Over
the past couple of months, I have had several friends say to me, “I love what
you are doing, good for you, but I'm too busy”.
Do
you feel that you don't have time? Or do you not know where to start? Or
you can't really be bothered?
First
action we took to simplify our life:
First
Simple steps we took that you can easily adapt without extra time out of your
schedule:
This
saves money, as water out of your faucet is free (why would you want to buy
something that is free?) and saves time because you will not need to drive to a
store to buy a new disposable water bottle.
2)
Exchanged paper napkins for cloth napkins.
This saves money plus a time saver as no need to drive to the store to buy new napkins. We have enough on hand to last
a weeks’ worth of lunches and dinners. This way I only do one small load a week
of cloth napkins, sometimes it takes 2 weeks for the need to do a load.
3)
Exchanged paper towels for cloth rags.
Another large money saver in our house,
as we were going through about 4-5 rolls a week and time saver as no need to
drive to store to buy new rolls. Now we use cloth rags to dry our hands, wash
dishes, clean counters, table, stove etc. We keep enough on hand so that we
only need to do one load a week (which we throw in with cloth napkins).
4)
Becoming organized and prepared with a weekly menu and shopping list.
This is
also a time saver because I am not making multiple trips to the grocery store
during the week. I only shop once a week, as our only bulk store is 30 min
away. We have quick snacks on hand that I make on Saturday or Sunday. We keep
them stored in sealed glass jars to last the week for sports days, rushed
afternoons or lazy days that we don't want to prepare a snack. No need for
processed snacks in plastic bags anymore.
5)
Other small steps that make a difference (and no extra time); using reusable
grocery bags at stores, using reusable produce bags, saying no to plastic
straws, composting and using a reusable coffee thermos (Starbucks deducts 10 cents each
time).
As
you can see from these few first easy steps we adapted into our home, we have
gained time back into our routine, feel great about helping the environment and
I feel wonderful about what I am feeding the family by serving them unprocessed
foods. On a side note, one added bonus is I have lost 18 lbs since starting
this journey. I am not dieting or working out, but simply from eating unprocessed healthier foods , less stress and having the TIME back in my life for things I used to enjoy, such as my
evening family walks and reconnecting with my children has helped restart my metabolism.
I
hope this may help those that are interested in becoming zero waste but are unclear of
where or how to start. Please feel free to comment or ask questions!
Small steps but they all add up. Good job.
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