Went to try to catch up on my last day... but I guess the 3 day window only lasted until the end of July. Bummer. Not even sure if this will post. :-(

Despite some frustrations and ongoing challenges this month has been super enjoyable.  Huge THANK YOU to the organizers and to all the participants.  I've really loved reading all the stories and seeing our collective impact.  Onward to 2019!

I very much enjoyed these challenges, and I sad that the month is over. I found a few complications during the challenge. 

One was finding a place to buy a bamboo toothbrush. I thought Whole Food would have carried them, but they didn't. I did find toothbrushes made of yogurt cups which was cool, but I'm going to have to do more searching for those bamboo toothbrushes.

I didn't always remember to clock in my saving of cups by using a reusable cup. Sometimes I forgot to bring my reusable cup and straws with me. One of the times I remembered to bring my reusable mug and straw, we still ended up with a plastic cup because it barista had made more than would fit in my cup (a 30oz cup btw!!!), and so she was nice and gave us the extra in an plastic cup. I didn't want to be rude, but that felt like such a slap in the face after all my hard work to avoid that dern plastic cup...

I'm finally in the habit to checking for plastics with all of my food purchases, and online purchases. I'm not used to double checking to make sure the clothes I purchase are 100% cotton. I rarely buy clothes for myself, but I buys clothes for my kids rather frequently. I'm finding it's rather easy to buy 100% cotton clothes for boys, but for girls it's almost impossible! I'm going to have to do more research into finding the best locations (that aren't expensive) to purchase clothes for my family that are 100% cotton.  

 Definitely going to miss Plastic Free  July, I have learned a lot this month. This was my first year doing something like this and had tons of fun logging in and checking off my actions for the day, even if I did forget sometimes. I am going to try and continue doing something like this after today.😊

Last day of Plastic Free July challenge! I hope this challenge has helped everyone create permanent ecofriendly habits! 

How many of you all will miss PFJ and plan to sign up for the Fall challenge from October 3 - 24?  I hope I can get another team together to participate.  Gotta keep our momentum going!

Last day of the challenge, San Antonio Zoo Crew!  Let's see if we can make a final push up the standings!

Last day!  I was already compulsive about recycling and pretty decent at avoiding single-use plastic before, but this challenge has helped me find even more ways to reduce plastic in my life.  We've made some permanent changes in my household that will not only cut down on plastic but also simplify our lives and even save money.  Wins all around!

Well, today is the last official day of the challenge, and this weekend was hard.  Like feeling guilty about stopping at Starbucks and Sonic on the same day hard (no straws from Sonic, but Frappuccinos are impossible to consume without one, and I'm looking for a good reusable one).
I've definitely become more aware about how much plastic is involved in our daily lives and will continue to strive to reduce plastic from my life.
Good luck out there everyone!

Last day!  But I will continue to be more conscientious about my plastic usage!  And to close out the day the Education Team is watching the documentary that was listed as a resource "Bag it"!