Julia Janosko

I will spend 20 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

Get creative in the kitchen (or the garden)! Before tossing food scraps, I'll explore other ways to utilize the scraps and give them another life.

Just because something is past its "expiration date," it might not actually be expired! I will spend 20 minutes learning about the difference between best by, use by, and sell by dates and how to tell if my food is actually expired.

Science has shown that focused time in nature calms our over-worked frontal lobe and gives space for the areas of our brain associated with emotions, pleasure, and empathy to take over, providing a sense of calm that is measurable in brain scans and even blood tests. Each day this month, I will spend 20 minutes outside in nature, and share my observations, reflections, and learnings on the Participant Feed.

Surface cleaners, glass cleaners, floor cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners...there's a whole lot of plastic waste involved in cleaning our homes - plus ingredients that can be harmful to aquatic ecosystems and our health. This month, I will make my own cleaning products or choose plastic-free, refillable options.

I will calculate my ecological footprint, and from the results brainstorm and take action on ways I can reduce my annual footprint.

Every time we tumble dry our laundry, our clothes' lifespans get a little shorter. The lint trap is evidence of the shedding fibers and our clothes slowly losing their quality. The less time our clothes need to be in the dryer, the longer they'll last. So this month, I will clean my dryer's interior and exterior air vents to help the dryer work more efficiently (and extend the life of the dryer!).

Whenever possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags. I will either use my own reusable bags, or keep my items loose.

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching the impacts of bioplastics and how to properly dispose of them in my city, and I will share this information with 5 friends, family, and/or colleagues.

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day of the Plastic Free Ecochallenge.

I will spend 20 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

Are you the kind of person who makes something useful out of junk? Something you can use in your garden to attract wildlife? We would LOVE to know! Please share a picture and instructions for those who want to try it. Spoiler alert...we might use some of these ideas in our Investigate lab to share with the public.

Whether I'm at work, on the go, or having food delivered, I will keep 5 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.

Help us make the Plastic Free Ecochallenge the best it can be! Take the challenge pre-survey (and look out for the post-survey at the end of the challenge!) so we can better understand the impact the challenge has and how we can improve in the future. Plus, you'll earn points for completing it! Thank you!

Plastic sheets coated in softeners, lubricants, and fragrances, dryer sheets just aren't great for the planet or our bodies. Instead, I will use wool dryer balls or another plastic-free alternative to dryer sheets to keep my clothes static-free.

I will plant an herb or vegetable garden using as little plastic as possible and to save from the plastic used buying herbs and veggies.

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 3 disposable plastic bottles a day.

While it can be tempting to throw away (or drop off at Goodwill) any and everything that no longer brings us joy, there are so many options that are better for the planet! This month, I will declutter my home and properly dispose or re-home the things I no longer want.

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.

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.

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.