Embark on a 15-day challenge towards personal sustainability—a path that aligns your lifestyle with the well-being of our planet.
Crafting a greener, more mindful existence doesn’t demand Herculean efforts; it simply calls for deliberate thought and strategic planning, and we’ve got it all mapped out. Follow our 15-day Personal Sustainability Challenge, and you’ll find yourself cultivating habits that prioritize both your own flourishing and the health of our shared home.
Think Your Actions Don’t Have An Impact? You’re Wrong. It’s time to dispel the notion that the efforts of one person are inconsequential. Your actions matter in our fight against climate change. read more
GET STARTED: Download the One Planet Life.
It’s free and simple to create an account. Joining our 15-Day Challenge is an easy way to kick off your sustainability journey this year. During the Challenge, you’ll be asked to take one action each day, Monday through Friday, and then reflect on the impact of those actions each weekend. Here’s a daily rundown of the Challenge we have created for you. Good luck, and have fun! Be sure to share snapshots and your story on the in-app Community board.
DAY #1: Save energy today!
Let’s start small. Take a look around. What can you unplug, turn off, or turn down?
Unplugging devices and appliances when you’re not using them is a quick and easy way to slash energy vampires’ grip on your power usage. In fact, 23% of electricity consumed in homes is wasted by standby power. Read our blog to learn more.
DAY 2: Reduce Waste.
Take a few minutes to consider how you store leftovers and pack lunch. Switch to reusable food containers.
Do you use plastic wrap and zip-lock plastic bags? Your challenge today is to replace your disposable plastic storage solutions with reusable ones! Not only will you reduce your plastic waste, you’ll save money. Here are three easy ways:
- Get reusable and dishwasher-safe gallon, quart, sandwich, and snack bags from stores like Target, World Market, or Amazon.
- Kick the plastic wrap habit with reusable beeswax-coated wraps. You can get them here as part of our Food Focus Eco-Journey Kit or through an online retailer like etee.
- Repurpose plastic or glass containers your food comes in, such as Ball jars (think spaghetti sauce) or plastic containers, such as sour cream containers.
DAY 3: Happy Hump Day-Time to Connect with Nature!
Take a walk outside (even if it’s cold!) Take several deep breaths, listen to nature, and appreciate all that you see.
Sunlight, fresh air, and being in nature all benefit and lift your mood. Like being physically active, even a little bit can feel impactful. Learn more wellness hacks to stay on top of your game!
DAY 4: Eat a Colorful and Delicious Vegetarian Meal!
Make it a feast for your eyes and your body. Prepare lunch with a variety of fresh vegetables and hummus, or head over to your neighborhood eatery and have a professional chef prepare a beautiful option!
Adopting a plant-based diet or reducing meat consumption can significantly lower your carbon footprint. Livestock farming is a major contributor to methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.
Transitioning to plant-based diets has the potential to reduce diet-related land use by 76% and diet-related greenhouse gas emissions by 49%, according to a 2022 study published by the National Institute of Health.
Day 5: Absolutely No Single-use Plastic Today!
That includes bottles of water, straws, and plastic cutlery, to name a few. Before you head out, fill your reusable water bottle and bring reusable cutlery and straw with you if you plan to get fast food.
Single-use plastics have infiltrated every part of our lives. The world now produces more than 380 million metric tons of plastic every year. Considering that only about 5-6% of U.S. plastics are recycled, much of it ends up in quickly expanding landfills and pollutes our natural green spaces and oceans. The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic a year.
On top of that – scientists just confirmed that bottled water contains up to 100 times more pieces of plastic than was previously estimated. And that goes right into our bodies, bloodstream, and brain.
Saturday & Sunday: Time for Reflection and Self-Evaluation.
How are you doing so far on your Sustainability Challenge? Has it been hard? In what ways can you make it easier and turn it into a habit?
Have you tracked all of your Joyful Changes in the One Planet Life App? Keeping yourself accountable is a key to success. The app is free, and we developed it for you. It is the best tool to track your journey, measure your impact, and learn how that impact multiplies when many others make the same joyful changes!
DAY 6: It’s Meatless Monday! It’s time to eat a vegetarian meal.
Preparing a vegetarian meal is quicker and easier to make than you think. How about a bowl of penne pasta with pesto and a side salad? Or a bowl of butternut squash soup with a grilled cheese sandwich?
Did you know that eating four vegetarian or vegan meals a week can save up to 748 lbs of carbon emissions annually? Many of the recipes featured on our website are nutrient-rich, plant-based, and planet-friendly and are perfect for lunch, dinner, or your next gathering.
You can track your planet-friendly meals on our app and make progress toward your goal of offsetting one ton of carbon emissions.
Day 7: Two for Tuesday! Turn your thermostat down 2 degrees.
Why do you think you bought all of those throws and sweaters? Add a cup of Silky, Rich, and Easy Hot Cocoa, and you’ll make it a weekday party!
Reducing your energy usage reduces your CO2 emissions and can also reduce your bill by 1% for each degree of change you make. Set your thermostat one (through five) degree(s) higher in the summer and one (through five) degree(s) lower in the winter, and the planet and your wallet will thank you!
Day 8: Let’s make this Wellness Wednesday! Add an indoor plant to your room and take a deep breath.
Plants add fresh oxygen into our homes and take in the carbon dioxide we breathe out. Now, that’s a beneficial relationship.
Ask a friend for a clipping from one of their beautiful plants, or pick one up on your way home from work. Plants bring a bit of nature indoors and add a homey feeling to any space. Even in winter, we can enjoy a little green.
Day 9: Time to perk up! It’s almost the weekend! Make your own tea and coffee today and enjoy it in a reusable travel mug if you’re going out.
Are you using reusable K-cups for your Keurig machine or using loose tea leaves and a strainer? Both offer a much cheaper way to enjoy your favorite hot beverage and cost less!
Read our blog to learn more about how switching to reusable K-cups can save money and the planet!
Day 10: Reserve some time for yourself tonight, and enjoy a good book.
One of the best ways to motivate yourself on your sustainability journey is to understand why it matters. We have curated an impressive collection of books we recommend to learn more about human impact on the planet. Pick one or two you like and order them today.
If possible, we recommend you buy books from Better World Books. Their mission is to “better the world, one book at a time.” According to their website, to date, they have donated 35 million books, raised over $34 million for libraries and literacy, and reused or recycled over 450 million books.
Saturday & Sunday: Time for Reflection and Self-Evaluation.
You just completed 10 days of the 15-day sustainability challenge. Have you been able to keep up with the Joyful Changes you have made? What can you do better?
Have you tracked all of your Joyful Changes in the One Planet Life App? It’s important to understand the impact of your actions and how they contribute to the larger goal of improving quality of life and to protecting the planet.
DAY 11: It’s Meatless Monday! Eat two plant-based meals today. Choose Breakfast and Lunch or Breakfast and Dinner.
Eating more plants and vegetables is good for you and the planet. There are so many delicious ways to eat plant-based meals, and we are happy to share some of our favorite recipes. Cheers to sustainable eating!
Day 12: Two for Tuesday! Double the fun. Think of two ways you can conserve water today.
Take a shorter shower, shut the faucet off when brushing your teeth, or only run the dishwasher when it’s full.
We are utterly dependent on water. There wouldn’t be any life on Earth without it. We experience water in many different ways, both positively and negatively. It seems so plentiful and readily available to most of us (except for nearly 2 billion people without access to safely managed water) that we can neglect to treat water as a precious life-sustaining resource. To better understand our water’s risks, read our blog, We Should Never Take Water for Granted. Especially Now.
To help you get started, we share water-saving tips for four high-water usage areas in your home: the kitchen, the bathroom, the laundry, and the outdoors
Day 13: Let’s focus on suds today. Today’s challenge is to select one household cleaning product and replace it with a more sustainable version.
Take a look at all of the cleaning products in your home. Are they environmentally friendly? Do they come in large plastic containers to be thrown away?
Replace non-environmentally friendly ones with eco-friendly ones, such as laundry detergent sheets versus liquid. You can find them at grocery stores and online.
Traditional cleaning products often contain a cocktail of harmful chemicals that can pose risks to both our health and the environment. Chemicals like ammonia, bleach, and phthalates are common ingredients found in many household cleaners. These substances are known to emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can contribute to indoor air pollution. Prolonged exposure to these VOCs can lead to respiratory problems, allergies, and even more severe health issues. On top of that, many come packaged in plastic containers that live in our landfills for our lifetimes. Read our blog to learn more.
Day 14: For the love of trees! Today’s challenge is to see how much paper usage you can replace in your home.
Here are three ideas:
- Replace paper towels with reusable cloth towels.
- Use cloth napkins instead of paper.
- Switch to recycled toilet paper.
Trees play a significant role in the health of our planet. They are more alive than you can imagine. To learn more about trees, we highly recommend the book The Secret Network of Nature by Peter Wohlleben. Read our summary.
Day 15: It’s the end of the work week! We challenge you to get outside and breathe in nature.
Wherever you live, take a brisk walk outside and pause. Take in the world around you and say, “Thank you.”
Whenever you are exploring outside in nature, remember to follow the principles of “Leave No Trace.” Read our blog to learn more.
Saturday & Sunday: Time for Reflection and Self-Evaluation.
Congratulations! You just completed the 15-day sustainability challenge! We are so proud of you. Now that you have built this foundation, what other joyful changes will you add? Your efforts matter!
Did you remember to track all of your Challenge Joyful Changes in the One Planet Life App? Be sure to invite your friends to join you on the app and to participate in our next challenge.
