Manage Your Daily Waste

Simple Steps to Reduce Inevitable Waste

Cloth Bag For Groceries

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“The most sustainable way is to not make things. The second most sustainable way is to make something very useful, to solve a problem that hasn’t been solved. "  – Thomas Sigsgaard

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WHY SHOULD WE MANAGE OUR WASTE?

There are multiple reasons to be mindful about how much we are throwing away. Here are just a few:

• You can help this beautiful planet by sparing it from more trash that destroys our environment and animals' homes and resources

• It saves money because if you use less resources or reuse materials, you are able to use less money.

• And you can lead example for the rest of your community and make a huge difference!

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WHAT SHOULD I BUY AND NOT BUY?

I believe that there are certain things that you should just stop buying. The following items are unnecessary, bad for the environment, and bad quality. Stop buying:

• Plastic bags

• Plastic utensils and plates

• Plastic grocery bags

• Plastic water bottles

• Plastic straws

• Plastic carryout containers

• Non-reusable containers

Instead, I advise you to buy the following items that are extremely practical and eco-friendly:) :

• Reusable grocery bags made out of cloth

• Reusable water bottles

• Metal/paper/glass straws

• Reusable containers for food/carryout boxes

• Reusable utensils and plates

Use cloth towels instead of paper towels

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HOW WOULD I ACCOMPLISH THIS?

I recommend the first thing you do is analyze your life for a couple of days and document how much trash you produce and the main areas of your life where you produce trash. For instance, it could be your kitchen, bathroom, workspace, or shopping. After this analyzation, create a plan! This plan should be detailed, achievable, and tailored towards you and your life. You should first target the biggest parts of your life where you accumulate a lot of waste. Then proceed to replace products and packaging that aren't eco-friendly. Then you should by products that would prevent future unnecessary waste production. Proceed to do the same thing for every other part of your lifestyle!

Here is an example of this plan.

Kitchen - Biggest source of trash

Stop Buying:

• Plastic utensils and plates

• Plastic bags

• Plastic water bottles

• Paper towels

• Non-reusable containers

• Non-eco friendly cleaning products

• Eco-friendly cleaning products

Buy:

• Metal/Wooden utensils and plates

• Cloth bags

• Reusable water bottles

• Cloth towels

• Reusable containers

Bathroom - Second biggest source of trash

Stop Buying:

• Non-reusable pads/tampons

• Plastic toothbrushes

• One time use razors

• Plastic packaging of beauty products

Buy:

• Organic/eco-friendly pads/tampons or Dame reusable tampons (Check out "Eco- Friendly Products")

• Wooden/Electric toothbrushes

• Long-time use razors

• Buy recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging from eco-friendly companies (Check out "Eco- Friendly Products" section of blog)

Workspace - Least Biggest Source of Trash

Stop Buying:

• Wooden pencils

• Non-eco friendly cleaning products

Buy:

• Mechanical Pencils

• Recyclable bins

• Plants- to freshen the air

• Eco-friendly cleaning products

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MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:

There were multiple times when I wasn't very smart about managing my waste during this journey. It was difficult to continuously reminding myself how to manage my trash. However, I realized that I needed to stop thinking of it as a chore and instead as just another part of my life!

My family and I stopped purchasing plastic utensils, plates and bowls and we began to replace them with reusable ones! We even stopped using plastic bags at grocery stores and started to use cloth bags. All of these relatively simple changes to our life, really made a difference and I felt accomplished!

It will take time for you and your family to get a hang of this, but if you focus and dedicate time everyday, you will be able to effectively reduce your waste. I hope one day I can live a zero-waste lifestyle and lead an example for many people and you can do the same!

Make a difference and change the world for better!

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I hope you found this informative and helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments by emailing me :)

Lets get green!