Kari Wouk

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.

Vegetable broth cartons are not easily recycled and often not accepted for recycling at all. To avoid or reduce my use of these cartons, I will save my vegetable scraps and fresh herb stems to make homemade vegetable broth instead.

Even just one to-go coffee or tea a week adds up to 52 trashed cups in a year! I will avoid sending 1 disposable cups to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or travel cup.

While society often tells us we need to own everything ourselves, how necessary is that, really? Why spend money on something I'll only use once or a few times when I can borrow, swap, or share instead? This month, instead of buying new, I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, and neighbors.

Globally, packaging manufacturers make about $25 billion each year on plastic beauty and personal care packaging. That's a whole lot of plastic - nearly all of which ends up in landfills. When it's time to buy more, I will replace my beauty products with refillable, sustainable, and/or DIY options.

The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 20 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.

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

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.

Prioritizing whole foods is one of the most effective ways to avoid single-use plastic in the kitchen, since most whole foods can be purchased without any packaging. This month, I will prepare 1 whole foods-based meals at home each day.

In the UK, the average person creates 512kg (1,129lbs) of waste in the bathroom over the course of their lifetime - 50% of which ends up in a landfill. As they run out, I will replace my soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions with sustainable, unpackaged, or refillable options.

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 numbers #1-7 on plastics tell us a lot - and can help us be better recyclers. I will learn what these numbers mean and which types of plastics are accepted for recycling in my area.

I will find secondhand sources for my pet's water/food dishes, collars or leashes.

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.

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.

All those symbols on our clothes, sheets, and towels actually have meanings! To ensure that I'm caring for my clothes properly, I will spend 20 minutes learning what the care symbols mean and laundry best practices to make all of my textiles last as long as possible.

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

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.

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!

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.

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!).

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.

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.

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 educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

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.

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.