Plastic Free July is here and this year, things are a little different. Those of us in the US are still dealing with the pandemic and all the precautions that come along with it, which makes the usual advice of shop the bulk bins! and bring your own cup! kiiiind of hard to do.

This post has been requested a few times and I figured what better way to kick off the 2019 blog posts than with an overview of simple, sustainable changes we can make this year! Whether you take on all five or go one by one, I hope this encourages you to start somewhere!

Two ways to ditch the disposable coffee cups.

I feel about plastic water bottles the way Taylor Swift feels about her and whomever getting back together. It’s never, ever happening.

Like, ever.

We hiked something like five miles in three hours (yes, my legs are still very, very sore) and spent most of that time chatting away about everything and nothing. It was a really great chance to catch up with each other while enjoying Auburn’s beauty. Since this hike was longer and a bit more strenuous than our previous hike, I decided to be prepared with the essentials. I think it’s pretty neat that they all ended up being zero waste because I didn’t even have that in mind as I packed everything up. It just goes to show how small steps really can add up!

I'd never been to a music festival before, but earlier this year I came across the lineup for Bottle Rock (which takes place in Napa) and saw that Brandon's all time favorite band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, was headlining. I panicked out of sheer excitement, called Brandon and asked the most obvious question ever: do you want to see them live?

While I was super excited to enjoy the music I was also interested in creating as little waste as possible.