While doing some research online for an article I was writing about resourcefulness, I discovered a great blog called The Zero Waste Home. A few years ago a Bea Johnson became aware of just how wasteful her and her family's lifestyle, as well as the general person's, tends to be. She made the commitment to be a home that produces no rubbish. Her mantra is "Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot (and only in that order)." Now here blog has a massive following. Today, she is involved in media and speaking engagements to share stories, tips and the benefits of Zero Waste living as well as running a home consulting services on decluttering, living simply and waste reduction. Here are some of my favourite tips:
- Get your 4Rs right. Refuse-Reduce-Reuse… Recycle only as a last resort
- Shop at farmer's markets. There will be little packaging and they will take your egg cartons and berry containers back next week.
- Learn to love tap water rather than buying plastic bottled water all the time.
- Use the cold water coming out of your shower while it heats up to water the plants in your bathroom (you do have plants in your bathroom, don't you now?)
- Open a window instead of plugging in an air freshener (simple and obvious but how many people opt for the freshener)
- Recycle old mobile phones
- Do not use everyday antibacterial products, they make bad bacteria stronger.
Wasteful living has a very detrimental effect on us and on the Earth. As best described by Anup Shah, “Humans have been expanding, exploring, migrating, conquering, utilizing, evolving, civilizing, industrializing, and now, destroying the very land upon which we live.” We are using more resources than the Earth can supply and one day, sooner rather than later, they will run out. In fact some believe most of the wars in the future will be over the acquisition of resources.
Check out Zero Waste Home at http://www.zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ and take up the challenge of applying all the tips she outlines.
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