As we continue our low-waste journey, we thought we would share some insights into what we learned to help you along your journey! We all start at different times in our lives, there’s no perfect road map for this and we hope to help you tailor it to your timeline and needs.
Low Waste Living is a Journey
Low-waste living isn’t an all-or-nothing, it is a journey. It takes time for a new habit to take hold. Pick one or two things at a time to focus on and keep the journey going.
Get your family and friends involved! They can either join you or help be your low-waste accountability buddy. Remember, no one is perfect as they work to reduce waste. The current system is broken and does not make it easy for us.
Start small and line it up with another current routine. Place your reusable water bottle near the sink to refill after doing dishes. After washing the reusable produce bags, put them with your reusable grocery bags.
Take the wins where you can! Did you reduce your paper towel usage but still have paper towels? Great, you reduced your usage! Did you remember your reusable mug every single day except that one crazy one where everything was going wrong in the morning? Great! I mean, not great things were going wrong, but great, you remembered every other day. Life isn’t perfect, and that’s ok! Working toward something better is key.
Worried You Didn’t Start Soon Enough?
Today is the best day to start! There is no schedule for when you are supposed to start a lifelong habit to save the planet and save money. =) Seriously, we all just need everyone to start.
It can be difficult not to compare ourselves with others. They may have started their low-waste journey years ago, no need to try and catch up by next week. Taking intentional steps will lead to more success of this habit sticking.
Start your low-waste journey where you can, when you can.
It’s OK!
It’s ok to not be perfect!! I cannot stress this enough! Your waste doesn’t have to fit in a mason jar. Some things can’t yet be avoided and will be in our lives for now. Give yourself grace but not excuses.
There will be times when it just isn’t possible or isn’t the best option to ditch a single-use packaged item, and not everything can be reused…that’s ok! Making conscious decisions is best! We still get takeout in disposable containers sometimes, even though we would love for them all to be reusable.
No excuse to not try at all, but plenty of grace if you try and fail or try and can’t find a good replacement.
Refill and Reuse is Best
Refilling and reusing are the best options, but we don’t all have refill stores near us. In that case, choose the larger bulk option you can afford and store and refill your smaller containers. This will help reduce waste. And maybe start a refill store near you! Chat with us if you are up for this option!
Find creative ways to reuse, repurpose, and upcycle items if possible. There are only so many plastic cottage cheese tubs we can repurpose, but reuse what you can and recycle the rest!
Use What You Have
Using what you already have falls into the reuse category. The most environmentally friendly thing is the one that we already have, the next best is a used option. If you must buy, buy quality, local, and only what you need.
We love to encourage folks to reuse that plastic squeezable dish soap bottle until it can’t be used anymore before buying a new dispenser.
Have cloth napkins? Use those to roll up utensils for take out instead of needing plastic ones! No need for a cute new set unless that helps you to take it with you.
Tell Your Friends!
Get your friends and family involved in the journey! If all of us collectively stop buying the products with nasty ingredients from big box stores and corporations, that will send a message to them that we want and need better from them.
We are starting to see some products from big corporations choosing better packaging, but don’t let that fool you. The ingredients still need to be better, they still need to pay their employees and everyone along the supply chain a living wage. They are seeing we want better and are starting to take those steps.
Keep up the good work and get more friends and family involved!
There is No One Size Fits All
A one size fits all low waste journey doesn’t exist. What works for some may not work for others. And that’s ok! We start at different spots, we go at different speeds, and we all have different needs too.
It doesn’t make sense to compare yourself to an influencer who gets to spend all of their time working toward reducing waste while you are working, taking care of a family, and just trying to survive. Do what works for you and within your budget. Just do something.
The moral of this post, we need everyone doing something. Consuming less, upcycling more, reusing everything possible, refilling, and making mistakes along the way are all part of the journey. Leave a comment with any tips that have helped you!
