earth day 2019: ways to reduce your impact

Happy Earth Day! I love this day. I love appreciating the beautiful planet we live on and all the natural resources it provides us. I also love taking a few minutes every Earth Day to think about ways I can lessen my impact on the planet over the next year and years to come. 

Last year, I asked my Instagram friends for their tips on reducing the amount of trash they're throwing out. Some of the changes were small and some were much bigger. I tried to implement at least three major changes, and at first, it was daunting to change my habits. A year later, I feel so great about reducing my personal waste. Here are a few tips I have to reduce your impact on our planet!

1. rethink the way you drink coffee

Bring a Mug to Work: At work, I keep a few mugs at my desk that I use to drink coffee with every morning. I'll also bring them with me if I'm going to Starbucks (hello 10 cent discount!). I feel good about not using a single-use coffee cup and I get to bring my cute Anthropologie mug to meetings all day.

Use Reusable Straws: I have a strange habit that I only drink hot coffee with a straw to protect my teeth from stains. Since I drink 2-3 cups a day, that means I was also throwing out 2-3 plastic straws a day. I did some research online for reusable straws that can handle hot beverages, and stumbled upon koffiestraw, a 100% non-toxic, silicon reusable straw. These straws are washable, come with a cleaning brush and fit in mugs, disposable cafe coffee cups and more. I've used the same two-pack for over a year and feel great that I'm not throwing out plastic straws every day.

For iced coffee drinkers, a great go-to is a stainless steel straw, like these from Amazon.

2. Shop with Reusable bags

Buy Produce Bags: I am the first person to admit that I will bag every produce, necessary or not, when I'm grocery shopping. Once I'm home, those plastic bags go straight into the trash - ugh! One of my friends suggested purchasing reusable produce bags, and they have been life-changing! The bags are light and washable, and I make sure to store them in my shopping totes so I automatically bring them to the grocery store.

SPEAKING OF SHOPPING BAGS...

Invest in Shopping Totes!​ As of December 2018, Boston banned single use plastic bags. When this ordinance went into place, it also meant that customers pay 5 cents for any bag purchased at checkout... which was a great incentive to start carrying around reusable shopping totes! I have so many bags laying around from giveaways and previous shopping trips and I've made sure to always bring them shopping with me. I recommend rolling up a bag and storing one in your purse, one at your office, one in your car and keeping a stash at home. If you're in the market for a new bag, I love these fun printed ones from Amazon. ​It feels great to come home from a shopping trip without extra waste from the produce bags and shopping bags.

3. Suggest a cost-saving, waste reducing initiative at work

Last Earth Day, I was really upset about all the wasted coffee and water cups my colleagues used. I developed a plan to remove all disposable cups from our Boston office, starting with one floor, and pitched it to senior management. When they heard how much money we were spending each year on disposable cups (over 10k!), they jumped on board with the plan and implemented a "no single-use cup" policy across the company. At first, our employees scoffed at the idea of washing and reusing their own mug (gasp!) but now, our employees are proud of the steps we are taking to reduce our environmental impact as a company. I encourage you to think similarly at your own workplace and come up with a plan to reduce your impact. It only takes a spark to get a fire going!

what are you doing to reduce your impact on our planet?

These are just a few ideas I've implemented over the past year. Tell me what you do in your daily life!