Regrouping

So, my plastic-free trial month ended last week. It went pretty well. I had a lot of plastic-free days. Most of my days involved just one or maybe two pieces. People ask me for my best stories from the month, but I feel like my stories weren't that exciting. I got into a rhythm and made good choices. Being plastic free requires just an ounce of planning ahead, a good bit of self-control, and a slightly larger bag to carry around the necessary tupperware, fork, and spoon that can pretty much get you out of any situation.

I will admit, I've been considering my options for the past week. While considering, I've let myself use more plastic. I went to Taco Bell and used their evil little tiny sauce packets. I picked up a piece of pie, encased as it was in plastic. It's tempting to just say, "This was a good experiment" and go back to living "normally." But then I'm reminded of Kerry and Erin's early posts about how we know, on some deep level, that easy, one-time use plastic is bad -- not just because of data and facts about fishies but also because of the way it makes us feel. It's a slippery slope from plastic-encased food to plastic choices, which was the original reason I got into this.

I've revised my goals. I'm going to limit my use to 2 or 3 pieces per day. This provides a little extra room because sometimes it's good to be able to buy meat or cheese. And because sometimes I still forget to ask for no straw. I'll be trying this for the rest of November and then I'll revisit my plan again. Maybe I'll find that this is too lenient and need to go back. I'll keep you posted.

I invite you to try yourself -- doesn't have to be a stark plastic diet, but try limiting just one form of plastic in your life. Let me know how it goes. :)