Did you partake in Plastic free July recently? Reducing waste is becoming more widely embrace. People are starting to really SEE the mess and be proactive to reduce waste. It truly warms my heart.
But with popularity comes nice, shiny ‘zero waste’ objects popping up in your advertisements. Don’t get me wrong – there are some fantastic products on the market and I own a few favourite items myself. BUT – there is absolutely no need to spend money on stuff in order to swap to lower waste options!
Look closely at what is in your home and recycling bin. There are so many ways to reuse before you go and buy.
In my Tiny House on Wheels space is at a premium. Most of the time items are multifunctional.
One large jar is my most used one and it has held a Christmas gift of granola, leftovers, water kefir and strawberry switchel amongst so many other things. Other jars have been vases, snack boxes, coffee cups, drinking glasses, measuring cups, dressing shakers, milk bottles and more. I keep also an empty jar in my bag with silicon bands on it for takeaway coffee or for bringing home leftover food even.
Other things you might have around your house that you could use might be free cloth ‘showbags’ or water bottles from events, spare cutlery you could throw in your backpack for eating out,
– why not grab a small package (think bread bag sort of size) and stuff all the other clean soft plastics in there to take to soft plastic recycling!
While fancy lunchboxes, water bottles, ZW shopping bags and travel cutlery are all pretty cool the reality is most of us have items around our house that could serve the same purpose without having to spend money or claim new resources for manufacturing.
Learning to be intentional, minimalist and eco friendly doesn’t mean getting rid of everything and starting with for purpose buys. It starts with looking around you and what you have – identifying what holds value and what you can use smartly x
P.S. I don’t mean become a clutter bug and keep everything single thing because it might have
