Can you cut 1 Tonne of carbon pollution out of your life?
Take the challengeWhen I made the decision to sign up for Plastic Free July in 2013, it was a challenge. Giving up my plastic was SO hard. Not because there were no options to replace my single use plastic habits. The challenge was in the changing of my habits.
Written by Erin Rhodes aka The Rogue Ginger
I was used to not ever think about my purchases. If I was thirsty, and forgot my refillable bottle, i'd buy a plastic packaged water bottle from the store. If I was shopping for groceries, I'd use the plastic bags the store offered me. If I was wanting a snack, I'd buy one pre packaged, ready for me. No thought, only convenient consumption.
There are plenty of replacements for all these plastic items. In fact, these replacements existed well before plastic came along. My reusable water bottle, replaced my need for buying packaged plastic water bottles. I have cloth bags that now replace the plastic bags when I shop. And snacks are now collected in reusable containers or reusable cloth snack bags. The solutions are there. What I needed was a way to remember these solution.
Read next: 15 Practical tips for living with less plastic
Getting into a new habit of remembering, was the bridge I needed to cross.
According to James Clear, writer on behavioural psychology and habit formation, every habit we have follows a pattern known as the 3 R's of habit change. These are Reminder, Routine and Reward.
The reward for me was using less plastic. The tools to start the routine were readably available. It was the reminder, the first step in the pattern, that needed the most work.
Below are some of the tricks I used to change my plastic habits
Electronic reminders
Most people have smart phones these days or some kind of device that will send electronic reminders. I used my calender on my phone or my email calender, setting up events with phrases like:
"don't forget your water bottle"
"write your shopping list tonight, put bags at front door"
"put your reusable bags into your handbag"
"say no to plastic bags"
"don't get a straw in your drink at the pub tonight"
"sit in and enjoy your hot chocolate"
Visual reminders
I would hang my cloth bag on the front door. Did I forget from time to time? You betcha. But seeing it there and rehanging the bag each time, became a visual reminder that, like the phone reminders, I expected it to be there.
I also stuck notes on my handbag, the fridge and anywhere that I passed by often during the week. I even had one in my wallet.
It might be daggy or cumbersome to put notes about the house or into your phone. But it's not forever. As each day moved along, the reminders helped to action new habits, that did eventually stick.
Read next: What is BPA? Why is it bad for us? And how you can avoid it
1 Million Women is more than our name; it's our goal! We're building a movement of strong, inspirational women acting on climate change by leading low-carbon lives. To make sure that our message has an impact, we need more women adding their voice. We need to be louder. Joining us online means your voice and actions can be counted. We need you.
