Today I have another Guest Blogger on board. TheZeroWasteBackpacker!
Kat is originally from Australia and at the moment she's traveling Zero Waste in Mexico.

She was happy to share her experiences when I asked her, so let's see how her Zero Waste Mexican Adventure is going so far.
For more great pictures, inspiration and stories follow her on
Instagram @thezerowastebackpacker,
​Facebook: TheZeroWasteBackpacker
and make sure to check out her Blog: www.thezerowastebackpacker.com

I hear/read this quite often: "I know there is a plastic problem somewhere in this world in Asia and China etc., but where I live its clean and we are recycling plastic, so all is good, we don´t need to make changes."
Well, that is actually not true!

Yes, there are places where you wont find a lot of visible plastic trash on beaches or in parks and rivers. It's true that some countries are real good in recycling management.
​But its not true that this does mean that everything is fine.

​The best time to travel to South East Asia is starting now, and who doesn't like to enjoy a beach holiday? 
​I know a lot of people that are already or planning to go to Thailand, Bali, Malaysia, etc.
Whats better than drinking coconuts on the beach, snorkeling, exploring remote places, eating exotic food.
Most people I know respect other cultures and want to interact and get to know the locals.
I find, to respect nature and animals in those countries, should be in the same line.

@Infographic credit: Gili Eco Trust 

Have you heard about the International Coastal Cleanup Day?
The very first Coastal Clean Up took place in 1989 in Texas.
Organized from www.oceanconservancy.org .
Now its a worldwide Clean Up day in September every year and all around the world Ocean Friends and Environmentalists are organizing and participating on Clean Ups.
​In 2014, 560.000 People collected 7.250 Tons of Trash on beaches worldwide.

So last Saturday its been the day. 16.09.2017, the International Coastal Cleanup Day.

​Yesterday, I went for a little bike ride. I needed some air and I can actually think better when I´m outside and alone.
So I packed my breakfast, the rest of my morning coffee in a jar, and my raincoat because I´ve seen a few dark clouds and I know the weather here in northern Germany where I am at the moment. It can be quick an unpredictable on days like this... But I wanted to go anyway. 
​

​I just read a blog post the other day about plastic free living and zero waste shopping and some people commented in a negative way that this is only a lifestyle for people with money and a lot of free time every day. So I thought I share a few tips everybody of us can do and make these little changes into the living a minimalistic plastic life direction without spending loads of money and loads of time.
​
Because I think and know: if you want to you can achieve a lot of things.

I hear this quite often:
"It´s impossible to eat healthy while traveling."
"I want to try all the food on my holiday, BUT I don´t want to gain weight."
"I want to stick to my habit, BUT I don´t want to get too stressed out about it."

For me (traveling longterm since December 2015) it actually doesn´t feel this way mostly, I eat healthy, I actually lost weight even though I try to eat everything I want to taste in a new country. But after a chat with a friend I realized it might be a problem if you don´t know how to find the healthy choices in a city you visit the first time. 

​I heard for the first time about The Plastic Free July Challenge a few days before July. And it took me just a few seconds to say: Yes Im doing this.

You love chips/crisps? 
But you are on a diet?
Or trying to live plastic free?

You can still eat chips, but home made. Its so yummy, and easy.
You just need
450g potatoes (bought in a reusable net or paper bag)
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
chili flakes (or other dried herbs)

Wash the raw potatoes and slice them really thin with a veggie slicer (you can also make sweet potato, or root beet, carrot chips, but they might get a bit softer than potato chips).
In a bowl mix the slices with some olive oil and salt, herbs or chili flakes.
Heat the oven to 170degrees Celcius and layer the slices on a tray with baking paper or on a slightly oiled baking tray. Make sure that the chips are not laying on top of each other. 
Bake them for about 30 minutes. Check a few times before if you might need to flip them, or with some old oven you might need to switch the tray because it might be hotter in the back of the oven.
Make sure they don´t get too dark or burnt.
Let them cool down a bit and enjoy.
(Make sure to eat them the day you make them. Fresh is best and crunchy. They might get softer the next day.)

Happy snacking, if you make some feel free to share and tag #thehappychoices

When it comes to gifts (birthday, new year, birth, christmas, etc.) most of them are made of plastic, wrapped in plastic, comes in plastic packaging, etc.
Beauty products come in plastic, flowers are wrapped in plastic, toys are made of plastic, the wrapper is made of plastic, food gifts are wrapped in plastic, etc.

But it can be different. You just need to get a little creative or just think around the corner.

1. Chose the right gift:
Go for chocolate from a chocolaterie and let them put it in your own container, let it be a nice glass jar.
Go to a flower shop and choose unwrapped flowers, tell them you dont need packaging.
For kids, chose wooden toys.
For beauty products, chose organic products that comes in glass or with wood or chose soap bars.

2. The right packaging:
You can easily wrap your gifts in old newspaper (like my dad does since a couple of years now). Wrap them into natural fiber fabrics or just dont wrap them at all.

3. Give your time as a gift:
What is nicer than spending time together with people you like? Give your free time as a gift. Go hiking, make a picknick, go for a day of swimming, into the cinema, or cooking together. Make a bike trip together or a city trip, there is so much you could do without needing any plastic wrapper, buy any plastic products, etc.

4. Make your own:
You can print your own jute bags or cotton shirts in print shops, you can learn how to knit a cap, a scarf, a bag. Use old cloths or bottles caps to make art. Make a müsli/granola and fill it into a nice glass jar. Make a cake or energy balls. If you are good in fixing bikes, and a friend has a broken bike, this could be a great gift too. 

You see there are many plastic free options! 
You have a favorite one? Or are already giving plastic free gifts? Let me know if you have any tips you like to share with us.