Before I share anything I think it’s extremely important for all of us to remember (myelf included) that perfection is not the goal here. It’s easy to see things in black and white. When I started trying to be more eco friendly I would sometimes feel guilty when I’d buy something frivolous that comes in a lot of packaging, or when I’d throw away things that I know will sit in a land fill. But then I rememberd something I heard somewhere…
It’s more important to have a lot of people doing this imperfectly, than a few people doing it perfectly.
I tell myself this every day. I am not one of those zero-wasters, and I’m guessing you aren’t either. I still want to enjoy my life without constantly worrying about the trash I’m producing or the carbon I’m releasing. So I’ve slowly begun dedicating myself to doing these things imperfectly:
1. Low Barrier Recycling
My idea of low barrier recycling came from the idea that if I make recycling easier than trashing something I will be more likely to do it. So I’ve made some changes in my kitchen to make recycling easier. Mainly, I got a combo recycling/trash bin with larger bin for the recycling and the smaller one for the trash. I like that this one had a really small trash bin because it is likely to get filled up quicker and therefore I would be less inclined to throw things in it. Trashing is the last resort; f it can’t be composted or recycled that’s the last option. In short: smaller trash bin, larger recycling bin.
2. Reusable Shopping Bags
Living on Long Island where we were charged 5 cents for every single use grocery bag (to help eliminate plastic bags from our local ecosystem) I quickly learned to remember my reusable bags for each trip to the store. However, when I moved to Charlottesville, Viginia I was horrified to see that hardly anybody did the reusable bag thing. I thought this was a solved issue but I guess it’s not. Please, I beg of you, don’t use single use plastic bags. If you get yourself some really cute ones like these you might be more inclined to remember them.
3. Composting
This was one I took a long time to get into doing, but I’m so glad I did it. Here’s what I do: I got this composter and set it up under my back deck. On the counter each day I have a bowl where I throw veggie and fruit scraps when I’m cooking, then at the end of the day I take the bowl to the backyard and throw it in the composter. I use a bowl instead of a canister because I am more likely to take it out regularly if I can see it there.
4. Thrift, Vintage & Consignment
It use to be rather uncool to get your clothes second hand, but with people being more mindful about clothing waste there is now a renaissance of thrift, vintage, and consignment shopping. It’s grown past the Salvation Army (or “Sally’s” as my family likes to call it) to become a huge industry in both the online space and brick and mortar stores. I am most excited about the Luxury consignment market on websites such as The Real Real. Here are some more great online thrift stores:
5. Beeswax Wrap
This was a game changer for me in the kitchen. I was uncomfortable with how much plastic wrap, ziplock bags, and aluminium foil I was using and throwing away on a reguler basis. Beeswax wrap is a really simple way to wrap up food without the waste. I was surprised how well it stuck when I wrapped it around bowls and even food itself. I use it on all sorts of fruits, veggies, leftovers, cheese, or anything in a bowl.
6. Research/Support Sustainable Brands
We all know that we vote with our dollars, which is why I have been trying more and more lately to do my research and look into the brands that are making an effort to do good in the world, reduce their environmental impact, create ethical working conditions, and creating more sustainable products and methods. This doesn’t mean I’ve completely ditched other ways of consuming, but when I can I like to learn a little bit about where my things come from, and who makes them. I’ve been putting together a running list of the clothing brands and furniture brands that are making efforts toward more sustainability.
