Digging Into Zero Waste
Lately, I've been brainstorming my 5-year goals (that post is forthcoming) and as part of this, I've been digging into topics that I get passionate about, and researching them for potential goals to add to my list. One topic I get super-jazzed about is the idea of living a "sustainable" or "plastic-free" or "waste-free" lifestyle.
From early on, I've always felt guilty about what I'm throwing away, knowing that garbage dumps are just rotting piles of trash that grow, produce methane and will eventually take over the planet. It depresses me just thinking about it. And we're SUCH a single-use, throw away, consume more, throw away, world. And I've always tried to take steps to reuse and recycle as much as I can. (Like, in 2014, I talk about it here and I did a post about what I reuse, or what I make from scratch.) But, there's so much more I can do.
So, for the last few weeks I've been diving into this culture and trying to understand what's out there and learn all that I can.
I started with Bea Johnson from Zero Waste Home. She wrote the book on zero waste living and is considered the "Guru." And it's all blowing my mind. A family of four producing a quart of trash per year?! That's amazing.
She's all about less reliance on recycling, too. It's about refusing single-use items completely. And living a more minimal life of experiences with less waste.
What I like about Bea is she champions baby steps and ignoring the marketing messages we're told about what we need in our homes. But also going as far as your comfortable with and what works with your family. The goal of ZERO waste is nearly impossible in our world, but taking steps to get close to it will make a difference.
Now, do I think my family could ever live a zero waste, minimal, plastic-free life? No way. I like crafting, books and cluttered bookshelves way to much. And we love traveling and shopping. However, I LOVE the idea of reducing our waste, especially in the kitchen. Baby steps, remember.
And I'm the homemaker for now and have time to put some real thought into what we CAN do. As the main shopper for my family, I have the power to make choices for what we buy, where and how we get them. So, I could really make some radical differences (like shopping in bulk) to reduce our trash and plastic use. It's exciting.
And I'm already on my way.
For example, I always carry my own bags for the grocery stores. I even learned how to say "I have my own bags" in French, so they'll use mine. We never use plastic water bottles, but carry our own (especially when we travel) and we have a water filter at home. And plastic straws? No way.
I really think I can adopt some less-plastic, less-waste, more sustainable practices that I've been reading about in my research. And there's so much information out there. I started a Pinterest board to start collecting ideas, and following Instagram folks who will give me little weekly doses of good ideas and inspiration.
Here's a few blogs, if you're interested:
Zero Waste Home (a good place to start)
Litterless (is Chicago-based!)
Zero Waste Memoirs
Zero Waste Nerd
I'm sure there's more coming about this topic. Like I said, I'm passionate about reducing waste, especially plastic. So, I'll find ways to incorporate it in posts. And I'm still deciding what the actual goal will be on my 5-year plan. I'm still in researching phase. But, it's all very exciting.
Related posts:
Read more about this Less Plastic project
My Zero-Waste Ideas Pinterest board
More ideas about Reusing stuff instead of throwing it away
From early on, I've always felt guilty about what I'm throwing away, knowing that garbage dumps are just rotting piles of trash that grow, produce methane and will eventually take over the planet. It depresses me just thinking about it. And we're SUCH a single-use, throw away, consume more, throw away, world. And I've always tried to take steps to reuse and recycle as much as I can. (Like, in 2014, I talk about it here and I did a post about what I reuse, or what I make from scratch.) But, there's so much more I can do.
I started with Bea Johnson from Zero Waste Home. She wrote the book on zero waste living and is considered the "Guru." And it's all blowing my mind. A family of four producing a quart of trash per year?! That's amazing.
She's all about less reliance on recycling, too. It's about refusing single-use items completely. And living a more minimal life of experiences with less waste.
What I like about Bea is she champions baby steps and ignoring the marketing messages we're told about what we need in our homes. But also going as far as your comfortable with and what works with your family. The goal of ZERO waste is nearly impossible in our world, but taking steps to get close to it will make a difference.
Now, do I think my family could ever live a zero waste, minimal, plastic-free life? No way. I like crafting, books and cluttered bookshelves way to much. And we love traveling and shopping. However, I LOVE the idea of reducing our waste, especially in the kitchen. Baby steps, remember.
And I'm the homemaker for now and have time to put some real thought into what we CAN do. As the main shopper for my family, I have the power to make choices for what we buy, where and how we get them. So, I could really make some radical differences (like shopping in bulk) to reduce our trash and plastic use. It's exciting.
And I'm already on my way.
For example, I always carry my own bags for the grocery stores. I even learned how to say "I have my own bags" in French, so they'll use mine. We never use plastic water bottles, but carry our own (especially when we travel) and we have a water filter at home. And plastic straws? No way.
I really think I can adopt some less-plastic, less-waste, more sustainable practices that I've been reading about in my research. And there's so much information out there. I started a Pinterest board to start collecting ideas, and following Instagram folks who will give me little weekly doses of good ideas and inspiration.
Here's a few blogs, if you're interested:
Zero Waste Home (a good place to start)
Litterless (is Chicago-based!)
Zero Waste Memoirs
Zero Waste Nerd
I'm sure there's more coming about this topic. Like I said, I'm passionate about reducing waste, especially plastic. So, I'll find ways to incorporate it in posts. And I'm still deciding what the actual goal will be on my 5-year plan. I'm still in researching phase. But, it's all very exciting.
Related posts:
Read more about this Less Plastic project
My Zero-Waste Ideas Pinterest board
More ideas about Reusing stuff instead of throwing it away
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