I am in AWE. This family lives a Zero Waste lifestyle – meaning they REFUSE, reduce, reuse, and recycle almost everything. You can see an example of six months worth of trash in their home – it all fits in two hands.
When I came across the Zero Waste Home blog I was captivated. I have actually gone through and read every single post on there (I like to be thorough 😉 ). Check out this 3 minute video glimpse of the Johnson family’s zero waste home:
While I don’t see myself bringing my own jars to the store or buying compostable toothbrushes, I am definitely going to be making some changes in my life. There are many areas I can make improvements in and I am already itching to get started!!
There are a ton of tips for reducing waste and I’m definitely going to be implementing several in our home.
Could you live a zero waste life?
Thanks, Money Saving Mom!
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Also, I have to drink lots of liquids, and use a plastic container which the lid snaps on.
I have had it so long, that the lid now leaks what I am drinking onto the floor, or worse my chest i.e. shirt.
Any recommendations on an easy to wash, and no-leak drinking device, which will fit in the glass holder in my truck?
Many thanks mr:)
I don't think I can manage that feat and the nearest farmer's market to my house is across town and further away than Kroger, WalMart and Target. We have cut down on trash, but only because we recycle. I'm sure once I delve into the blog I will find other ways to reduce.
p.s. When you said "I have actually gone through and read every single post on there (I like to be thorough)" that reminded me of when I found your blog and I spent an entire night going through the old posts here. Sure the sales were long over and the coupons were out of date, but I was mesmerized.
@Bree, LOL, that is so funny. It is that exactly - I was mesmerized!
I do what I can and recycle: plastic, tins, newspaper, mixed paper, phone books. At one time we used to recycle glass but the recycle centers around here stopped taking glass. I now have 3 trash cans full of glass from the last 5 yrs, I try NOT to get items in glass but some items are sold in glass only! Still don't know what to do with the glass that I have.
When I bring food to work I always bring the packaging back home to recycle, I just rinse it out and bring it back home!
@Diana, That is great! I can't believe they don't recycle glass?!
@Diana, Hey Diana, I have the same problem, my local recycling center won't take glass or styrofoam so I'm left with bins of 'un-recyclable-recyclables'. From what I've read it costs more to recycle glass than it takes to recycle other materials so it isn't profitable for them. Makes me kinda cranky that they take my high value soda cans but won't take my glass :) I went online and checked around and found another location that would accept the glass and a third that would take styrofoam (a local manufacturer of styrofoam egg cartons accepts drop offs, if you have any local packaging industry you might check) So now we keep THREE recycling bins! lol it's a bit of a pain, but it sure beats pitching it. My husband is able to drop the glass off at a location on his commute and I take the styrofoam once or twice a year.
@Rachel, I wish it wasn't such a pain to recycle! Unfortunately it's so much easier to throw things in the trash than to bother with recycling. Maybe one day it will be reversed!
I love it. I am moving toward a zero-waste lifestyle and the 'clean' feeling I get when I walk into my house is a motivator to try more things. My closet isn't cluttered, I have room in my kitchen drawers now and can't believe how clean I feel (no more ziplock!). My kids are adapting and actually coming up with their own ideas.
I don't think a person CAN cross the line and go too far. It is the idea that, if you believe in something (for example: eco-friendly, zero-waste lifestyle, vegan lifestyle, or cattle ranching lifestyle, you name it) it's about really BELIEVING in it. Just as you can't 'sorta' believe in health and get healthy. You have to grab onto this idea and live it.
In my mind.... there is no line except for those who want to hold onto judgement. Let go of the judgement and we...allow each of us to do the lifestyle we believe in. If my friend is a vegan, I honor that and I don't bring steak to her pot-luck. Same rules apply, yes?
@Donna, Yes! Absolutely! Well said. :)
*As a little side note. I would prefer to keep the discussion about zero waste as opposed to that specific family. While I don't necessarily agree with everything on their blog, I don't wish to turn this into a bashing session. I'm sure they get plenty of hate mail and I don't wish to contribute to it.
Where did ya'll see in the video that she didn't want her son's artwork? I must've missed that... But yeah...It's a bit extreme (to say the least)!
@Jennifer, Here is the post mentioning the laminated art work http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/2010/06/six-month-tally.html (at the bottom) and here is where she explains her reasoning for rejecting it: http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-zero-waste-home-only-about-waste.html
Interesting! I definitely think I could use some of her tips, ideas, and creative solutions to reducing the waste in my home -- but I also agree that it's somewhat unrealistic for most of us to attain the same level of dedication this family is exhibiting. Still, it's inspiring!
If you're interested in this type of subject, you might also enjoy watching "I Love Trash", a documentary about two friends who decide to do an experiment in trash. They rent an unfurnished apartment and arrive with only the clothes on their back and a flashlight. They refused to buy anything for 3 months and instead to find all their needs in the trash. You can watch it for free on snagfilms. Here's the link if you're ever bored... :D
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/i_love_trash/
Wow. I'm impressed but at the same time her home is very sterile, no color, warmth etc.... Also, her two children are not babies any more. I wonder what she would do with having 4 children, two of them being toddlers, and one on the way.....hmmmm? Maybe I haven't stumbled upon that blog entry yet. I read a couple things she said about her husband and I thought it was disrespectful. And, I found this to just be rude--"-realizing that people you care about are unwilling to sacrifice the present (change their current habits) for a better future". I wonder how much TIME she "wastes" looking at what she can't change in others.
@Rebecca, I wonder about babies too - babies create a lot of "stuff"!
I have to agree with Rachel. I do what I can in a small scale, but I would never resent family & friends. I compost and collect rainwater for my garden, and of course, recycle what my state takes. My mother doesn't really recycle, but would I resent her for this? Absolutely not. Not my (life) style here.
@Kendra, That's great that you do those things! I don't do any of that! We are going to start a compost now (we've been thinking about doing one for a while) and we're working to get recycling in our neighborhood. Hopefully we can start making some productive changes!
@Stephanie, Good for you! If you need any help let me know, I took the master composting class last year and I'd be happy to troubleshoot if you have any problems. We made ours out of a series of recycled pallets tied together with big zip ties, super cheap (although not so pretty!) ...I imagine you might be short on browns if you didn't save leaves in the fall, if you have a paper shredder you can use shredded paper and cardboard for a 'brown' instead of recycling it, I like the shredders that cut into little 'crumbs' instead of 'linguine', it incorporates faster.
@Rachel, Thanks for those tips!! My stepmom just taught me about the "browns and greens" the other day and we finally got one set up. Hopefully we can have some nice compost for our garden next year! I'm excited!!
Wow. I'm not sure whether to be impressed or sad...I mean on the one hand, some serious kudos for eliminating all that trash. On the other hand, she seems to have done so at a lot of human expense--her son can't have a band-aid to play with, she refused his artwork because it was laminated, and gifts of food from friends and family are met with resentment instead of grace? To me when an environmental cause conflicts with loving my friends and family well that crosses a line.
We're a one-(recycled!)walmart-sack-a-week household here, thanks to composting and recycling. I am unable to get it any lower without considerable expense and raising my fuel consumption significantly so I'm happy with where we're at.
@Rachel, I really really need to work on how much trash we produce. Just like the video, we fill up a huge trash can every week. It makes me feel a little sick thinking about it!