How I’m Putting More Effort into Bettering Myself (and the World Around Me)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tetra Pak for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

There’s been a lot of new experiences in our home over the last six weeks. Not only did we pack up and move across the country, but our entire schedules have shifted, and, for the first time since we were married in 2012, Tyler and I are not working side-by-side all day every day.

It’s taken some time to adjust to the changes all around, but I’ve found myself with a lot more spare time to work on projects, cook meals from scratch, read educational articles, listen to audiobooks again (DM me for recommendations, I’m on a roll), and just be myself again. I find that I am now able to spend time focusing on and learning about causes that I feel strongly about, whereas before I was always flying by the seat of my pants, not having enough time or energy to put effort into these causes.

One area that I’ve been focusing on a lot more recently is my impact on the environment. I’ve always felt strongly about doing more to reduce me and my family’s waste and do more to protect our planet. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been able to eliminate our use of disposable products almost entirely, and our recycling bin is working overtime every week.

It was around this time that I was approached by Tetra Pak about working together. You may not have heard of them, but you’ve definitely used a product that came in a container produced by them. Everything from juices, soups, water, coffee and even pet food can be contained in a Tetra Pak container. But its the level of commitment to the environment and promoting sustainability that really caught my attention.

Tetra Pak cartons actually help protect natural resources and reduce climate impact, as they are made of renewable materials from sustainable sourcing. 100% of the paperboard in the cartons can be traced back to responsibly managed forests. The best part is that after they’ve been recycled, cartons can be turned into tissue, paper products, and green building materials.

That leads me to another area of my life that has come into clearer focus: healthier eating. I’ve been putting my favorite apron on every afternoon and practicing my culinary skills in hopes to reduce our dependence on processed foods and take-out meals. It was during a moment of attempted recipe recreation when I realized that several ingredients I reach for regularly are in Tetra Pak containers. It was more recently that I learned that the paperboard containers don’t require additional preservatives to maintain a long shelf-life, unlike other, less environmentally-friendly packaging methods.

One confession I have to come clean about is that the added time to myself has caused an increase in my social media consumption (and production) volume. But, it has allowed me to dive even further into my new passions, and connect with people that have gone through the same steps I’m taking now. I’m able to receive feedback, learn from even more passionate advocates, and see different perspectives all across the spectrum.

I’m excited to the results of my new goals to clean up our lives and help clean up our environment while continuing to take time to focus on myself whenever possible. And next time you’re out shopping, pay attention to the products you’re putting into your cart, and see how many items you regularly buy that come in Tetra Pak cartons, you may just be as surprised as I was.