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Allison Sheldon's avatar

Allison Sheldon

National Aquarium

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,231 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    2.0
    pieces of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    25
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill

Allison's actions

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 1 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Study

Buy Only What I Need

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Bedroom

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Swap the Snacks

I will swap out 1 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Give Some Green Gratitude

I will give a shout-out on social media to a local company, coworker, friend or family member for their plastic free or green efforts.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Research Local Waste Sites

I will spend 60 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Tour A Waste Management Facility

I will spend at least 45 minute(s) touring (virtually or in person) a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about our local waste and waste recovery streams.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Study

Plastic History Buff

Single-use plastics are everywhere, but that wasn't always the case. I will spend at least 45 minutes learning about the history of single-use plastics and how it became ubiquitous in our daily lives.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Study

Learn about Plastic Production

Plastic production, not just disposal, pollutes communities and harms people. I will learn about the impacts of plastic production on humans, animals, communities, and the environment.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bedroom

Sunshine Bleached

I will hang-dry my laundry to use the sun as a natural bleach alternative, or use another natural bleach alternative.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bathroom

Homemade or Refillable Cleaners

I will make my own cleaning products or choose plastic-free, refillable options.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bathroom

Eco Deodorant

I will switch to a plastic-free deodorant — whether purchased or DIY'd.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bathroom

Pearly Whites

I will switch to a plastic-free toothpaste — whether purchased or DIY'd.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?


  • Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 8/02/2023 7:06 AM
    Thank you so much everyone for participating this year! We all did an excellent job and it's exciting to see how much our cumulative efforts have added up :)

  • Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 7/29/2023 10:47 AM
    As we near the end of this year's Plastic Free July, I've been good about a few things like trying to avoid vending machine snacks wrapped in plastic (I only slipped a few times! haha). I'll be honest that I have not been great about picking up a piece of trash every day like I had hoped. Maybe this weekend I will break out the grabbers and a trash bag, and go for a cleanup walk to make up for it!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Bathroom Pearly Whites
    Currently most of the packaging for toothpaste is plastic. How can you advocate for more alternatives through your purchasing power and influence in community?

    Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 7/08/2023 8:00 AM
    One of the largest things I'd like to use my purchasing power to suggest is more plastic-free toothpaste that contain fluoride! In past Plastic Free Julys, I remember struggling to find toothpaste that still contained fluoride, and so I'm happy to see more available now. I think as more people look into plastic-free products, we'll see more options develop.

    I'm hoping too that by supporting plastic-free companies, while they can be expensive now (particularly with toothpaste!), that the increase in demand will lower prices in the future as more companies get involved. Also, the more companies get involved, more people may consider switching too! I think this would especially be the case if plastic-free products start making an increased appearance on store shelves as opposed to being niche online orders.

    • Ginni La Rosa-Ponsini's avatar
      Ginni La Rosa-Ponsini 7/08/2023 4:21 PM
      I agree about the fluoride! I wanted to make sure that the sustainable swap would still be dentist-approved. My last check-up showed that the Unpaste tablets are keeping my teeth healthy!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Bathroom Homemade or Refillable Cleaners
    What did you learn by making your own cleaning products? What is the biggest difference in making vs buying?

    Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 7/06/2023 9:59 AM
    I like that I know exactly what is in my cleaning products. For example, the bottle I have made today primarily contains vinegar and water. In the past, I have also used vinegar to clean the leather barstools in my house because apparently the smell also deters cats from clawing at them!

    • Debra Lee Norton Wear's avatar
      Debra Lee Norton Wear 7/06/2023 9:25 PM
      Also make sure you have proper ventilation to dissipate any fumes.

      MAkimb cleaning supplies is a great idea. Please follow safety precautions

    • Allison Sheldon's avatar
      Allison Sheldon 7/06/2023 10:49 AM
      Although it should be clear that in making your own cleaner you should always be aware of your chemicals! Do your research and never mix anything together you don't know!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Bathroom Eco Deodorant
    Do some research on the toxic side affects of aluminum deodorant. After reading the side effects, can you think of instances where you may have experienced the side effects from this form of deodorant?

    Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 7/05/2023 9:51 AM
    Thankfully I don't have much experience with aluminum, as from my understanding, that is only found within antiperspirant deodorant. My mom was always anti-antiperspirant, instead insisting on plain deodorant in the house instead. Her logic was always "you're supposed to sweat!" and that she never liked the idea of excess chemicals, a sentiment that stuck with me when I moved out. However, I am happy to find non-plastic alternatives to work into my routine as well!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen Swap the Snacks
    How does swapping out prepackaged snacks for fresh fruit or veggies benefit your family?

    Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 7/01/2023 8:21 AM
    One of my plans for this month is to give up vending machine snacks in my workday as they are often wrapped in single-use plastic. Not only is this a good goal for giving up plastic, but it's a good goal for my health and wallet too! No plastic snacks today!

  • Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 7/01/2023 7:53 AM
    Today is the day everyone! It's officially Plastic Free July!!

  • Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 6/30/2023 11:56 AM
    Does everyone feel ready for tomorrow?! I'm excited to try some new actions this year!

  • Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 6/24/2023 7:46 AM
    We are officially one week away from July! In the meantime, don't miss out on those extra points by filling out your profile and managing the actions you'll want to take/have already taken!

  • Allison Sheldon's avatar
    Allison Sheldon 6/20/2023 12:08 PM
    Thank you everyone for signing up so far! I'm really looking forward to this upcoming July!