With just one week to go, the Plastic Free July Challenge has definitely been…a challenge! I’m sure you’re all getting the message from my first three updates that it has been pretty much impossible to fully eliminate single-use plastic.

With that in mind, this week I’m taking a different approach. Instead of the challenges, I’m going to focus on the wins. Each day, I’ll share the things that I am doing to reduce single-use plastic.

This doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the challenge. I am still doing everything I can to avoid single-use plastic, but I find I am running into the same things over and over. I hope that sharing my everyday tips and tricks might give you some ideas to try.

July 18

Today, I used an epilator to shave my legs instead of a razor with disposable cartridges. I got this idea from a comment on my Summertime Shaving Tips post. I love it when my readers give me new ideas to try!

When I turned on my printer, three of the five ink cartridges had run out. I replaced them with ink cartridges I had refilled at Costco. This is something I recently started doing and it‘s a great way to reduce plastic waste.

It’s really hot here again. I love iced tea in summer time. This afternoon, I made a big jug of berry flavoured iced tea. I started making my own iced tea years ago so I could control the sugar content. It’s delicious. Saving plastic is an added bonus!

I buy most of my tea at David’s, a retailer that has fallen on hard times lately. I really hope they keep one of our local stores open. It’s great that I can buy online, but I prefer to shop in store so I can get my tins refilled.

July 19

When I washed my hair this morning, I used my shampoo and conditioner bars. This is one of the changes I wish I had discovered years ago. I am so hooked on my bars, I’m never going back to plastic bottles.

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July 20

Today, I got an email from Lush saying my unwrapped Aromaco deodorant is back in stock. It has been out of stock for quite a while so I immediately ordered some along with a few other favourites.

July 21

Another change I made last year was replacing my facial moisturizer with Coconut oil. I have saved a ton of money and, by buying the coconut oil in bulk, a lot of plastic containers. You can read more in one of my first posts Low-cost natural facial moisturizer.

July 22

Tonight, I went to Bulk Barn to stock up on a few supplies. Although I miss their refillable container program, buying in bulk definitely produces less waste than buying pre-packaged products.

This week’s email from the Plastic Free July Foundation had more encouraging words:

We also think that any plastic refused is a success – so just keep focusing on those wins, no matter how small.

Plastic Free July Foundation

July 23

This morning, I made a loaf of homemade bread in my bread machine. There’s nothing like warm, fresh bread!

Today my order from Lush arrived. I was so excited to unbox it! Even with 3 small plastic bags, there’s still far less plastic than the products I used in the past. Just this one order order saved 2 plastic deodorant containers, and at least 6 plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles.

July 24

I did a load of laundry and hung it out to dry before I started work this morning. This is an area where I’ve been able to completely eliminate waste. To learn more about about how I did it, check out Zero-Waste Laundry – Part 1 and Zero-Waste Laundry – Drying.

Watch for my wrap-up post

We’re heading into the last week of July. In my final post next weekend, I’ll share a summary of my observations and learnings from the challenge.

That’s it for this week’s update. I hope I gave you some things to try.

Which tip that I shared above is your favourite? Do you have other ideas? Tell us below.