Sustainability is not for the faint-of-heart because it takes dedication. Staying motivated, especially on those hectic days when you just really want to be lazy, can make life challenging. Trust me I’ve been there and know that it seems like ignoring it all would be easier, but I’m also here to tell you, I did not become “sustainable” overnight, so don’t get discouraged.
Turning your life upside down and trying to adopt a thousand new habits doesn’t work for anyone – I don’t care how type A you are. But sustainability is no longer an issue to be ignored. Our planet is in trouble and it is up to us to make sure our kids, and their kids, have a planet that nurtures and supports who they want to be. In order to do that we all must chip in. We all must start making changes in our daily routines that add up to big impacts.
I started my journey almost five years ago. I mention this because nothing is done overnight. It is a process. My first baby step was becoming a vegetarian. I am a huge animal activist and was sick and tired of seeing how animals are mistreated and abused for the sake of a broken food system. Then I took on the challenge of eating 50% clean. After that I started eating 100% organic, supporting local farmers every chance I got, and refusing anything with GMO’s. From there I moved on to sustainable clothing, all-natural cleaners, eliminating toxic air-freshers, and adopting herbal medicines for everyday illnesses.
Nowadays, my team and I try to find every sustainable product we can to help people make easy everyday changes, like these produce bags. As an interior designer, my goal everyday is to first reuse and repurpose
So don’t be overwhelmed. It is about taking baby steps to ease into the process, and never feel guilty. Even if you only adopt one thing, you’re still making an impact to reduce your carbon footprint.
Here are 15 ways to ease into zero waste living:
- Ditch plastic bags. Use reusable produce bags, and canvas shoppers
and where ever you go.
- Recycle everything. Instead of buying items that are bottled in plastic, opt for glass everything. Those bottles can be reused. I repurpose Kumbucha bottles for water bottles. (I can’t tell you how many times I have dropped them on the pavement at yoga – they never break!) Pasta sauce, salsa, drinks – if it has a reusable lid, then repurpose it. Don’t want to buy 10 kombuchas? Here’s a set of 6 glass bottles
that can be used for all sorts of things again and again and won’t leach crap into your liquids.
- Eliminate disposable paper products. Paper towels can be replaced with rags
and bulk washcloths
. They’re cheap and can be used again and again. Napkins can be replaced with cloth ones. I buy cocktail napkins in bulk and we use those everyday and then wash them. Plates, cups, silverware – get rid of all disposables and start using things that can be reused.
- Buy bulk. Every store has a bulk isle. Better yet, shop at places like costco. It’s cheaper and you produce less waste. For example, buy ONE large container of yogurt and divvy it up into those re purposed salsa jars we mentioned above. And then repurpose the yogurt container! You can also bring your containers to the store and fill them up. People at whole foods are super creative! I see jars
,mason jars
bags, baskets – and whole foods will credit you .10 cents for repurposing! I have four of these bagsand I love them!
- Make homemade products like cleaners, shampoos, deodorant, bath salts and lotions. Cleaners are filled with toxins that harm your family, pets and the water ways. Buy bulk baking soda and vinegar. It cleans better, is safer on you and the environment and costs hundreds less. I can usually get 18 months out of one large baking soda bag.
- Buy products that are at minimum 50% post consumer product.
- Get rid of air fresheners. They are highly, highly toxic, and have been banned in most European countries. Opt for a more natural option.
- Make your own dryer sheets. You can go to home depot and buy a huge bag of shop rags for about 10 bucks. Pick up some essential oils and douse the rags. Throw in with laundry and voila, homemade dryer sheets. You can also douse in lemons.
- Use paper bags over trash bags. Those kitchen trash bags and large contractor bags sit in landfills for years and harm our environment. Instead opt for kitchen and yard bags made of post consumer paper.
- Buy used clothes or join a clothing swap.
- Buy used furniture. If its vintage or antique, even better. It’s made better and you have an excellent idea of how it will hold up.
- Canvas shoppers. If you don’t have a canvas shoppers
- Stop your mail and opt for paperless online bill pay.
- Buy second hand dishes. Over the past five years I have purchased some of the most kick ass platters, plates, bowls, cups and baking dishes from thrift stores. One of my most favorite pitchers is from my local thrift store. And the best part, most of it is less than 5 bucks.
- Use a reusable lunch bag
, reusable containers, and reusable sandwich bags for lunch.
I remember five years ago when my ex husband and I would take our trash can to the curb. The lid would barely close because we had so much trash – and I can’t tell you how many times we FORGOT it was trash day and ended up with over ten bags of trash sitting in our garage! yuck! Now when David and I put our can out, there is one or two bags in it. We almost hate that we have to pay for weekly trash because we don’t have enough. If it was bi-weekly, it would save resources. But that is a whole other can of worms!
We have adopted all 15 of these practices above into our everyday life, but it took some time. So don’t get overwhelmed or worse, think you should do nothing. Make it a habit to take on one new sustainable practice every couple of months. Ease into it and you’ll see, it isn’t that hard at all, and you’ll feel pretty good about it!
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Awesome article Amanda! I have been in the recycle, re-use, re-purpose mindset for a number of years as well…and it most certainly is a process, not an overnight thing. I beat myself up for getting lazy, then I go to an antique store and see SO MUCH GOOD STUFF just begging to be loved! Thanks for the reminder to persevere! It is worth it!
Nice blog, Amanda, with some great ideas. I’m all for buying second hand, except for shoes and underwear, and reusing stuff until they’re unusable. I have been doing reusing and recycling here in the UK since the 1980s, when my friends used to think I was ‘nuts’ by taking glass bottles, metal cans and paper/card to the rubbish depot centre because I found they did recycle these even then. Now in the UK is so much easier, as you have to do is to separate your rubbish and place it in different collection bins outside, but even though it’s easy to do I know there are many people who still can’t be bothered. I must say, although I do reuse my glass sauce/jam jars as I make my own jam, there’s a limit to how many I can reuse because, unfortunately, when you buy sauces, jams etc they come in glass jar, so you end up with more than you can reuse. However, the glass making process requires some old glass which means we need to take some old glass jars and wine/beer bottles to the bottle bank to keep the glass manufacturing going, i.e. you can’t make new glass without some old glass in the mix. Another thing which would cut down on the amount of wine/beer glass bottles that are disposed off is what the Brazilians do with regard to glass beer bottles. They charge you for the glass bottle each time you buy your beer, and it’s not just 10 pence, it’s more than the price of the beer, but when you return the bottle you get your money back or if you bring an empty next time you buy, then you get a full bottle and only pay for the content, i.e. the beer. Brazilians not only pioneered bio-ethanol, but also recycling and reusing of glass and cans, as far back as the 1970s.
Vera
Thanks for sharing your own story! I think if more people took on one small task of reusing we’d be in a much better place globally. I did not know about the beer bottles! What an interesting fact!
Thanks and I’m glad there people like us doing all we can to get as close to zero waste as possible. Keep up the great work!
One thing I think that’s important is to reuse all that you have already, until it can’t be reused. For example, don’t just throw away your plastic sandwich baggies, wash them and reuse them until they have holes. I have some that have been reused for years. A sour cream container can become a good storage container. A glass jar can become a drinking glass.
Kristie,
All fantastic ways to reuse and repurpose. Thank you so much for sharing! It’s funny you mentioned the glass jar thing. I can’t believe how many people don’t think of that! In my new book, Easy Everyday Habits to be More Eco-Friendly, I talk about the importance of glass and how it can be reused forever, and if recycled never loses it’s original properties like plastic does. Bravo on making a stance and creating change!!
Amanda
Not against reducing waste, but I won’t do online bill pay anymore. I don’t want my bank account or credit card information online any longer. And I won’t buy in bulk. Cross contamination is an issue and who knows where these food items come from?
Elle,
I think both are a wise decision and shows that you are clear about what works for you. I often buy bulk from big box stores like Home Depot and Costco. I think it’s just a matter of trying things and then determining what you like best, and it sounds like you you’ve done just that.
Kudos!
Amanda
Great article! I am totally on board for any tips to reduce waste! There is one thing that caught my eye and I had to comment on it. Before I do so, I want to tell you about myself so that you can see we are a lot alike. I am a yogi, a vegan, a pursuer of zero-waste (why I am at your website), a lover of animals, and also a female PHD student studying Peanut Genetics. I work to produce peanuts that yield more and require less pesticides than conventional peanuts. I do this work through traditional breeding (which means I am not producing GMOs). However, by being in this field, I have come to learn a lot about genetic engineering. Like you, I was once fearful of GMOs- I only bought organically. While I tried to learn more about what GMOs were, I found that reliable information is in dense articles with scientific jargon. Unfortunately, a lot of scientists are not good communicators, preferring to work quietly in a lab or field instead of braving public speaking (this is slowly changing with a greater focus on training young scientist in public speaking, yay!). Anyways, I pursued this education because I wanted to help feed people and learning about GMOs was a side benefit. What I want to say is that GMOs are not scary; they are not detrimental to your health (there is no scientific evidence that they are bad for you to eat). They can actually be helpful for the environment. A GMO can be produced to make the crop need less water, etc. And even more mind-blowing, GMO seeds can be grown organically!! That was an amazing thing that I have learned, and wish more people knew! We can produce genetically amazing seeds that make a plant yield more, use less water, need less pesticides, etc. and follow all other organic guidelines! Amazing! Anyways, all this to say that neither organic nor conventional agriculture is a bad guy- they are both good! I say organic is good because of their practices and I say conventional is good too because it uses less land than organic agriculture. If all food was organically grown, we would lose so much of our precious forests (and sadly, we don’t have much left of them). The main take-away that I have learned from my studies is that there is no black and white answer, and I want to share that with anyone who will listen and wants to make the world a better place.
The purpose of this comment is to ask you not to spread fear about GMOs. There are so many people already doing that. GMOs can be so great for our enviornment, so please give them a chance. Buy organic, buy GMO, but whatever you do, please don’t spread fear. I feel so bad for the public, especially mothers who are targeted, that people are purposefully filling them with fear to make money. Organic and conventional are both good for us and the environment.
Thank you again for being concerned for protecting our environment.
Such an awesome list! I’m glad you mentioned it took 5 years to get to the point you are. I’m basically just starting out and it can be overwhelming to want to buy or do the best then, when in reality it’s about a bunch of trade offs. I’m getting closer every day!
You might be interested in my article about the different recycling programs where I have lived. You’ll be jealous you don’t live in Portland! (Unfortunately I’m in Florida and they aren’t currently recycling!) http:// skipthebag. blogspot. com/2016/03/recycling-programs-hawaii-florida-oregon.html
Skip the bag
You are right! It can be overwhelming when you first start out. So take it one item at a time and ease into it. Before you know it you’ll be doing five things
and don’t underestimate the impact that has!
Good Luck!
xx
Amanda
This is really helpful, and exactly the type of resource I have been looking for. Thank you for sharing!
Seems tat I am already doing these, feeling a little chuffed with myself at the mo !!
Thats fantastic!
xx
Amanda
Hi Amanda!!
A great article I must say..
I would also like to add that I’ll start doing above mentioned things in addition to what u have mentioned above.
Also, I’ve started pretty recently to compost all my vege scraps and now we don’t even have a single bag of trash to throw in the trash can..coz all goes in the compost bin along with leaves and branches from trees.
I have a vege garden and also plants in containers so I used that compost as a fertilizer for the plants..
You should try it too..it’s very satisfying.
Thats fantastic! I love to hear people taking care of themselves and mama earth.
Kudos!
xx
Amanda
I love your idea of cutting out paper products! They add up quite a bit throughout the year and are so wasteful. Bringing cloth back is so worth it!
They really do! I went to Home Depot 8 years ago and bought a large bag of shop rags. I still have them today! I use them to clean the windows, wipe the counters, clean the bathrooms, clean up cat puke and everything in between. I’ve saved thousands in paper towels plus helped the environment.
I’ve also stocked up on linen napkins. I have found that cocktail napkins are perfect for a quick breakfast or lunch. When I see them on sale I stock up!
Another great tip, soak linen wash cloths in essential oils and use them as dryer sheets. Yet another cost savings and helps save your dryer and planet!
Good luck
Amanda
Thank you for sharing your journey, I’ve come to appreciate that it’s a journey, not an overnight transformation. I sometimes have trouble finding certain things in bulk. I was wondering where you buy bulk vinegar and baking soda, for example?
Ashley
The best place is Costco or Sams club or a warehouse type store. I’m not sure where you are located but I think you can also get it on amazon!
Blessings
Amanda
How do you get flavors/ smells out of the lids of the jars you are reusing? I’ve tried soaking overnight, vinegar and baking soda but my pickle jar, salsa, marinara sauce etc always still have residual smells and flavors left behind.
Jessica
Pickles and garlic are especially hard! I’ve had luck soaking in lemon juice or placing them outside in the sun for three to five days.
Amanda
I’m all for reducing waste and we do what works for us. Some of the above advice doesn’t work for me or our family. Toilet paper meets my needs and I’ll continue to use it. I do scrapbooking which uses paper, but scrapbookers save as much as possible for future use. I have plastic storage containers that I will use until they are no longer usable. Immediately trashing them or donating them isn’t real recycling. It doesn’t solve the problem. I won’t do online bill pay. My account was compromised and I no longer want my information on the internet. I’m not as concerned about paper as I am about tech waste. Televisions, computers, mobile devices and other electronics contain toxic metals and after the usable materials are reclaimed, the rest ends up in landfills, often in third world countries. Not good.
Rachel
I think you have nailed it for your needs. And your conscious about it! That’s the most important thing, finding out what works for you and then doing the work. Most people just stick there head in the sand and don’t care. I just put an article up on Facebook a few days ago about Cape Town, South Africa. They have run out of water and there are millions of residents soon to be without water. They have been telling the residents to ration water for the last two years. The residents didn’t care and continued to consume as they always had before. This is the world we live in. You are making a solid effort and that’s the most important step!
The little things do matter
Great list…proud to say I do over half of these on a regular basis. You gave me some new ideas to make even more progress. Thanks for sharing
Love your ideas!! I already do a lot of them. Thanks for challenging me to go to the next level. This is so important to me