Use reusable bags at the grocery store.

Every time you go to the grocery store, chances are you're putting plastic bags into plastic bags, and only use them to carry your food home. Most of us are familiar with reusable shopping bags, but you can also use mesh bags to store your produce, so you don't waste those tiny produce bags. Even better, visit a farmer's market to get local produce that doesn't take fuel to travel.

Get a biodegradable phone case.

We go through phones every few years, which always calls for a new piece of plastic to protect it. Companies are now making biodegradable cases out of flax straw fiber or non-GMO corn rubber that keep your phone, and the earth, safe.

Bring your own drink cups.

Reusable water bottles are becoming more and more popular and for good reason. Plastic bottles are unhealthy, containing toxins that seep into the water. But, reusable cups aren't just for water. Bring your own cup to get your morning coffee or whenever you go get food. You'll quickly realize how much less plastic trash you're producing.

Carry around reusable utensils.

You never really use plastic utensils for more than 10 minutes, so it makes sense to stop using them altogether. 10 minutes of use isn't worth a lifetime of attempting to break down in a landfill or in our oceans. Reusable utensils can come in their own little pouches so you can stick them in any bag and always be prepared.

Forget plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles.

A lot of beauty and hair care products come in plastic bottles. These are things that we buy all the time and are constantly replacing.

Search for shampoo and conditioner bars that come in boxes or have no packaging at all or things that come in glass bottles that you can reuse. Some companies sell large refill containers to eliminate the constant buying of more plastic products.

Stop chewing gum.

Gum is made from polymers, meaning we are chewing on synthetic plastics. Gum also usually contains polyisobutylene, which made up the sludge that covered animals during the Gulf Oil Spill in 2010. Gum is not biodegradable—it could take hundreds of years to decompose, and most of it isn't even thrown away.

Scientists are starting to make biodegradable gum, so maybe you won't have to stop chewing it for long...

Ditch the cling wrap.

Aluminum foil can sometimes be recycled—but an even better option is a natural product, such as a food wrap made of soy wax or beeswax.

Make use of grocery store bulk bins.

Bulk bins allow you to fill up your own container with as much of a product as you'd like. Storing food in your own containers will drastically reduce your plastic use. If you can't buy certain foods in bulk, try searching for items in boxes or glass containers.

Use a bamboo toothbrush.

We change our plastic toothbrushes every three to four months for our entire lives. Bamboo toothbrushes are easy to come by and are so much better for the environment.

Invest in a steel razor.