End of Plastic Free July

For many, today (July 31st) marks the end of Plastic Free July. Whether this is your first time participating or your twentieth, everyone can admit that this year's challenge was one for the books thanks to COVID-19.

So how did my challenge play out from my initial goals? I would honestly say pretty even! This year, I didn't try to go above and beyond with my plastic free goals. I knew the challenge that I was facing for this month including my extended weekend vacation so I chose to lower my expectations. Instead, I made a few thoughtful swaps that will have a more lasting impact for years to come rather than just one month. This is a great way for all to participate in the challenge without going to the extremes of being 100% plastic free if you aren't comfortable with it. Some of these swaps I've made are as follows:

• Toothpaste to toothtabs - Thanks to my friends at Huppy, I was able to try out their toothtabs and I don't think I could justify buying another tube of toothpaste again! Start your recurring shipments here.

• Plastic deodorant to natural deodorant in a tin - Deodorant is tricky for me but I think I finally found the perfect product from Live Like You Green It. It's a cream based natural deodorant with only a few simple ingredients and the perfect scent. You can purchase it here.

• Plastic face moisturizer to glass/aluminum natural face lotion - This is a swap I had been dying to make. I love my Yay For Earth face lotion! It's the perfect consistency and ingredients for my complicated skin. I've also used it on numerous other skin ailments such as bug bites and sunburn and it works wonders. You can find it here.

• Bleached toilet paper to bamboo or B corp certified paper - I had the wonderful opportunity of trying out a new bamboo toilet paper company called Naturolly and can easily say, it made me every wonder why I settled for the cheap white stuff from the grocery store. The average American uses 3 rolls of paper a week which can be extremely wasteful. If you're looking to make an impact with this easy swap, purchase a box here.

• Dryer sheets to wool dryer balls - Thanks to PlanetRenu, I was able to make this easy swap and actually prefer it to a super perfumed dryer sheet. We have some really amazing smelling laundry detergent so it was always a shame to cover that smell with the scent of sheets but thanks to the neutral dryer balls, we can still catch whiffs of our Mango Ginger soap with a soft dry feel! You can buy them here.

• Plastic wrap or bags to beeswax wrap - The latest swap thanks to PlanetRenu! We've used our beeswax wrap to cover dishes, house Parmesan cheese - you name it. You can find a pack of it here.

How was your Plastic Free July? Did you meet your goals and expectations? Let me know through the Contact page or email at consciouslyeco@gmail.com.

Photo by Gary Chan on Unsplash