Hi, I'm Nicole. And I am sick and tired of all the plastic trash littering our world.
I’ve been on a mission to live a life with less plastic, and I’m sharing my tips and advice with you.
How I Got Here
I grew up in the 80s and 90s, when catchy TV commercials telling me to reduce, reuse, and recycle filled the airwaves.
Those campaigns were mostly about recycling paper and saving trees. Looking back now, I realize that I wasn’t taught very much about reducing my use of plastics.
Fast forward 20 years, and I’ve become increasingly aware that, while I was focused on recycling paper, most major industries around the world were producing mountains of disposable, single-use plastic items that are now wreaking havoc on our environment.
For years, my husband and I have tried to avoid foods packaged in plastic, more for health purposes than for anything else.
But my eyes were really opened to the dangers of plastic waste after a trip to Vietnam in 2018 and a 60 Minutes report in 2019.
Traveling through southern Vietnam—away from the pristine beaches and tourist areas—revealed a world I had never seen before.
Growing up in Maine, a state with a small population that protects its natural resources, I was never someone who littered. Sidewalks and lakes were always clean, minus a stray piece of trash or two.
But in Vietnam, there was more trash than my husband and I had ever seen. So many people haphazardly throwing plastic and styrofoam on the ground and in the rivers. After that trip, we started seriously changing our ways, avoiding plastic bags, straws, cups, and food packaging.
And just when I thought that we were doing a great job avoiding plastic, and doing our part to reduce the amount of waste we were producing (while recycling the rest), we watched a report on 60 Minutes.
Let me tell you: it made us feel AWFUL.
It’s not like we didn’t know any of this stuff. We had heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and we knew that animals around the world were affected by trash.
But something about these videos—and particularly about the amount of trash that birds were eating—made us re-think EVERYTHING.
Here are clips from the 60 Minutes report:
Ever since seeing those images in August 2019, we’ve been on a mission to keep our eyes open and to actively make lifestyle changes to reduce plastic waste.
And while I do believe that the small changes one person makes can make a difference, I KNOW that when many of us make changes, the results will be even better.
So I’m sharing what I’ve learned on my journey to switch from plastic. My hope is that I can help you make easy lifestyle changes that reduce plastic waste & save the planet.
Are you with me?
Common Questions
Here are some common questions that I’m asked about my journey and this website.
No, I’m not attempting to live a zero waste life. I AM trying my best to create less waste (plastic or otherwise) and to use more sustainable materials in my every day life. But I won’t be sharing pics of mason jars that only have a few inches of my household waste for the week/month/year. My hat is off to the people who have gotten to that stage!
Well, it’s not NOT about climate change. I definitely believe that planet Earth is in a bad state, and I do believe that waste produced by humans—and mass manufacturing for human consumption—is a part of that. I believe that there are other factors that contribute to climate change, as well. I’m hoping that the lifestyle changes I make (and help others to make) will lessen some of these contributions.
OMG, HARDLY. It took me a long time to face this environmental problem and to get into the habit of refusing single use plastic every day. I’m sharing things I’ve learned, things I’ve tried, and things I’m still hoping to change. I am just a person on a personal mission, hoping to bring some new friends along with me.
Not so far, it isn’t! Sure, I’m buying some new things I’ve never purchased before, but they’re just swaps for the things I used to purchase. I’m also learning how to reuse everyday household items in new ways. I’m not throwing out my entire house and starting from scratch—that would defeat the purpose of creating less waste.
