The idea behind this site and blog has sat with me for some time now, and yet I have only just plucked up the courage to put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, and write something.

So, what is Practically Plastic Free all about?

The answer to this also happens to explain why it has taken me so long to produce something for you to read.

It is simple really, I wanted to produce a site which makes the process of reducing your plastic waste as easy and as practical as is possible, without the need for every one of us to make drastic and often impossible changes to our lifestyle.

When I first dove into researching the world of plastic free living I was amazed by the amount of information out there, but at the same time I was also pretty overwhelmed. There was so much to do, so much to change, to buy, to give up and to make. It felt like an absolutely impossible task. What hope did I possibly have of achieving it, let alone asking anyone else to do the same, and could I honestly start a website to encourage others to reduce their reliance on plastic, when I wasn’t sure if I could even do that much about my own?

No.

That was the answer that sat with me for months.

Until now.

In case you are interested, the ‘A bit about me’ page discusses in more detail how I finally decided the answer should, in fact, be Yes. It also provides more of an insight as to why this cause is so important to me.

What do I want this site to be?

My hope is that this site will eventually develop into a place which offers information, products, discussions and ideas that do not intend to preach of a perfectly plastic free lifestyle, but instead encourages and enables every single person to live a life that is as practically free of plastic as is possible for them.

That doesn’t mean I won’t discuss the necessity for change, it doesn’t mean I will shy away from the difficult facts, but I have come to accept that sometimes aiming for the ‘perfect’ plastic free life, only makes the whole thing seem more impossible to achieve. Life is already full of so many challenges for people, creating more will only make people more resistant to try, so hopefully this site will help to make it easy.

There is a blog, for those of you interested in reading about my own progress, the ideas I have, current issues I might decide to discuss and the solutions I come across in the pursuit of change.

I also understand however that not every person who is looking to reduce their reliance on plastic wishes to read through my own thoughts and feelings on the issues or solutions available, or maybe you just don’t have the time right now. Whatever the reason, with the intention of making the change as easy as possible, I have also created easy to navigate pages as a quick and easy go to for details on things such as useful products, recipes and lifestyle hacks. The sections are all there in the navigation pane (more will be added with time) and for anyone starting out, I recommend the ‘Getting Started’ section which contains some really simple ways of making changes that will allow you to reduce your plastic waste immediately.

To those of you thinking about making the change to less plastic, all I can say is go for it. Don’t worry if it’s not the greatest effort in the world, don’t worry if you slip up every now and again, you are thinking about it, informing yourself on the issues that surround it and that means you are already on your way to making a real difference.

Just give it a go and see what it leads to.