Do you feel overwhelmed by all this packaging, these trash cans that you feel like you are constantly emptying? Finding simple tips to get started with zero waste is becoming urgent.

Is your house overflowing with all kinds of objects that you no longer need? Decluttering is a first step, but it is not enough if you want to get rid of recurring waste. Your trash can fills up faster than you empty your fridge. You have this constant impression of having consumed little, but of seeing waste accumulating. Little by little, you want to move towards a simpler lifestyle with less waste.

You want to empty your garage and your cupboards. You are moving towards a more ecological life, conscious, useful and intelligent consumption, more natural, less focused on mass consumption.

To help you take your first steps towards a Zero Waste lifestyle, you can implement some simple little tips but above all linked to common sense and taken from the practices of our elders. Certain old practices prove that progress has its limits, especially ecological ones.

How to get started with zero waste easily

If you have decided to reduce the size of your trash can like Béa Johnson, it is important to understand the 5 commandments that govern the theme of waste reduction. Simple to remember, they show you in the blink of an eye what living with zero waste represents:

• Refuse: instead of cluttering your house with things that you know are useless (and therefore will end up in the trash or at the back of the cupboard) when they are offered to you, simply say no.
• Reduce: tackle the mission of decluttering your home. But instead of throwing away, donate, sell, recycle, everything is good to avoid throwing away.
• Reuse: don’t let old items lie dormant. Find them a second life.
• Recycle: common sense tells you to drop off items that will never be used by you or anyone else in collection centers. Help communities recycle cleanly by going to your local recycling center.
• Compost: for all your organic waste, a compost bin at the bottom of the garden or a worm composter for those who live in an apartment and have a balcony. Make a super fertilizer for your garden.

Zero waste at home, every day

1 – Drink tap water

A step towards zero waste: Drink tap water. If you buy your water in bottles (and therefore plastic) then these bottles must represent a large amount of waste. Depending on where you live, tap water may not be very good or taste good. But, there are multiple solutions to avoid bottled water. A filter jug, a filter placed directly on your tap or if you have an American fridge, the water dispenser filters it. A glass carafe or flask filled with tap water is your first and simplest step towards zero waste. Another alternative: drink water from a returnable glass bottle.

2 – Revisit children’s snacks

Another waste champion is the disposable compote bottle. An environmental disaster at an exorbitant price. For older children, fruit cut into pieces works very well.

However, if you are a fan of this snack, do you know how easy it is to make your own compote? And it keeps very well in the freezer or in sterilized jars. Immerse your jars in water at 100°C for a few minutes, fill them, close them and invert them onto the lid until completely cooled. For cakes, a homemade cake will always be better than biscuits and other store-bought sweets, minus the packaging and additives.

3 – Start batch cooking

Grouping together the preparation of all your dishes for the week in a few hours will certainly save you time, but above all you will fight against waste. By cooking the right portions in advance, you limit unnecessary purchases and too many leftovers.

4 – Use brick soap

No more shower gels and their plastic containers which will still be as they are in 1000 years. Brick soap placed on a soap dish will offer you the same comfort as shower gel, without the plastic waste. You will find soaps adapted to your skin type everywhere on the market.

5 – DIY: make your own household products

If you want to go even further than brick soap, make your own soap, toothpaste and shampoo. Based on essential oil and natural products, today it has become very simple. For household products, it’s the same thing, from your dishwashing liquid to your scouring powder to your laundry detergent, if you wish you can make these products yourself very easily.

6 – Adopt chickens

If you have a small garden, the investment is worth it. Why not buy small chickens to have eggs, but also get rid of your leftovers or other peelings? Of course, you struggle with waste, but sometimes, yes, you have leftovers that no one wants.

Instead of throwing them in the trash, your chickens will be delighted to finish them and they will lay eggs for you. Nothing better than eggs from your own chickens. You thus indirectly fight against excess packaging with egg cartons which never stop cluttering up your trash. And with eggs, you can cook lots of sweet little things that children love: pancakes, waffles, chocolate mousse, cookies, cakes, etc.

7 – Think sustainable and useful purchases

Opt for a minimalist wardrobe. As is often the case, you favor should quality over quantity. Consider your purchases of clothing, furniture, accessories or appliances as a long-term investment.

So, for your clothes, adopt a minimalist wardrobe and don’t clutter up with poor quality pieces or that you won’t wear. Old clothes can be donated. Damaged or holed clothes can be converted into rags or recovered to do DIY sewing activities with your children. Think about how useful things like the microwave really are. Why do you use it? Reheat your coffee? The pan does it too.

Do you use disposable diapers for your baby?

According to zero waste experts at Richmond Dumpster Rental Center, not only is it one of the most polluting products in the world since they do not disintegrate despite what people want you to believe, but they are also expensive.

8 – Buy in bulk

Limit packaging by purchasing many foods in bulk like pasta, rice, seeds, cereals, etc. When making your first bulk purchase, take a paper bag provided to you and fill it. Come back with this same paper bag during your next shopping trips.

More and more zero waste stores are popping up everywhere including in Virginia. Keep your eyes peeled and find out. There is one or even several bulk stores near you, check in Richmond, VA.

9 – Read differently

Read differently, on an e-reader and at the library. Now read your books on a tablet or e-reader. A digital book costs less than its paperback version, it takes up less space and is environmentally friendly.

Don’t throw away old books that you no longer want, offer them to your local library and take the opportunity to visit and rent paperback books which are more expensive on e-readers. You can also donate your old books to an association or place them in book boxes. You could even make some nice discoveries there.

10 – Bulk tips

There are lots of small actions you can take on a daily basis to limit waste, such as having a cloth bag in your car or your handbag. So when shopping, no need to buy the brand’s bag which will only accumulate with all the other bags (which you will refuse from today).

A “Stop Pub” label on your mailbox will limit envelope and paper waste. Even though paper can be recycled, it cannot be recycled infinitely.

In the same spirit, limit paper by eliminating paper towels and tissues. Washable napkins and handkerchiefs are much more economical and environmentally friendly.

Use glass storage containers or jars rather than aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Refuse as many small disposable items as possible such as free samples, straws, plastic cups, stirrers, paper towels, plastic bags, etc.

Improve waste mangement in Virginia

There are hundreds of tips for getting started with zero waste, and have better waste management practices. After reading the tips in this article, you said to yourself: “Ah, but I can do this, or I can do that”. So much the better!