plastic free July : simple easy ways to start your low-plastic journey now

Are you joining in Plastic Free July this year? Even though we live a relatively 'plastic-free' lifestyle "compared to regular people", I know that there's so so much more we can do in our family. Little changes to make big differences.

The aim of #plasticFreeJuly is to reduce or refuse all single use plastic during July. Of course, the hope is that you'll start on a new journey of seeing how easy it is and continue on. But having one month to reset your ideals is pretty cool - cause I find despite my best best intentions we still end up with single use plastic in our shopping and home.

I've got some really cool and easy tips to share with you during July (and really I'll keep going after that too!), but I wanted to start today just to let you know about the challenge, to see if you're in and to give you just a start at the very simple changes you could make today.

This isn't about feeling guilty about all the plastic you use, or about buying everything now (before the challenge starts). It's about making real change that might take time, small and simple steps, and most importantly about changing your mindset and your outlook. A simple ah-ha moment can make all the difference, I think. It's also not about forcing your family into it - believe me, that won't work at all. Educating ourselves and our children is super important - I think that if children are told some truths they can take bigger actions than we can, and if they have some guidance then they become passionate about it. This is not about having arguments at the supermarket because the kids (or husband) want such-and-such and you say no because of Plastic Free July. It has to be deeper than that to actually make a difference - it's possible, please believe me.

Here's a few videos to show the family, the kids, the neighbours - share them about. Sometimes things like this spark people into making change. The Story of Stuff is an EXCELLENT website with great videos that are relatable for even kids and people who don't want to know. I first discovered this one 'the story of stuff' years and years ago, and keep remembering to share it whenever I can. The story of bottled water - woah…. yeah… Just another reason I DO NOT buy plastic bottles of water. I always always take my own water with me.

I'll be back and will share heaps of Plastic Free tips, ideas and little things to help you out. But perhaps you could start the challenge today - if you feel like reaching for a plastic bottle of drink put it back, ask for a glass of tap water and next time take your own reusable water bottle* with you instead. Whenever we go out, I've made it my children's 'job' to fill the water bottles - that's a simple task that they can take responsibility for, and they'll quickly learn when they're thirsty and you say no to the plastic drinks.

Are you joining in Plastic Free July this year? I'd love to know - let's share ideas together on how we can work towards simple plastic free living.

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