Don’t we all love our beautiful Earth? The weather, the greens, the ecosystem, and others are just so perfect.
However, most of us still miss out on a few things no matter how much love we have for this planet and that is – plastics.
Even in Malaysia itself, we are still using plastics most of the time, anywhere for anything.
As a parent, we often claim that the children are the future, but do you think you are making any differences in the world that our children would want to see?
If you want your children to live in a plastic-free lifestyle and save the environment, you better start now, while they are young!
Set up a good example from home because dangerous plastics are LITERALLY everywhere and we, ourselves, are the one who can stop this.
Ways To Use Less Plastic As A Family
Let’s get started!
Drinks
Buy less plastic bottled water and opt for a refillable water bottle instead. Encourage your children to bring their own water bottles so that they wouldn’t have to buy plastic water bottled when they are outside.
This method also helps your kids to have less interest in buying any sweet or gassy beverages and it is an easy way to ditch the plastic and keep your family hydrated and away from unhealthy drinks!
Have some fun and buy you and your family some pretty and cool tumbler or takeaway mugs.
This way, you can avoid using plastic/paper takeaway cups.
Plastic-Free Meals
Ziploc bags and plastic containers are some of the hardest single-use items for parents to get rid of.
They are easy to store, but in a year, one family will go through hundreds. And these, like the other bags and containers, also harmful to the creatures in the sea.
You can opt for bento boxes or non-plastic tupperwares to pack your food without using disposable plastic bags.
These options are much safer and greener towards the mother-nature.
Supermarket
Change the shopping list progressively to cut back on packaging.
The trick is to find out when convenience is necessary – would you never make a salad if you didn’t buy bagged lettuce or could you live with loose potatoes instead of in the bag ones?
REMEMBER, only use reusable bags!
It takes an estimated ten to 20 years for a plastic bag to degrade.
Also, while shopping, it is not hard to bring along your reusable bags. Just throw a stash in the back of your car and you are good to go. Bring your kids along and encourage them to use reusable bags too!
Refill What You Can
Nowadays, most of ut are starting to refill bottle of water, jars, oils, and many more.
So why don’t you start refilling your detergents and soaps as well?
I, myself, opt to buy only the refills when I go out to stock up on detergent, body wash and some other liquids.
For example, I love using antibacterial spray on my couch, bed and mostly everywhere.
If I run out of it, I did not go and buy a new bottle of the spray and instead, I just buy the refill for it.
Turn it into a Game
To make it more fun and enjoyable, why don’t you challenge another family or within your family member to see how many plastics have you guys been using for the month.
Begin by weighing how much plastic each person or family uses, and then continue weighing the plastic at the end of the month to see who has the greatest decrease.
This is a great way to get motivated and more determined to cut out on unnecessary plastic usage for your children and yourself.
Save Money
We all want to choose to spend less cash, and plastic is a great place to start: help your children host a toy swap with their friends instead of buying brand new toys.
This way, your children can play with many different types of toys instead of buying a new one that is wrapped in plastic boxes.
Also, do not forget about the plastic packaging that engulfs almost all of the things that you buy online, considering the plastic resolution as a barrier to impulsive shopping!
This way, you can save your money and save the Earth at the same time.
If we want to see changes in the world, keep in mind that it starts from ourselves first. By changing the way that we live, our lifestyle habits will work wonders.
Together, we can reduce the excessive usage of plastics.
Start today, start now.