This whole reusable travel thing? Started after I stared at my own trash after a business trip. Man, so much plastic water bottles, those sad airline food containers, even those flimsy hotel pens. It piled up. Felt stupid, honestly. So I figured, why not try? Gonna share how I actually did it – step by clumsy step.
The Awkward Beginning: Looking at My Mess
First step was honestly kinda grim. I dumped out my travel backpack from the last trip. Literally just dumped it on the kitchen floor.
- Counted five empty plastic water bottles.
- Found three crummy plastic snack wrappers.
- Discovered one flimsy single-use toiletry bottle.
That was just one trip! Felt pretty awful looking at that pile. Decided enough is enough. Time for step two.
Digging Through My Own House
Before buying fancy stuff, I raided my own cupboards. Seriously, just started opening drawers.
- Found an old, kinda faded metal water bottle in the back of a cabinet. Bit dusty, but works!
- Discovered several decent-sized Tupperware containers that weren’t see-through anymore but had good lids.
- Grabbed a canvas tote bag stuffed in the closet, forgot I even had it.
Just stuff I had lying around. Nothing perfect. But step two was realizing I didn’t need to buy anything new yet. Recycling my own junk first felt smart.
My First Attempt: The Forgot-Everything Trip
Third step was where things got messy. Packed my reused water bottle and containers… and then forgot half of them in the hotel room fridge when rushing to checkout. Classic me. Also packed snacks in a plastic bag again because my containers were full. Felt like a hypocrite buying bottled water at the airport after security.
Step three taught me: Make it stupid easy or you’ll forget. So when I got home, I did this:
- Designated one corner of my suitcase just for reusables. No exceptions.
- Bought a few tiny reusable bags for snacks that roll up tiny.
- Put my beat-up water bottle right by my keys days before traveling.
Making It Stick (Mostly)
Fourth step is basically putting steps 1-3 on repeat, but trying harder. My most recent trip looked like this:
- Filled the water bottle before even leaving the house. Didn’t wait for the airport.
- Pack the designated reusables corner first when packing.
- Refused the free plastic cutlery on the plane and used my own spork. Felt kinda weird but good.
- Actually remembered to bring my Tupperware home this time! Small win.
Still bought snacks on the road sometimes, but used my own bag. Definitely less trash day after day. Feels better than starting with nothing.
Look, it’s not perfect. I still slip up. But using stuff I already had and making small habits? That actually works. Takes way less effort than you think once you start. Try digging through your own junk drawer first.
