Small changes that make a big difference

Think about it, you walk into a major store or supermarket for your weekly grocery trip for you and your family. You walk around, pick out all of the items that you need for the month and head to check out and let's be honest most of us at this point are giving more consideration to the amount of money that it is going to cost you, than paying attention to the amount of plastic being used to wrap the items you have picked and on top of that you may have forgotten your reusable bags (it's an easy mistake to make).

The thing is we really do need to implement some changes as most people will be aware that now more than ever we are seeing first hand the impact our disposable ways are having on planet earth, our only home. According to the Environmental Protection Agency in 2015, 34.5 million tons of plastic were land-filled in the US alone. Of that, 100 billion plastic bags are tossed away each year by and it takes 300 years for each one of those little bags to go away!

We say we can't make a difference. But in reality, we can! We need to start making sustainable habits, those small changes that are easy to implement but can have a bigger impact longterm. Here are 5 extremely easy ways to make a difference, that don't cost any more and in reality very few people have an excuse not to do!

1. Firstly make sure you have some good quality reusable bags, pack a few of these into the boot of your car, or backpack or even your smart work bag as much roll down to a very small size. You can even get custom printed tote bags made if you want to pair up both style and sustainability.

2. Water Bottle - carrying your own water bottle not only means you stay hydrated throughout the day but there is no need to buy a plastic bottle of water and save some money in the process - again such an easy change and a beneficial one for both the planet and your pocket. They also make great gifts and do check out my millennial gift guide with more ethical ideas

3. Reusable Coffee Cups - Ive mentioned this a few times both on my blog and instagram and just like the water bottle, it's so easy to pop one in your bag and never use a single use coffee cup again. Also most retailers including independent coffee stores offer a discount for those that use their own cup, so you also save money!

4. Bring back packed lunches - picking up a lunch on the go can be mean a lot of additional plastic but by packing your own lunch in a reusable lunch box, preferably with bees wax wraps and pop your own knife an fork in instead of those flimsy single use ones.

5. Bamboo toothbrush - I made this switch a while back and again it's so easy to do and eliminates plastic toothbrushes and replaces them with bamboo ones that are also naturally biodegradable. You can even have a subscription sent to you every 6 weeks so you don't forget to replace them and most bamboo toothbrushes come in at under £3 making them the same price as plastic ones - win.

We say we can't make a difference, but in reality, we can. We can make a real difference longterm and with very simple swaps. The only way to stop the insanity of consumption is to start today and also sent an example for our children and future generations and did you know if your baby is raised on using a tote bag for their purchases, over the course of their life, if they never use a single plastic bag, and only use a reusable shopping bag, they could save 22,000 bags from going into the landfill. Talk about a difference! Don't ever say that one individual cannot make a difference.

I've also done a vlog on 10 ways to reduce plastic...do take a minute to watch it.

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