To Be Aware [ADVENTure Three]

A friend of mine, who is also going on these ADVENTures, pulled this tag out of her jar a couple days ago. For her, it put into sharp relief just how much plastic she uses on a daily basis. All day, she kept reaching for things, and realizing that there was a better, non-plastic choice that she could make. Plastic is everywhere!

Years ago, I banished most plastic from my house. We used glassware to store leftovers and to transport lunches on outings, used glass peanut butter jars as drinking glasses, and used stainless steel water bottles. We continue to do so, however, over the past few years, plastic has crept back into our house. Plastic take-out containers from the thai restaurant, plastic containers from lunch meat, and miscellaneous other plastic containers litter my cabinets. My favorite plastic water bottle gets refilled and goes with me everywhere. It's amazing how easily all this plastic slipped into our lives when we weren't paying attention.

Thinking back, I began using plastic more as my health declined. Not having the hand strength some days to deal with heavy glass containers filled with leftovers, I found myself reaching for plastic containers instead. Same for using a plastic water bottle over a heavier stainless steel one. 

I'm off to do some shopping now - reusable grocery bags in tow. And if I forget to bring them into the store, I'll make the effort to go back for them instead of using plastic bags to save time and energy. 

Today's exercise in having a no plastic day made me acutely aware of just how much plastic has infiltrated our lives - and how much better we can do to be better stewards to God's beautiful creation.