Saying "I'm so busy, I didn't have any time" is an excuse I use on the reg. It's a terrible excuse. In fact, I find it hard to even call it an excuse, it's really just a choice. I understand that we all have to work. We have bills to pay, things we want to do that cost money, food to eat, etc. but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say no-one reading this blog post works 24 hours a day. This alone is proof that we. have. time. Saying we don't have time is saying that we don't care enough to find time. 

So here's a little breakdown of small windows of time that we can choose to create to care for our environment:

Morning

• Have a pet that you take for a morning stroll? Leave your coffee cup at home, grab an extra bag, and fill it up on your walk. Your pup will be happy to have you cleaning their morning path and you'll spend less time taking trash out of their mouths. (Just my pup? Got it. Moving on...)
• Morning commutes are the perfect time for a cleanup and I have a way to do one regardless of how you get to work.
  1. Walking: bring a bag and fill it up on your walk. Empty it at your place of employment or at the last garbage bin on your way.
  2. Driving/biking: park your car or bike in the back of the parking lot, down the street, etc. (so long as it is a safe place to park and walk alone), pick up the trash on your way in.
  3. Riding the bus: bring a bag and pickup trash on the bus. You never know who is watching you, whether it's a skeptic that will talk about it with other people later, someone who will join in, or a child that is taking in all that is around them.

Afternoon

• Walking to a lunch spot? Same drill, bring a bag, fill it up, empty it once you're done. (Don't forget to BYO utensils and lunch accessories to reduce your trash use!)
• Spending your break to sit in a park or in a break room? Spend at least 5 minutes of your break walking around your break spot to pick up trash. You'll be surprised at just how much you can accomplish in 5 truly dedicated minutes.

Evening

• Evening commutes should be done similarly to your morning commutes, but spend some time looking a big closer. Is the path you took cleaner than when you left it? About the same? Is there more litter? Pay attention to whether people seem to be more likely to litter when they are half asleep and haven't had their morning coffee or when they are exhausted after a days work.
• Evening stroll strikes again! Whether you have a pet that you take on walks or not, it's been scientifically proven that walks in nature reduce stress. You know what helps your mental state even more? Feeling like you are making a difference in the world. Before you get going to make dinner or dive into the latest episode of the show your bingeing on Netflix, spend 20 minutes outside walking around your neighborhood. East Coasters, the evenings are finally the perfect temperature to see your neighbors sitting outside with a cup of tea or a glass of wine. Say hi to them, show them the trash you’ve been collecting on your stroll, start the conversation!

Do any of you already implement some of these? What pockets of time do you find yourself more likely to commit to? Let me know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page!

- jamie

​Hi friends!

It’s been a little bit since my last CL post and that’s solely because I have been BUSY. I’m currently working an additional seasonal job and fighting off a cold which has had me spending any free time mostly just sleeping, but! I haven’t stopped my Sunday cleanup commitment, even in the nasty rain this week. I debated pushing it off to Monday and writing about the rain and a nasty cold keeping me in, but littering doesn’t stop on rainy days and this commitment isn't going to stop either. The garbage doesn’t say “hey, no one wanted to go outside today, let’s just stay right in place until a sunny day brings some friends to clean us up”. In fact, it more so says “hey, rain...wind...cloudy skies, let’s go for a ride to the closest waterway or waterway entry (sewers, drains, river beds). Then, we can get swept up with the rest of the trash and go for a lazy river ride” (Can you imagine how exhausting it is to be in my brain?). Alas, I got out of my sister's cozy car while she went into the store to get soup and got myself into the parking lot.

The thing about doing cleanups is you don’t have to be on a great hike or kayaking down a river to do one. You can be WHEREVER you are at any time of day. I filled an entire GIANT Go Puff bag (which is a topic for another conversation) with trash in under 21 minutes walking up and down just half of a parking lot aisle at Walmart. Could you imagine the amount of trash that could be collected if there were five of us? Ten of us? Now imagine if all ten of us committed to cleaning up for a full hour. Woah. I can. I can imagine it because I know what groups of people can do. When individuals come together with like-minded goals, the unthinkable is possible and the unthinkable occurs.

Sunday, October 27th is the last Sunday of the month. That means, I’ll have been at my Sunday cleanups for 4 weeks. Want to join me for November? Get a head start by joining me this Sunday, wherever you choose to be, and use #consciouslivingcleanup to show me what you do. With the holiday season coming up, people's lives tend to get a bit busier and it seems harder to find little pockets of windows to do cleanups, but my next post is all about the small amounts of time you can find to make a difference. Stay tuned!

- jamie

If any of you follow me on my personal social media pages, you may have seen that I started a new journey as a Wild Keeper with Keep Nature Wild. I’ve been doing cleanups for quite a while now, both with local communities and solo, and having the opportunity to be a Wild Keeper have given me the opportunity to create a bigger impact by sharing my cleanups with a large community of like minded people. It has also given me a place to record the impact that I’m making.

My plans for October have been to do a cleanup every Sunday, no matter where I am. This past Sunday, I went out in my local neighborhood and because I’ve always considered it to be “clean”, I was quite shocked to see just how quickly the trash bags began to fill. You'd be surprised how much garbage is located just in your "backyard".

Over the last two weeks, I’ve received unexpected messages from 3 people who were inspired to reach out after seeing my posts and it nearly brought me to tears. Seeing that my impact has reached even a single person inspires me to continue what I'm doing and more so, do it more frequently and more publicly. 

If you have any interest in joining me for cleanups in Philadelphia, please let me know! I’d love to have you join me. So far this Sunday I've gained one new cleaner and I can't wait to see how it continues to grow. While my schedule is going to be changing quite a bit come November, I intend to continue my weekly cleanups far beyond October as they’ve already began to be therapeutic for me. I hope to get home to Jersey for a few cleanups on the beach during the holiday season. All my Jersey people, stay tuned! I'll see you in the sand. <3

- jamie

Where have you been finding the most trash in your local community? I'd love to know. Head over to our Facebook page and leave me a comment. Perhaps we can plan a cleanup right there for the future! 

Have you ever felt overwhelmed trying to stay up to date with all the plastic-free alternatives out there? This age of social media can often leave us feeling like we're less than if we don't have the next best thing, but usually that "next best thing" is gone just as quickly as it came. Here are a few ways to reduce your plastic use without spending any money:

1. Using no straw vs. buying a reusable straw: Many of us are lucky enough to not have to use a straw for medical/health purposes. In that case, we really don't need a straw anyway! Ditch the straw all together and save on buying a metal or glass straw.
2. Using your utensils vs. buying new bamboo cutlery: Sure, bamboo items are convenient because they are often sustainably made, lightweight, and reusable, but having new utensils is of no importance when reducing your plastic use. Grab your lunch box, throw in the utensils you already own, and you're good to go!
   
3. Trading clothes vs. buying new (or secondhand): This one may seem silly at first, but go with me here. Have you always loved that band t-shirt your sibling owns? Have you seen them wearing it less and less? Chances are, they're getting tired of it, just like you're getting tired of your clothes. Set up a swap! Schedule a fun get together where you and your friends bring in some old (but in decent condition) clothing and do a little clothing exchange. If you're really enjoying it, consider through in some accessories too!
   
4. Your own water bottle and cups vs. new: If you don't already own a reusable water bottle, this one could cost a little $, but it applies to travel mugs too. Instead of forcing yourself to drink your coffee on the go, leave the house 15 minutes early, bring your own mug, and enjoy a cup of coffee at your local coffee shop. People watching at a coffee shop is a fascinating thing to do. Reading is fascinating too! Bring a book with you instead of scrolling aimlessly on Instagram.
5. Bags and containers you already have vs. a new lunch box set: You know when you're at work and people pull out their perfectly fitting lunch boxes with matching utensils and cups? Chances are they struggled at home to try to get everything to fit nice and neatly in a non one size fits all kit. Where's the fun in that?! Use whatever you already have to properly hold your lunch. Don't have a lunch box to carry it in? Grab a tote bag, backpack, etc. and store it in that. Just be sure to properly seal anything with liquids so it doesn't spill...I've found that out the hard way!
   

What are some ways you save $ while going plastic free? I'd love to hear your tips and tricks!

- jamie