Top 5 Ways To Make Zero Waste

zero wasteI’ve stolen it from The Zero Waste Home blog, one of my favorites. I first read about the Johnson family in Sunset Magazine in this article. Read the article and then decide if they’re crazy or not. I’m leaning to the side that says they’re really extreme, but just on the right side of crazy. My home could never be zero waste, or even as minimal as the Johnson’s, but it’s pretty inspirati

onal if you’re into the less is more thing. It’s a phrase my father often used and I can’t help but hear it floating through my head as I swim through toys, clothes, books, rugs, artwork, food, kitchen appliances, outdoor equipment, gardening what-not, cars, stuff. We live in a small home without a lot of storage so that means most of our possessions are out in the open, to look at and collecting dust. I’m trying desperately to part with much of this stuff, although it’s hard and I certainly like my things as much as the next girl. Le sigh. Work in progress. Back to the top 5, these are the 5 ways the Johnson’s reduce waste in their home, which they stick to rigorously and it works. The steps are always to be done in just this order:

1. Refuse – say no to receipts, drink carriers, disposable grocery bags, disposable tasting spoons, etc.I’m kinda cheating on today’s top 5.

2. Reduce – do with less. Interesting fact I learned: eating organic food makes a person feels satiated with 30% less food than commercially grown food. Another reason to eat organic – to reduce food waste in step 5.
3. Reuse – canvas totes, library books, glass jars for food and shop in bulk, shop consignment
4. Recycle – if you must use something disposable make sure it can be recycled
5. Rot – if you’ve followed all the other steps then the only stuff left should be organic matter that can be composted. MMMM…black gold.

If you’re into reducing your stuff and all the stuff on our planet, you might find these videos interesting:

The Story Of Stuff, part 1
The Story Of Change, part 2
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July 2011

Bushwacking! July 2012
Bushwacking
Big Kitty’s hiding spot has most definitely been compromised.

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