Bring your own reusable bags for the Love of God.
They’re more durable, have stronger structural integrity, and will save soooo many wasteful single-use bags over the course of their lifetime.
Don’t know where to find them? Try any grocery store, business promotion, or tabling events in your neighborhood to pick some up gratis or for a few pennies.
Your excuse is that you have them but always forget?
- Don’t.
- They make little ones that fold into themselves and take up practically zero space– perfect to put in your purse, bag, or pocket for when you find yourself in a pinch or above mentioned mindless scenario.
Buy in bulk.
This goes for any grains, beans, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or anything else you can get in the bulk isle of your grocery store. Do you know how much excessive packaging you can avoid by doing this simple trick? Enough to not suffocate the entire ocean ecosystem and gag us all to death, that’s how much.
Ditch the plastic.
You see that produce wrapped in plastic? Don’t buy it, grab the open air varieties instead. This is easiest and best done at your local Farmers Market. Not only are you enriching your local economy and reducing your food’s Vehicle Miles Traveled (think: fewer total carbon emissions), but you’re also building a connection to the grower who brought your food into existence while also supporting your community.
You see those plastic bag dispensers grocery stores “conveniently” put near produce? Flip them the finger (to the stands, not the store staff) and bring your own mesh bags like the planet champ you are.
Don’t want to buy your own set of fancy mesh bags to put your produce in? Cut off the labels, tie one end, and reuse the web-like nets that lemons, limes, oranges, or other produce sometimes comes bagged in.
Confronted with the option to buy something in plastic that’s also offered in glass? Buy the glass variety, duh. I’m talking nut-butters, jellies, jams, juices, etc. Once you consume the contents, it’s usually easy to clean out and de-label the container, which you can then use for (free!) storage or other repurposes when transitioning to a plastic-free home.
Looking for some more tips? Here are buying guides I use to make purchases when I’m on the hunt for new items.
Catinon ★ 