6 More Months of Zero Waste: June - Say NO, Say Yes

6 More Months of Zero Waste is the series where we tackle problems in our everyday lives to become more sustainable, more practical, use less plastic and create less waste.

What a weird time to be alive, huh? And what a hard time to be on a zero waste journey.

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Over the last few months, a lot of our zero waste practices have been challenged. Shops and cafe have stopped accepting reusables. Restarants have moved to only take out, with all the plastic packaging that entails. Supermarkets have done away with bilk bins. Disposable masks and gloves literally litter the streets. It all adds up to be very disheartening and demoralizing for those trying hard to fight plastic waste and waste in general.

BUT there is still hope!! Some wonderful side effects have come from the pandemic; carbon emissions are down so much that scientists are actually able to study them in new ways, sound pollution is so lessoned that ornithologists can study bird calls as never before, the canals in Venice Italy are clearer than they have been in a century, light pollution is down, animals are retuning to cities and towns that should be their habitat not ours, and many people in many fields have taken this time to come up with new innovations for a more sustainable future.

As nature tries to rebalance, so must we. Here are some ways to balance a negative with a positive.

Say NO to using plastic bags at the grocery. My grocery will allow reusable bags, as long as I bag them myself. I know people who have put all items back in the cart, no bags, until they reach their can and can bag the items there. Say YES to continuing to use reusable bags.

Say NO to take out. Although we want to support local businesses during this time, we must sacrifice it to some extent when they use all plastic and disposable to go items. Say YES to finding your local spots that use paper or cardboard (pizza is always a good option!). And say YES to cooking at home more!

Say NO to disposable masks. Say YES to buying from an artizen making reusable masks or say YES to making your own!

Say NO to big box stores and groceries for food, plants, or what ever else you need, whenever possible and say YES to local farm markets or stands. Many of these types of locals shops have expanded their inventory at this time.

Say NO to driving, going to the gym, or seeking entertainment in malls or shopping centers. Say YES to long walks, staying local and staying in or around your own home and fining fun activities to do (victory garden anyone?) even AFTER lockdown. For several months we were forced not to do these things, now that things are reopening, you can choose not to do them.

Say NO to shopping for items online and YES to making due with what you have. Or borrow items from friends. Or urban forage.

Say NO to fast fashion and YES to ethical alternatives like online thrift shops. Better yet, say YES to shopping your own closet, decluttering as you go!

Say NO to spending money for the sake of buying and YES to thinking about saving in new ways. For some, the stay at home order and forced furlough or unemployment as well as having to change spending habits have have given people new insights in where and how they spend (and waste) money.

Say NO to thinking only how this time effects us, and YES to how it effects everyone on a global level. A small way to do this is to say YES to wearing your mask in public and continuing to self isolate even after the lockdown is lifted. Another is to donate, volunteer, or come up with other ways to help those more greatly effected then yourself.

Say NO to going right back to NORMAL and say YES to committing to coming up with a life that is more sustainable, more mindful and more fulfilling for YOU.

For our 6 More Months of Zero Waste this months, let’s remember to take what we have learned to balance and carry it with us into the future. Balancing a no with a yes in a sustainable lifestyle is a helpful practice that we can use and share now and many years from now.

What are some other things, activities or ideas that you have balanced during this time?

If you are new to this series, here’s what ew are working on for this 6 moth block. Follow along or pick and choose challenges to try.:
June 2020- Say NO, Say Yes
PLASTIC FREE JULY
August 2020 - carry no disposables
September 2020 - back to school/educate
October 2020 - beach clean
November 2020 - Hidden plastic
December 2020 - Repair before you replace

We started our tackling new zero waste challenges six months at a time in 2019:
January 2019 - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February 2019- Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March 2019- Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April 2019- Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May 2019- 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) for at least one day.
June 2019- No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
July 2019 - Plastic Free July!
Go plastic free this month!

In late 2019, we continued our journey to becoming more zero waste:
November 2019 - Zero Waste Kit
We created a zero waste kit to help us be more zero waste in our day to day life.
December 2019- No Gifts
We took Dec to give no gifts and get no gifts.
January 2020 - Clothing and Fast Fashion
This month we explored what fast fashion is, and how we can stop buying it forever.
February 2020- Use Mass Transit
The shortest month seemed like a good time to explore alternatives to driving our cars.
March 2020 - Bathroom Make-over
You’ve swapped out a few items to more sustainable choices around the house. It’s time to tackle a full room.
April 2020- Grow Your Own Food
April marks the start of spring in the continental USA, and when we can start growing food easily. But there are many ways and time to grow your some of own food.

My Number One Tip for Quitting Fast Fashion

This is an easy tip:

DON’T BUY FAST FASHION.

Fast fashion is bad on many levels. The environmental and human impact is enormous. There are tons of resources for you to see all of it. You might want to start with my simple definitions surrounding Fast Fashion, and other fashion terms.

But avoiding fast fashion is easier said than done. As with almost everything in the sustainability movement, it starts with a mind-set shift. We must move away from the idea that we need to constantly be buying new clothes, that we need to keep up with changing trends, and the idea that having a lot of cheaply made and purchased clothing is better than having a few pieces that we love and that cost more (and therefore, hopefully, were made humanely with the environment in mind). We must also change how we think about clothing at a basic level. We are consumers and our first thought is about ourselves. We must move away from our first thoughts of “that would look good on me”, “that’s so cute!”, “that’s on trend”, “I need this item”. and think about where our clothing comes from. Who made this item? What conditions were they exposed to? What impact did it have on them? On water supplies, on animals, on the earth? Once these become questions you ask yourself before buying you are less likely to buy unnecessarily. The impact fast fashion has on the world becomes an impact on you as well. But this may take time and certainly takes a lot of effort.

So while you are figuring out how to make that mind-set shift, here is my number one tip for quitting fast fashion:

STOP GOING TO FAST FASHION STORES.
In real life and online.

Vintage clothing labels.

Vintage clothing labels.

This is the one big thing that really helped me kick my fast fashion habit; I stopped looking to shop fast fashion. I stopped visiting the mall, target, stopped going to online shops. Stopped looking at sales and deals. Mostly I stopped looking at clothes at all, unless I was in my own closet or at the thrift shop. Since we are consumers, we are conditioned to look at sales, we are taught that merchandising and deals are important, that having more will make you feel better and shopping will make you happy. But we need to reconnect the human and environmental cost of the things we buy. That cheap, trendy, top is not just a inexpensive pleasure for you to have. That top was made by a real person who most likely worked in horrible conditions, used water that could have saved someone from thirst or hunger, shipped across the world leaving pollution and destruction in it’s wake, excreted microplastics into the oceans and air, and finally will be thrown away and end up in a landfill or burned to create even more waste. By changing the way we think, and eradicating the temptation of looking at fast fashion, we break the hold that consumerism has on us.

What has helped you quit or reduce buying fast fashion?

Pandemic Pantry | The Joy Of Using Up

When we first went in to lockdown and when the hours of the groceries were cut and stock was limited, I became very aware that I was scared of food scarcity.

I didn’t know this about myself before these events. I had no idea I would have a visceral, anxiety filled reaction of being scared about the loss of food, the lack of food, and the need to change the way I ate. My relationship to food may not always be healthy (whose always is?), but it is a huge part of my life. And the idea of not being able to eat the way I was used to scared me.

It took a little adjustment, but I discovered that I could still eat well, and that I wouldn’t have to change my diet too much, or lose out on things I enjoyed. Sometimes I couldn’t find what I wanted (tofu was scarce in the beginning), but I found that I didn’t mind having to come up with other ideas, or substitutions, to what I considered my staples. Soon, I was not only used to only going to the grocery every few weeks, but I found I enjoyed it and it was something that I wanted to keep after the time of covid is over.

Each week we stretch and stretch the food we have so that we can take less frquant trips to the supermarket. Some days it feels like there’s nothing left to eat. But each time we have found that we have plenty and are able to make delicious and nutritious meals. What we also discovered was that it was challnaging, interesting and fun to stretch what we had. To have to be innovative. To have to make do.

Now that groceries are better stocked and our garden is growing we don’t often have to go without what we want. Farm markets are open for fresh veg, bakeries are open for fresh bread. But now, as in the early days of lockdown, there’s a distinct pleasure when we use up an item and get the most out of it. It might be something that’s been in the pantry long before isolation, or it might be a fresh head of lettuce, that in “the old days” would have gone off before we got to it bc our food supply was ever incoming, overly abundant, and less time was taken to see what we had and what we had to use before our next supermarket run.

The Joy of Using Up that comes with many aspects of sustainability is always an unexpected pleasure.

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Fast Fashion, Slow Fashion, Ethical Fashion, Sustainable Fashion, Second Hand

In this series I explain terms used in the low impact movement, lifestyle terms, and other verbiage that I use on my blog and in my daily life. Simply, in case they are new to readers. In some cases, I have done some research on them, but these definitions are mostly what I understand them to be and how I use them.

Last month, we talked about capsule wardrobes and and some terms surrounding that idea. There are many reasons to keep a capsule wardrobe but one of the biggest reasons in the horrible impact the fashion industry has on the environment and our global community. Here are the explanation of some important terms to know as I understand them.

Fast Fashion
Most simply put, Fast Fashion is the business of making clothing as cheaply and quickly as possible to keep up with changing trends.
But the byproduct of fast fashion takes a horrendous toll on the planet and the global population. Sweatshops, inhumane conditions, slave labor, child imprisonment, millions of tons of wasted water, millions of tons of garbage in landfills, mircoplastics, air pollution from incineration, animal cruelty, land dispute, clear cropping, pollution of water, air and land, use of pesticides, are only some, not even all, of the terrible outcome of fast fashion. Almost all fashion brands use some or all of these methods but a general rule is the bigger, less expensive, more widely available clothing is going to be the worse for fast fashion’s damaging practices. A few brands to avoid at all costs are Forever Twenty One, H&M, Target, Walmart, Zara, Primark, to name only a few.

Slow Fashion
Slow Fashion is the reaction to the devastation Fast Fashion has created and a movement to return to better quality made, ethically produced, clothing and a return to personal style without the need to follow trends. Slow fashion suggests buying few items, that are better made and made in humane ways, and take better care of them throughout their lifespan to be able to have them longer and enjoy them more.

Ethical Fashion
By using the term Ethical Fashion, a brand is letting consumers know that the clothing was made under ethical conditions. This usually indicates that there were not sweat shop conditions and there were fair wages for workers used when creating these clothes. It may also indicate that no animals were harmed but to be sure, check that a brand is also vegan. It may also mean the clothing was made sustainably. Each company’s use of these terms is different so make sure to research the companies you buy from carefully.

Sustainable Fashion
This can fall under Ethical clothing or Slow Fashion but brands that specifically advertise that they are Sustainable use practices to reduce their impact on the world and environment. This can encompass less water usage, less pollutants released into the environment, better working conditions, use of renewable resources and more.

Second Hand
Second Hand clothing is clothing that people donate to thrift shops, churches, vintage shops, or other places that people can buy them. Second hand clothing is usually inexpensive, off season, and pre worn. Some say second hand clothing is the most sustainable and ethical bc it is reusing of clothes that others have gotten rid of. This is a very budget friendly way to shop, good if you like to try new things or new trends, and helps clothing get a longer life before ending up in landfill or incinerator. But as a whole society we must change the way we shop, stop buying fast fashion, stop allowing it to be made, in order to really solve the problem.

Did you find these terms helpful? If you want more info on these or ant terms we have explored please leave your questions in the comments!

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The Problem with Wanting Too Much is Having Too Much

I really want to buy new underwear. New fresh, cotton, ethically made, sustainable underwear. I would love to get rid of basically all my old ones and buy all new.

I would love to go on the internet and buy every little thing I want, like artisen jewelry, zero waste skin care, a comfy tye died sweatshirt, all the jeans, even more of the records. And now that most of us are spending basically all our time at home, this is even more tempting.

There are several reasons why I don’t do that but what they all boil down to is that we should do now what we want for the future. People’s greed and shortsightedness definitely played a part in getting us into our current situation and certain people are taking advantage of the situation in which we now live. It’s up to us as individuals to think more carefully and mindfully about our decisions and how they impact the world, especially while we have the time to make really informed, thoughtful, decisions. While the whole world is forced to move a little slower, let’s move slower within ourselves.

I am now even more mindful of my space, and what I want from it. Our spaces are directly related to ourselves. We’ve all heard the expression “cluttered home, cluttered mind” and we know that for the vast majority of us this is true. I see that in my own life, even more clearly while I’m spending so much time at home. I won’t be becoming a minimalist, but I’m working on ways to decide what is most important in my space. People who are busy buying instead of thinking might come out of this time of covid 19 with more stuff but feeling less safe and whole and “decluttered” in their homes and minds. The problem with being taught to want so much is you will end up having too much.

One of the biggest changes zero wasters and minimalists have to make is the mindset shift from what society has taught us (bigger is better, more is never enough, buy stuff to feel better), to what we know to be true (simple is satisfying and we have a responsibility to ourselves, our world and our community to be better then before, self reflection is healthy). Now that you have a minute, take that time to think about what you want to survive from this time and how to best achieve that in your mind, life and the world.

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Something New: Sourdough Starter

Here’s a controversial statement. I want to make a sourdough starter but I don’t want to make bread.

I might have gone thru a brief period where I thought making bread was cool (don’t get me wrong it IS cool), but working at a restaurant that makes great bread, I’d decided to put my efforts elsewhere. I have amazing bread professionals around me to make the bread.

But since my work was closed for about 5 weeks, I finally broke down and got started making starter.
It wasn’t lack of bread that convinced me. Some friends have been kind enough to gift me bread, and we have been buying it on grocery trips. It was seeing all the other things you could make with the starter.

Pancakes, biscuits, flat bread, pita, crackers! So many items that one would otherwise have to buy in plastic can be made at home more easily with a sourdough starter!

So start a starter I did, it’s been a few weeks now and going well! I used King Arthur Flour’s sourdough starter recipe, which is simple and easy. I particularly like it bc it doesn’t require a scale. I’m not much of a measure-er let alone going to scale things out. I also have only been feeding my starter once a day. It’s cool enough in my house, and I’ve only been making a small amount to reduce waste, so this has been working for me.

Have you made a sourdough starter? If so, share your thoughts and tips in the comments! Have you made bread, or are you focusing on the lesser uses of your mix?

I’m excited to share more about my starter and much more about the recipes I use it for!

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Banza Chickpea Pasta Review

Now is the time to go thru everything in your pantry and eat it up! While looking thru mine, I found half of a box of Banza Chickpea Pasta and remembered how much I hated it!!

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I had seen a lot of people eating this pasta and decided to try it. Pasta made from chickpeas, it sounded interesting. I like the bold orange box, and I like that it only has a small plastic window. It has much less plastic then my normal pasta of choice. I made it according to instructions and tasted it.

This is, by far, the worst pasta I have ever eaten in my entire life. Gritty, grainy, not tasty, not quick to cook, really really bad, are just some of the ways I would describe this pasta.

One can’t like everything one tries. And just bc we are trying to reduce our waste doesn’t mean that we should stop experimenting or enjoying trying new things (even if they might, in fact, generate waste). We can only do our best and not beat ourselves up about it.

Luckily, the other day a friend mentioned that she likes this pasta (how?!), so the remainder of the box will go to her. If she doesn’t want it, I could make it to feed it to the birds, or simply put it in the compost. I can rest easy knowing the left overs will not go to waste and knowing that I never have to eat this pasta ever again.

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Capsule Wardrobe, Curated Closet, One in One Out

In this series I explain terms used in the low impact movement, lifestyle terms, and other verbiage that I use on my blog and in my daily life. Simply, in case they are new to readers. In some cases, I have done some research on them, but these definitions are mostly what I understand them to be and how I use them.

April is here and I’ve made my 4th spring capsule wardrobe (16 capsules in total). I’m excited for another spring and another year of slow fashion, curating my closet, paring down all my clothes, and keeping a capsule. I talk a lot about these things on this blog and it’s an important part of a mindful, low impact existence. This seems like a good time to define these terms as I understand them.

Capsule Wardrobe
The term capsule wardrobe was first coined in the 1970s, by shop owner, Susie Faux, but it was recently made most popular by Be More With Less and her Project 333.
The basic concept is that you have a wardrobe in 2-4 parts (depending on weather where you live), which you swap out seasaonally. You have a limited amout of clothing in each (and ideally all ethical and sustainable or second hand). People often keep to a color scheme and each piece goes with every other piece. This makes getting dressed simple, non-decisional and pleasant. The underlying factors are items that are versatile, easily picked out, and fit your personal style. A Capsule Wardrobe usually consists of a certain amount of clothing in each season, but what that number is depends on your personal preference. This is the basic concept but how far and deep you want to delve into a Capsule Wardrobes system is up to each person. Some choose to only include their basic everyday clothes, come include shoes, accessories and outer wear, some have special capsules for fancy dress, exercise, lounge, wear, etc… A CW can also help one determine their personal style if they feel like they have none. Buy making a CW each season, you more easily find what you like, what you don’t, what is comfortable and fits well. CW enthusiasts also suggest buying better made and more durable pieces, so that the items last longer, and you are able to enjoy them more. There is an emphasis on repair rather than buying new.

I’m not sure where this iinfo grafic originated, but this is an example of what one possible capsule might look like. Not a very practical one, but…

I’m not sure where this iinfo grafic originated, but this is an example of what one possible capsule might look like. Not a very practical one, but…

10 by 10
This phrase refers mainly to the idea of pairing down your Capsule Wardrobe even more on a semi regular basis. By taking 10 items, including shoes, accessories, and outer wear, and wearing only these items for 10 days, we now can stretch the potential or our daily capsule and our creativity. Some Capsule Wardrobe keepers will build a 10 by 10 wardrobe for special events, vacations, etc… some just use one periodically as inspiration and challenge. This concept was made popular by Style Bee (she may also be the inventor).

Curated Closet
Once you have made your capsule wardrobe to your satisfaction, you may end up with just a simple Curated Closet. This means that every item in your wardrobe goes with every other, each are practical, and make you feel good, fit well and are taken care of. A curated closet doesn’t require as much work as a Capsule, bc you only have one, as opposed to several to deal with. Even if you still end up switching items out seasonally, you now know that your wardrobe is complete. Having a simple pleasurable curated closet is one of the goals of a CW. It takes the stress and guess work out of getting dressed each day, the anxiety of having “nothing to wear” or nothing that fits and makes you feel good. It also takes the stress of shopping for items out of your process, bc most Curated Closets simply replace items as they can no longer be worn, but put little or no effort into coming up with new items, or styles to buy.

One In, One Out Rule
Many Capsule Wardrobe and Curated Closet methods believe in the idea of the One in, One Out Rule. It sounds just like what it is, which is when one items is brought into your wardrobe, one must be taken out. This way you never accumulate more items than you need.

Are the definitions or these terms as you understand them? Do you have a different definition? Or a question about a related word of phrase? Share in the comments!