This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine. All opinions are 100% mine.
Living a plant based vegan lifestyle has transformed my health and life for the better.
At the same time, it has highlighted the environmental issues we face. I know eating plant based greatly reduces my carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions, but I also know I can do more, a lot more. I’m sure many of you would agree that you can do more too.
No matter what lifestyle you follow, I know as a whole, we can put a little more effort and thought into reducing our waste and carbon footprint.
Did you know that food is the single largest solid-waste component in America’s landfills?
I don’t know about you but more often than not, I find myself tossing so many veggie scraps, banana peels, apple cores and lemon rinds that every time, I think about how I could be composting those scraps instead of trashing them. Being that composting is not very apartment-friendly (with the worms and all), I consider composting to be a goal in my (very near!) future. Until then, I’m doing more to reduce my day-to-day waste.
This means shopping more often (with reusable bags!) to prevent produce from going bad too quickly or getting lost in the back of the fridge. It means actually eating my leftovers, freezing them or adding them to a new dish (meal prepping is also helpful in that sense!). It means freezing the fresh herbs because they go bad as quickly as avocados go brown. It means using the not so crunchy celery and/or carrots in a fresh juice or soup instead of tossing them. It means getting a little creative in the kitchen and using everything up!
Of course I recycle as much as possible but I’ve been up cycling items too; re-using them in different ways instead of recycling them. Glass jars and bottles, plastic containers and bags, etc.
By no means am I a “crafty” person and I refuse to live with extra junk lying around but some recyclable items can be put to good use!
After picking up fresh flowers at the store (they make me happy!) I remembered I don’t have a vase. Sure I could arrange the flowers in a mason jar as I usually do, but I could also up cycle an item in my recycle bag to use as a vase… which happened to be a used up Tom’s of Maine body wash product bottle. It was white, the sticker was easy to peel off and it looked super cute on my desk. A super simple way to brighten up a little corner, ya know?
A quick note about Tom’s of Maine products:
- They’re natural, personal care and oral care products are made with no artificial colors, flavors, fragrances or preservatives
- They’re not tested on animals
- All Tom’s of Maine® packaging is recyclable through TerraCycle®
- 10% of profits to human and environmental goodness
Together we can help to keep waste out of landfills and make the world a better place for future generations! Visit Toms of Maine’s website for more information.
I encourage you to up cycle and participate in the #LessWasteChallenge on social media with me this month; reducing your waste by 1-pound each week! April is Earth month after all!
Try the Tom’s of Maine Creamy Coconut body wash (smells amazing!) or the Sensitive Fragrance-Free body wash (exclusive to Target). Use the Target Cartwheel offer to take advantage of 10% off! How do you reduce your waste at home?! Have you ever up cycled any items?! Leave us a comment below 🙂
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