Lynne Burek

The simple, necessary, daily act of washing our clothes slowly degrades the quality of our clothes due to the friction involved in the process. To extend the life of my clothes, whenever possible, I will wear items multiple times before washing.

Eliminating 100% of all plastic from our lives simply isn't possible. Throughout this month, I will embrace imperfection in my plastic-free journey while exploring and testing new ways to reduce my plastic footprint.

Composting isn't just good for soil! Composting your food scraps and other organic materials decreases your overall trash output, so you don't have to take the trash out as often and extend the life of your trash bags (i.e. use less plastic!). This month, I will start a compost collection at home, work, or school and avoid sending 1 pounds of food waste to landfill each day.

The plastic industry has convinced us that some plastic bags are "trash bags," while others are just "trash." Instead of throwing empty bags away (such as bread bags, pet food bags, etc.), I will reuse them as trash bags.

Each year, the International Coastal Cleanup reports that plastic straws and stirrers are one of the Top 10 most-collected items from their cleanups (top 5 in the US!). I will keep 1 plastic straws and/or stirrers out of the landfill each day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.

The only thing worse than a single-use item is a zero-use item! I will use (and use up) what I already have in my home before buying something new.