Every July, thousands of people make a Plastic Free July pledge with the best of intentions. They buy a reusable coffee cup, remember their shopping bags for a week or two, then life gets busy and old habits creep back in.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
The good news is it isn’t a lack of motivation or willpower. Building new habits is difficult because your brain is wired to rely on routines you’ve already established. The more often you repeat a behaviour, the more automatic it becomes.
That’s where habit stacking comes in.
What is habit stacking?
Habit stacking is a simple behaviour change technique that involves attaching a new habit to one you already do every day.
Instead of trying to remember something completely new, you use an existing routine as your reminder.
Consider the things you already do without even thinking – grabbing your keys before you leave the house, making your morning coffee, unpacking the groceries or putting on your shoes. These routines happen automatically, making them the perfect reminder for a new habit.
Find your cue
The secret to habit stacking is choosing the right cue. A good cue is something you already do almost every day without thinking. Then, simply attach your new habit to it.
Here are a few examples:
☕ Keep your coffee cup with your keys
If you always pick up your keys before leaving the house, make that your reminder to grab your reusable coffee cup too. Keep the cup beside your keys so you naturally pick up both as you head out the door.
🛍️ Put your shopping bags back straight away
After you’ve unpacked your groceries, don’t leave your reusable shopping bags on the bench. Before you finish unpacking, return them straight to the car. Soon, putting the bags away becomes part of unpacking the groceries.
🥕 Keep your produce bags inside your shopping bags
Instead of storing produce bags separately, keep them inside your reusable shopping bags. Every time you grab your shopping bags, your produce bags will already be there too.
💧 Pack your water bottle first
If you take a bag to work, school or the gym, make your reusable water bottle the first thing you pack. Before long, taking your bottle becomes part of getting ready for the day.
Start small
One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to change too much at once.
Plastic Free July isn’t about being perfect or eliminating every piece of plastic overnight. It’s about choosing one or two realistic swaps that fit your everyday life and have the potential to become lasting habits.
When you make the new behaviour easy to remember, you’re much more likely to keep doing it long after July has finished.
Build your own habit stack
Take 30 seconds to think about your day.
What’s one thing you do every day without fail?
- Pick up your keys?
- Make a cup of tea or coffee?
- Feed the dog?
- Pack the kids’ lunches?
- Brush your teeth?
- Put on your shoes before heading out?
Now ask yourself:
“Can I attach my Plastic Free July pledge to that?”
The best habit stack is the one that fits naturally into your routine. Once you find the right cue, you may be surprised how quickly your new habit becomes second nature.
If you haven’t already, there’s still time to join Plastic Free July. Choose one simple swap that works for you and take the Plastic Free July pledge today.
