Lewis Hawk

I will spend 10 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

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.

Even just one to-go coffee or tea a week adds up to 52 trashed cups in a year! I will avoid sending 3 disposable cups to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or travel cup.

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.

We've all got it - that thing in the back of our closet we keep saying we'll fix "one day." I will make today that day by learning how to mend or repair ripped or broken items in my home - or by finding a local offering to do it for me.

I will only buy cloth, wooden or plant-based natural rubber toys. Or make our own toys from recycled items found in our home!

Bottled water corporations make plastic bottles, not water. If the tap water in my area is safe for consumption, I will use a reusable bottle instead and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 10 disposable plastic bottles a day.

The average paperback book has the same carbon footprint of driving about 7 miles (11 km) in an average car. Instead of purchasing new books this month, I will borrow books, e-books, and/or audiobooks from my local library or library-affiliated apps, or host a book swap with my friends.

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 2 pounds of food waste to landfill each day.

Pinterest may want you to think that you need a cupboard full of matching mason jars, but reusing what we already have is one of the best ways to reduce our waste. This month, instead of recycling glass jars (such as pasta sauce, pickles, and salsa jars), I will save them to reuse for food storage.

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 2 plastic straws and/or stirrers out of the landfill each day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.