In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more accurate description of my evolving lifestyle.
Starting in January and leading to Plastic Free July, we (readers of this blog and I) tried to become more zero waste. Zero waste is the goal, but creating less waste and having a lower impact on the destruction environment is the means by which we get there. Learning to set aside our own convenience and take personal responsibility for improving the world around us, for ourselves, for future generations, and for the planet, is the mental attitude needed to accomplish this goal. Each person’s journey is different and one can only start where they are and do what they can, but it’s now undeniable that each person should at least be trying. To help and inspire, I have chose to make our 6 Months of Zero Waste simple and easy to adapt to just about any lifestyle.
Here’s what the first 6 months looked like:
January - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February - Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March - Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April - Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May - Meatless Monday
One of the best ways to improve the environment is to stop eating factory farmed meat and industrial fish. Small steps lead to big change so this month we gave up meat (or dairy or fish)
June - No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
In July we participated in Plastic Free July where we used the month to give up as much disposable plastic as possible. Hopefully you were able to change your mindset with this exercise. Did it stick? Did PFJ change the way you look at disposable plastic? Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t, but just bc July is over, doesn’t mean we can’t keep thinking of how we use plastic and what we can do better.
Hopefully some plastic free habits that we learned January to July lingered in the following months and now were ready to take on some new challenges!
It’s time to look to the next 6 months:
October - Zero Waste Kit
November - Clothing and Fast Fashion
December - No Gifts
January - Bathroom Make-over
February - Mass Transit
March - Grow Your Own Food
Join us as we explore these topics and continue our journey to becoming more zero waste. Follow along in your own time, take what you can use, or share your progress and ideas in the comments below!