Noitalever: How We Will Make It Happen

So, I have been thinking for the last day and a half about how to integrate Less Plastic living into my current habits. I think that the best approach for me is this conscious, slow integration instead of the "cold turkey" approach taken by many.

First off, I realize that there are many things that won't change in my lifestyle anytime soon. I will not give up my contacts, a choice which requires me to also keep buying contact solution (plastic bottle). I also refuse to obsess over clothing choices - rayon, nylon, etc are all plastic-based. I wear mostly 100% cotton clothing anyway, but I won't go out of my way to change this at this point in the game.

However, some changes will come easily and naturally.

My first "target area" is personal hygiene because this is the area in which I buy the most bottled-in-plastic/plastic-packaged goods and also an area which has a use&toss mentality (compared to my coffee pot, which will live for a long time).

This week, I ran out of dental floss, shampoo, and facewash. Today, I went to the Co-op and purchased:

Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar (cardboard box) - $6
Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Complexion Soap (again, cardboard box) -$5 (less than my current facewash...)
Eco-Dent Floss $3

The floss is the most interesting, in my opinion. It's package (cardboard) converted to the little floss holder, and it has 100 yds of floss! (much more than regular containers of floss) It was also very inexpensive.

My other "target area" is the ol' "Bring Your Own Bag" game. Today, I purchased two canvas bags (at $5 apiece - not bad at all!) for this adventure.

The next things that I will replace, as they get used up, are:

- toothbrush (probably will go with Eco-Dent's version for which you just change the head - something that uses minimal plastic anyway)
- chapstick (I already use Burt's Bees, so I'll just find the kind that comes in the metal container)
- razors (will go with Recycline's Preserve model, which has a recyclable base so that you just throw away the blades. They also have replacement blades now, so really you only need to buy one anyway)

Non-hygiene things...

-laundry detergent (switch to dry version - duh!)
-trash bags (no more plastic bags!)
-hairbands (must find alternatives like all-metal bobby pins and clips)
-pencils (switch to the good old-fashioned kind)
-highlighters (use colored pencils)

---

If you're wondering, I'm not really worried about food stuff at this point in my life because I don't cook for myself. Eventually, I will do things like Bring My Own Containers and Buy In Bulk.