I’m standing at the supermarket checkout and I get that guilty, sinking feeling again. I forgot to bring reusable bags. Between organizing play dates, dealing with a small child’s playground meltdown, trying to cram in a home-cooked meal, and running my own business, surely I can cut myself a break for not remembering to bring canvas bags? Once I started Common Good, a company that makes refillable soaps and cleaners, this stopped being my inner monologue. My line of work shows me exactly what our plastic consumption habit is doing, and I can't brush it off anymore. You’ve seen the shocking stats. Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags annually; plastic that can take over 1,000 years to break down. It's all heading into our oceans, and the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch floats into my mind as the cashier hands me my groceries in plastic and says, “Have a nice day.” All it takes is a few small changes in our shopping habits to make a impact. Let’s start with these five.