We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.
I don’t want to say that I started my low waste journey wrong, because I think any step towards reducing the amount of garbage we as individuals contribute to the landfills is a step in the right direction. But I definitely took on too much in the beginning. I felt like a failure because I wasn’t doing zero waste perfectly. My partner Alex pulled me out of that mindset by making me recognize all of the changes that we had successfully made. Are we flawless heralds of a new world order? Heck no! Are we taking little steps every day? I think so!
Here’s a list of things me and my small family (imperfectly!) do:
- We’ve reduced our frequency of ordering carryout; this includes coffee and other beverages that come in single use containers. That’s right, there’s food at home ;)
- We buy less meat than we used to.
- Usually we remember to bring our reusable shopping bags. Sometimes when we don’t have our bags, we just carry home items in our arms or opt for paper.
- We purchase items in lower packaging options when we can (this often means shopping in bulk).
- We just buy less stuff.
- Alex uses a safety razor for his shaving needs, and I rely on a shower-safe electric hair trimmer for a lot of mine.
- We purchase package free or concentrate versions of a lot of our toiletries.
- We re-use the heck out of gift bags, paper shopping bags, packaging food comes in, festival cups (You know you live in Lafayette when you’ve got FIL cups in your cupboard!), etc.
- We got a soda stream. Bye-bye cans!
- We shop for things locally before resorting to online purchases.
Brandi and I hope that shopping with us at Sans Paquet will help you to meet your waste reduction goals, be they big or small!
-n