Hi Friends! Today I’m going to elaborate on my new project that I mentioned in a recent post, Journey to a Waste Free Home. I recently read of a woman, Bea Johnson, that reduced her households waste accumulation for one year into a 32 oz. container. How cool is that!! You should checkout her blog, ZeroWasteHome.com . There’s photos of her home. Simply stunning!!
Getting down to 32 oz will not be possible for our household because of our two little fur-babes that use newspapers some of the time. I do believe, and it is my goal, that I can reduce our families waste to three 13 gal bags a month. Hopefully less. Basically I’d like to see only the doggies papers in the waste, but we’re going to take baby steps here. You’re not going to be waste free overnight, so don’t stress about it like I do. 
So what sparked this fire in me to swear off plastic shopping bags and become obsessive on cutting our waste? This video here. Warning!!! If you feel the way I do about our planet, then this video is going to make you so mad and so very sad at what we are doing to this beautiful (for how much longer?), blue planet of ours. Then, I read an article in Mother Nature News magazine about recycling and is it worth it? Glass, yes, metal, yes, electronics, yes, plastics, barely. “Barely” worth the time to recycle. There is just so much of the stuff, it’s every where! And the recycling method for plastics is very inefficient. Plastic can only be recycled a limited number of times, unlike glass that can be recycled over and over and over again, infinitely.
The images were completely sobering to me. I was blind to the amount of damage the plastic bag is doing to the planet. I thought, “As long as I’m using them ’till they can’t be used anymore, it’s okay. Besides, what else am I going to use for the bathroom waste basket?” All kidding aside, this is a serious issue resulting in serious consequences, the death of our Mother Earth. Using the word “death” may sound extreme, but is it really?
Hear me out: The next time you leave your house do this, look around at the ground. See ALL that litter? Pretty gross, huh? Now, take away the building, cars, trees, etc. and put an ocean (or any body of water) there. Picture all that litter, floating on top of the water, killing our wildlife every day. That’s what we do to our planet everyday. Treat it like a trash can! So, was it extreme for me to use the word “death”? I think not! 
And since I’m all about moving forward and not staying in the past, let’s get to the steps (the baby steps) that I’m following to reach my goal.
Going green checklist
Bea Johnson used the 5 “R”‘s, not just three: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot. In that order. My first step, and it’s the one I have most control of right now since I do the shopping. So I’m starting there. I always refuse bags now and always have a cloth shopping bag with me in case I need to make an unexpected purchase, but necessary. For example if I took a walk to the library and forgot the Farmer’s Market was that day, I have a bag with me, no plastic needed!! So as it stands, I’m getting rid of the bags I have left and refusing the rest!
The next step would be to reduce your household’s waste. You can accomplish this by using reusable shopping bags, purchasing items by bulk and BYOC (Bring Your Own Container). I have yet to be able to take advantage of shopping this way. The closest Whole Foods is a 45 min bus ride away! However, when I go shopping next week I’m going to plan a trip there to check it out. I’ve never even been in a Whole Foods! I’ll definitly share the details of my visit in a post! Reducing can also mean your spending and begin shopping at second hand stores. You would reduce your part of the carbon footprint left behind from purchasing a new pair of jeans instead of a second hand pair. Use old clothes that can’t be donated (stained, ripped) as cleaning cloths or even….toilet paper. Yes, reusable TP. There’s no difference between that and cloth diapers, right. It’s even less messy! Though I have yet to jump on that band wagon. Think of it, you’ll never run out of TP again!
Reusing is my specialty! Before I throw anything out I ask myself if there is any more use for it? I have a hard time getting rid of things that are not garbage. I’m no hoarder but at one point I was saving peanut butter jars, the plastic ones, and I counted 14 one time! Well, you never know when you’ll suddenly need 14 plastic PB jars!! We get natural PB now and it comes in a nice glass jar. Perfect for reusing! Also the jelly we buy is perfect for drinking glasses, q-tips, cotton balls, etc. I hold onto butter containers, take-out (although we don’t do much of that any more.) containers, juice bottles and the like. If there is a possibility that something can be reused, I’ll hold onto it, just in case. I even rinsed out a red grapes bag that is, to my surprise! :0, a #5 recycle. But, I’m going to reuse it when I go shopping next so I don’t need a new one!!
This is my fave of the “R”s, recycle! Because when I have used up something and there’s nothing left to do with it, recycle comes to the rescue and ultimately it does get new life. Like how paper gets shredded and pulverized and turned into new paper products! Glass and metals get melted down and given a new life as well. Pretty neat, huh? I remember when I was a little girl seeing my grandfather rinse out cat food cans. I’m talking 30 years ago. Just imagine if we new then what we know now….. So in the end try to reuse, if not, then recycle.
The final phase is to let it rot, like in compost. Going to be honest here and not even pretend to know how to compost. I haven’t had the pleasure yet of having a garden to make compost for. I tried last year, a garden, didn’t go so well, very painful, need to let it go. I’ll never find the critter that destroyed my 20 something plants!!! Was to busy trying to get my blog going to start a garden this year. However, I’ll give it a go next year, compost and all! And here is a pdf from the EPA on how to compost, where to begin, what’s ok to add and what rot is NOT ok to add.
So that is the 5 “R”s, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot, always in that order. I got the first four to work on and the fifth won’t be necessary until early spring when I start my garden. And use your imagination when applying these steps to a waste free home. To expand on second hand stores, they have more than clothing. There’s furniture, small kitchen appliances, curtains, dishes and so much more! And if you’ve never been to one let me tell you, they are awesome! The clothes are not junkie, worn out or stained. Most 2nd hand stores are very particular when accepting donations. Also, they{clothes} are mostly top-o-the-line clothes. Many with price tags still on them. Definitely check one out if you get the chance, especially if there is a Savers in your area!
Well if you found this interesting and informative please make my day and leave a comment!:) You can also follow me on any of my social media! Thanks for stopping by!
Kristine xo
photo credit: DSCF2410a-sm via photopin (license)
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