, bedding, towels – organic cotton, wool, bamboo, or hemp.
- ETC.
We suggest you start with the easier swaps, as listed above first and then move to the harder ones. Also, do not be afraid of reusing. This also helps to save items and helps to create less plastic. Some swaps are much easier to make than others — but you can definitely tackle the harder ones if you challenge yourself. Approach playfully and while looking for plastic-free options opt for cheaper options, so you can save more and buy other plastic-free items. Plastic-Free-July is here to provide much-needed information about (useless) plastic and how to avoid it.
Read more detailed suggestions from a wonderful article Learn Earth Easy has written and get more swap ideas.
Conclusion
We can’t help but notice as July is approaching that it is time to celebrate Plastic-Free July. We have a complicated relationship with plastic for some years. I mean we are not buying plastic things and if we want to buy something, we consider where it is made and of what it is made and then reconsider. The beginning was hard, but since we love challenges, we did it. It is the right moment to check the Plastic-Free July to-do sheet and be determined to keep your promises. Share THIS SHEET with your friends to make it more fun!
But on a more serious note, unfortunately, the trade-offs between plastic and substitutes are complex. As earlier said plastic is a good material to use in the food industry for example. As it is essential for the prevention of food losses, wastage, and contamination. Storage and packaging play a crucial role from harvest all the way through to the final consumption of the foods we eat. Even if some consider the final phase of packaging (from retail to home) to be unnecessary, it is likely it has played an important role in preserving food from the farm to the retail stage.
So, plastic may not be so useless then after all. And perhaps the main solution here is to close down plastic-producing plants. One by one. As otherwise, our best efforts seem like taping the crumbling wall with pieces of tape. Or should we do anything at all?
Reference:
30-day minimalism challenge: 210 + 105 fewer items
20 days later after participating in a 30-day minimalism challenge to have fewer items – what was the outcome?
This is the follow-up of our previous article 30-day minimalism challenge posted some weeks ago.
We introduced that we will participate in this fun challenge and will get rid of things we do not need. Basically, the challenge works like this: find a friend, family member, or co-worker who’s willing to minimize their stuff with you next month. The idea is very easy: each person gets rid of one thing on the first day of the month. Two things on the second. Three things on the third. So forth and so on.
As it was said that giving away few things in the first week was not so complicated at all, but it got harder after day 10. As in each day, you have fewer items to depart with. We were very persistent and went through ALL drawers, pantries, and closets. I didn’t forget clothes, but I didn’t include them in this challenge. I need a bit more time to go through these and let items go. My main wish was to declutter and get rid of meaningless things, which we found quite a lot.
210+105 items, off you go!
Amazingly, in 20 days I was able to gather 210 items and Eve participated for 14 days letting go of 105 items. So 315 fewer items in our home! We did this just to challenge ourselves and to get rid of things in a fun way. While we had trouble getting rid of things before, we were quite okay to let things go while participating in the challenge.
We gathered the things for some time in two cardboard boxes, and then at one point, we started taking things out. It was starting to be a bit too much, you know. Luckily we had mostly smaller items to give away. We were taking the little boxes out one by one out and guess what? They found new homes very fast!
Most of the things we were getting rid of we have been trying to sell or trade for months, so we knew that selling or trading didn’t work. Since we do not throw things in the garbage, but share instead with friends or strangers, putting out a cardboard box with a sign free – worked the best for us.
Changes we noticed after the 30-day minimalism challenge:
- things we own now all have a purpose
- our counters and top of the furniture is clutter-free
- bookshelves look presentable
- the lunch containers drawer is closing with ease and looks organized
- we don’t have food at home anymore we do not consume
- overall pushed us to be tidier and keep it that way
- it is easier to keep things tidy and have more space to move things around in closets
- fewer items around you just feel better
Conclusion
If you want to have fewer items in your home, please take the 30-day challenge. It is a fun way and doesn’t take long. And, remember you just have to engage with it until you have the needed amount for a particular day together. You can continue the next day where you stopped. Or gather more and have the items ready for the next day. Remember you can always repeat this challenge if you feel like you need fewer items at your home.
P.s. Don’t forget to check #minsgame to see what others have been doing 🙂
Have you seen the ad of Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips?
After watching this video – you will know more than enough about Tru Earth laundry eco-strips and you will be sold. We definitely are!
Doing laundry is almost as essential, as using a comb, toothpaste, toothbrush, and toilet paper. I mean in some way or other, we all wash our clothing. But what is at the moment perhaps more essential than the laundry detergent, is the advertisement they are using to advertise their eco-strips!
When we lived in Germany we started exploring and experimenting more with natural household cleaners. Most exciting was when I realized that the horse chestnuts can be used for laundry! Lucky us they were in abundance in the area, where we lived.
I feel like I am falling off the subject here.
What I was going to say…
is that Tru Earth laundry eco-strips are revolutionary!
Though we are into zero waste, using less, buying less, and having fewer things, we haven’t yet tried the strips ourselves. Because when we moved to Toronto, we have received many laundry detergents for free. But this all happened after we purchased a locally-made natural laundry powder. So we have a lot to go through yet, as we do not do laundry so often anyway.
The good things about Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips:
- New zero-waste compostable packaging
- No measuring & no mess
- Dissolves completely in hot or cold water.
- Works in all washing machines, including HE. Front loads or top loads.
- Helps keep 700,000,000 plastic jugs out of landfills per year
But I do not have to like Tru Earth laundry eco-strips to know that they are doing so much good. If you see their video, then you know what I am talking about. It is so smart, so fresh, so funny, a bit sexist, but again you could overlook that because what matters the most is the message. And the message is strong. Strong and bold. The video has nearly a million views in a month. A laundry detergent! Wow!
We haven’t received such attention to plastic waste, recycling myths, and plastics longevity ever before in any advertisement. This is an eye-opener hopefully to many people. It is a good advertising trick as well, as people like me become easily their fans, without even trying their product.
Message of Tru Earth laundry eco-strips
The short video portrays a very manly man who starts doing laundry. He doesn’t like it, but soon starts to love it because of Tru Earth laundry eco-strips! He calls out men to be more manly, explains that these eco-strips replace garbage, are eco-friendly, good to your skin, etc:
These funny looking strips I just use instead of my old laundry detergent. Why? Because this replaces this garbage. And who has time to wait 450 years for this junk to decompose? No, I’d rather be doing something manly, like pre-sorting the whites, darks, and oh, so delicates.
Maybe you’re saying, “Oh no, no, no. I put all my recyclables in the recycling bin.” I hate to ruin the mood, but 75% of the content in your recycling bin is rejected at the recycling plant, which heads straight to the landfill.
There’s just not enough need for all the junk we throw away. No! And real men say, “No,” to heavy, wasteful bottles, burning fossil fuel as they ship them all over the country. I pity the fossil fool. That’s why real men use, Tru Earth Eco-Strips. No wasteful packaging, no harmful chemicals. As sensitive to your skin as it is to our planet.
Tru Earth Eco-Strips are designed to be tough on dirt, tough on sweat, and even tougher on the hardest of stains. Simply tear off a pre-measured strip, throw it into your washing machine, and watch that little beauty dissolve completely into that, oh, so fresh smelling goodness. Now that’s hot.
Drumroll, please! Watch the TruEarth laundry eco-strips advertisement here
What are your thoughts? Would love to hear your ideas about it!
If you like to find out more about different zero waste laundry detergents, including the Tru Earth laundry eco-strips, then please tune in here:
Conclusion
Some day we will try out Tru Earth ourselves and see if we are fully sold, or we will be just huge fans of creative and environmentally friendly advertising. Whatever it is, it was a nice experience to consume an ad, which initiates men to do more at home, inspire people to think about plastic and the future of wildlife. On a day like today, we need more attention on heating subjects which appreciate nature and animals.
P.s. Though the strips are a bit pricey buying them would be the most reasonable for Canadians as it is made here, to keep down the emissions.
The 30-day minimalism challenge to get rid of stuff!
If you haven’t heard about minimalism, then it is your time to jump on and find out what a fun thing is a 30-day minimalism challenge!
We chose a word to describe this new year. It is action. In addition to that, we will challenge ourselves. Just trying to enjoy every day as much as we can – share, love, laugh. We are volunteering, saving, and sharing food, not spending any money, and trying every day to get something out of the freezer. Plus we are not eating animals. A huge help while saving lives and mother Earth.
Get rid of stuff!
We live in a cute, but not so spacious apartment. Ever since we moved in – things just appeared. We are trying to get rid of them, as we do not want to clean, arrange, move them or just be afraid that something is going to fall on us. In other words – we want to get rid of stuff. Hence, the 30-day minimalism challenge is exactly for us.
This game or challenge is created by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, who we know mostly as the Minimalists. They are challenging people to get rid of stuff, which clutters their homes in a fun way.
How to start with the 30-day minimalism challenge?
The minimalists recommend finding a friend, family member, or co-worker who’s willing to minimize their stuff with you next month. The idea is very easy: each person gets rid of one thing on the first day. Two things on the second. Three things on the third. So forth and so on.
We started our minimalism challenge on the 20th of January and have been on it for two weeks, including today.
While thinking of getting rid of stuff, we may think on small items in our drawers and toiletry cabinets, but The Minimalists share their tips, so basically, anything goes:
Collectables.
Decorations.
Kitchenware.
Electronics.
Furniture.
Bedding.
Clothes.
Towels.
Tools.
But just be warned that one person’s 30-days minimalism challenge includes getting rid of 465 items! If you have too many things, then you can take the challenge again next month 😉
It is getting harder!
Giving away few things in the first week may be not so complicated, but it will get harder each day. I started with a little basket that was just sitting there on the counter and doing nothing. Gone!
Be persistent and go through ALL drawers, closets, pantries. Do not forget anything. Look around you and ask if this is what you really need? When was the last time you used this item?
We are doing this just to challenge ourselves and to get rid of things, so winning is not our goal here. But originally the idea is that whoever keeps it going the longest wins. If both of you make it to the end, then you are both winners.
Share your success on The Minimalist’s social media using #minsgame hashtag.
What to do with the stuff?
We have been gathering the things at the moment to a cardboard box and since today we are starting to actually take the things out. Our plan is to put together a box of small things, which may be of interest to passersby’s in a busy street. Then we will share the photo with our nearby friends and see if they want anything.
Some of the bigger things we are getting rid of we have been trying to sell or trade for months, so we know that selling or trading doesn’t work. Since we do not throw things in the garbage, but share instead with friends or strangers, putting out a cardboard box with a sign free – works the best for us.
So, donate, sell, share or put out, it is up to you. We didn’t do that what the Minimalists recommended – every material possession must be out of your house—and out of your life—by midnight each day. But we are confident that we do not want any of those things, and they will leave our household sometime soon. I wouldn’t have been able to take these photos to show our success so far.
Find out more how to “play” the 30-day minimalism challenge from The Minimalist’s YouTube channel:
Also we recommend this very inspirational video, which definitely gives you good tips on what to get rid of:
Conclusion
The 30-day minimalism challenge is not over for us. Though we didn’t take photos of everything we are getting rid of you can still get a little overview of what we have been giving away. We will share more photos in our follow-up post. Not sure if we can take it until the end, but we will try our best.
Jump on board! Let’s do it!
Let’s make this year about challenges!
We have been throwing some challenges at you this year: Veganuary and volunteering. Perhaps you are ready for more? Choose few below!
Here are the challenges we have added to our lives before, and will challenge ourselves more in the future. Added is also an extended list of our recommendations! We hope you’ll choose a challenge, excel and add more as you can.
Minimalism
Minimalism is the lifestyle of having only things that bring value to your life: a focus on less is more, so you can focus on what matters in life. The things we have, have taken up a lot of room in our lives – not only in our physical space, but also our mental, and spiritual.
Why try minimalism?
You want more time to do things you love
Having more things is distracting. It takes time to take care of your things, put them away. Many people can agree that managing things is never-ending. It takes away valuable time that you’ll never get back. Would you rather spend your time on the activities you love or on managing your overflowing things?
You want to focus on relationships rather than things
It is an understatement to say that Western society values things over, people. What else can we expect when the corporations that sell us things value profit over people?
Your mind is cluttered
Out mind is easily cluttered when we are surrounded by things. This causes low-level stress that we can’t escape. Try studying for a test, or writing a book while in a cluttered, untidy space. Our mind creates our reality and vice versa. The more things you have around you, the more distracted you are.
You want to work less
Most people exchange money for things, and since money doesn’t grow on trees (as many of our hardworking parents have overused and annoyed us with), we trade our time for money. We then use our priceless time for things. The problem is things don’t make us happy, nor will we leave this Earth with but a few (unless cremated).
You want an organized space
It is harder to keep your space organized if you have a lot of things. Just notice any hoarder’s home. The things take over and have a life of their own. Hoarding can be linked to loneliness, although things can’t keep you company or give you a social-emotional connection. It can also be linked to old age, as many hang on to things for the memories they hold.
Buying organizing boxes to organize things is another trap we fall into. The more we have, the more we need to get to keep our things organized.
There are countless benefits of minimalism. Are you ready to take the minimalism challenge?
Pantry challenge
Have you ever looked into your pantry and closed it immediately exclaiming that there’s nothing to eat? Try again! Open it again and really let your creativity flow – ”hmm, what can I make with these peas and onions? Instead of going out and buying more, take the pledge to use what you have. it will feel satisfying to clear your pantry as much as you can before running to the store to buy more. It will not only make you more creative but also more grateful for what you have. As a bonus, gratitude will bring you more of what you want! Win, win!
Are you ready to take the pantry (and fridge) challenge?
No artificial sugar
Sugar is more addictive than cocaine! Can you believe this? Companies are forever advertising sweet treats to children, and yet, sugar is as addictive as other drugs. We vote with our purchases, so if we keep buying sugary things, we are saying that it’s okay to support this billion-dollar industry.
No buy challenge
No-buy November which is a challenge that takes place in the month of November is not the only time to challenge yourself not to buy anything. What if your budget included just your fixed basic expenses? Housing, transportation, and food?
Before this challenge, make sure you have weather-appropriate clothes abs shoes for the season, then get on this! In the case of a real emergency, you may break this challenge and return to it. Even if you fall prey to your impulse buying, hop back on the challenge.
No gluten
Gluten affects your stomach and digestion. Many agree that the wheat today isn’t like before, that many are sensitive to gluten. Whether this is you or not, cutting gluten has other benefits:
- Cutting bread out of your diet can help weight weight-loss
- Avoid bloating from glutinous food that expands in your stomach
- Feel lighter and healthier
- Reduce belly fat
- Improve your digestion
- Focus on consuming vegetables and low-sugar fruits (limit high sugar fruits)
- Prevent foggy brain
Conclusion
We are super excited to get some of this challenges on again this year. They prove to be a nice change in your everyday lives. These challenges come especially handy during these times, when all your favourite restaurants, movie theatres and concert venues are closed. That doesn’t mean that we have to stop enjoying our lives. Please share your experiences on any other challenge you have taken in your life. Looking forward hearing from you!
Want more information? Read these resources to find out more about your challenges!
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