On my journey into living a more zero waste lifestyle, I discovered a pretty startling fact about toilet paper. Though I’ve said it a few times already in other posts, it really belongs at the start of this one: We cut down 27,000 trees everyday to make toilet paper.
This is such an outrageous stat, that even though I learned it last year, it still partially breaks my brain whenever I think about it.
Seriously, think about it: it takes a long time for a tree to fully grow. Sometimes it takes 40, 50 or hell, even 100 years – an entire lifetime for them to reach their peaks, and what do we do with them? Cut them down, only to use them in something we use 1 time, and then immediately discard.
Call me crazy, but if I worked 40 years (or longer) on something, and then had to watch someone tear it down just to turn it into something they immediately threw away, I’d be pretty upset.
So, what are we to do? The obvious answer would be to just stop making toilet paper. But then there’s the issue of what we use instead. Sure, bidets are a thing, but I don’t think they’re for everybody.
And what other solutions are there, if someone doesn’t want to try a bidet? They could shower after every time they use the bathroom, so that they’re clean, but that would be highly impractical, and, not to mention, a huge waste in water.
So, what else is there to do?
The other solution is to start making toilet paper out of something else.
Sounds crazy, right? Well, thankfully, it’s not! Some companies are already doing this. Like the company I’m going to be talking about today: Who Gives a Crap.
Aptly named for a company who’s main focus is toilet paper, they have an amazing solution to our paper-y woes. Their toilet paper is made either out of bamboo, or recycled paper.
“But Ater, isn’t cutting down bamboo just as bad as cutting down a tree?” That’s a great question! It wouldn’t be much of a solution if we were just depleting something else, would it? Well, thankfully, bamboo is a type of grass, so it grows back quickly – much more quickly than a tree would, which makes it a great substitute to regular paper tp.
I know what you must be thinking, how in the heck would bamboo toilet paper even work? Isn’t bamboo just for aesthetic looking wood furniture? Nope, it’s not. It can be turned into paper, and other materials, too!
It does have a different feel than paper toilet paper, but it’s nothing too jarring, I promise!
Take a look here:
Here is a roll of WGAC’s bamboo toilet paper (on the left), next to a roll of Charmin Extra Strong. (Charmin was the toilet paper I was using before switching)
As you can see, the bamboo roll is slightly bigger in size, and the cardboard roll it comes on is smaller, so you get more toilet paper per roll. You may also be able to tell, that the bamboo roll looks firmer/stiffer than the regular paper one.
This is a close-up of the bamboo’s texture. It is pretty comparable to a paper towel, one side is bumpy and slightly rough, and the other is softer, but still firm. The firmness makes it great at, erm… doing what toilet paper is meant to do, and it doesn’t disintegrate as you use it, unlike some other softer products.
This is actually something I noticed that happened with their recycled paper toilet paper. It still has one rough-ish side, and one softer side, but the softer side is way softer than the bamboo – it’s actually the same softness as the Charmin roll. Which makes sense, since the recycled one is still made out of paper. For me, personally, I value structural integrity over super softness, so I’ll be sticking with their bamboo paper from now on. (Once I finish the recycled rolls, of course)
If you’re still undecided, you can always get a box of both, and see which one you like better. They only sell their toilet paper in boxes of 24 or 48 rolls, so unfortunately if you end up not liking one of them, you’ll have a lot of them to get through.
But, you could always gift some of the rolls to people you know, or use them as emergency rolls if you run out of the other kind.
Switching was also super easy. Like, ridiculously so. I just placed my order online and waited for it to show up. Then, once it got here (and I sprayed it with isopropyl alcohol to sanitize), I found a spot to put the box, and used as normal.
If you’re thinking of switching (which I highly recommend), I would warn you to order before you’re in desperate need of replacement toilet paper. Both my orders (bamboo and recycled) arrived in 14 days. So, y’know, make sure you have enough toilet paper to cover that waiting period, or longer, depending on where you’re located.
My first order, which was the 24 box of the bamboo rolls, was $55.79 CAD ($42 USD) because I had to get it from the US site. (Their Canadian site didn’t exist then) When I placed my order for the recycled paper (another 24 box), it was only $47.46 CAD, because I was able to get it from the Canadian site.
That may seem like a pretty steep price to some people, but it’s definitely worth the bit of extra cost in my eyes. Not only are you buying a premium, non-tree-killing toilet paper, but 50% of their profits go to help build toilets for people in need.
How cool is that?
You’re helping make someone else’s life more hygienic and better, just by simply buying an essential!
Also, if you only need to buy toilet paper twice a year, the price is actually less all together than it would be if you were, say, buying it every month. It’s a bigger price at once, but over-all it should actually be cheaper.
Unless you’re getting your toilet paper from Dollarama or something, in which case I beg you to stop doing that to yourself and test out these guys. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Not only is this company helping to save the planet, and help people in need, but they also individually wrap their rolls, so that they are also plastic free!
This is the wrapping on the bamboo rolls.
These are the wrappers on the recycled paper rolls.
Not only does the wrapping make the rolls pretty to look at, but you can also re-use it for crafts, projects, or even to wrap presents!
Who Gives a Crap is hands down one of the best companies I’ve ever found, and I seriously cannot recommend them enough!
If your toilet paper situation is fine, or you still have reservations about going paperless, they do sell a few other paperless replacements, like tissues or paper towels. You could always try testing those out first, and then move on to the more ‘intimate’ product later.
Like this article? Check out more zero waste posts here!
This article was written 21.12.05, please excuse any joke/reference that’s no longer applicable.
Happy new year!
How was everyone’s holiday break? Good? Bad? Stressfully filled with no (or very few) zero waste options?
Don’t worry if you ‘slipped up’ this past holiday season – that part of the year is literally designed to be thrown away. Think about it: plastic decorations, wrapping paper, gift bags, cards – everything that makes it ‘festive’ is basically just fancy trash!
You don’t have to beat yourself up if you used a festive napkin at a get-together or couldn’t resist buying a plastic decoration. These things happen. The important thing to remember is that the Earth doesn’t need everyone doing zero waste perfectly, it needs everyone doing it imperfectly.
As long as you’re trying to do better, you’re already ahead.
Speaking of trying to do better, at the beginning of last year, I made this post, which outlined my zero waste goals for 2021. And I thought, since I went to the trouble of making a post telling you what my goals were, it would be kind of dumb if I didn’t make a follow up post to let you know whether or not I actually reached them.
To recap, in the post I made last year, I said the main thing I wanted to try and stop using was paper towels, and then zip lock bags, if I managed to stop using paper towels.
I’d like to report that I accomplished removing these things from my life, and I can now move on…but if I did that, I’d 100% be lying!
I didn’t stop using paper towels, and I definitely still use Ziploc bags. Instead, I decided to test out a more eco-friendly toilet paper, and, I’m happy to report, I’ve been using it exclusively since trialling it last year!
I mentioned it in passing in the goals post for last year, that chopping down a 40 year old tree for something you use 1 time and then throw out is crazy – which it is – and the more research I did into toilet paper, the more I felt compelled to change that first.
Since I wanted to change things in order of the most wasteful, so that my changes would have the biggest impact, changing toilet paper actually should’ve been the first thing I changed.
As I was researching paper towels, I stumbled across a stat that blew my mind: 27,000 trees are cut down per day for toilet paper. Per day!
That’s an insane amount of trees being cut down for something people definitely don’t use more than once. Similar to when I went vegan, once I knew, I couldn’t un-know, and I definitely didn’t want to be contributing to that stat anymore, so, I started researching alternatives.
Now, there are varying degrees of alternatives to paper toilet paper – for instance, there are bidets, which are pretty widely known, but thinking about the future, since the bidet is something that has to use water, and attach to your toilet, I decided that wouldn’t be the right option for me. (I’m planning on converting a bus into a tiny house on wheels, and using a dry [composting] toilet – there will actually be an article coming out later this year explaining this in more depth)
Then I found a more… let’s call it ‘unique’ alternative called Family Cloth. This one… well, it probably is the most eco-friendly, since it involves taking what would otherwise be trash and reusing it, but, it also seems the most gross and labour-intensive.
For those of you who don’t know, Family Cloth is pieces of clothing (usually old t-shirts/sweaters/flannel) that have been cut into squares, for you to use like toilet paper. After using, you put the soiled cloth into a bucket of water (or, it might be some sort of water/vinegar cleaning solution) and then you wash the cloth using a washing machine.
While it might not be as gross as I’ve built it up in my mind to be (I’m assuming it might be like reusable period pads – there was a time when I thought I would never use them, and now I use them exclusively), Family Cloth is just something I don’t think I could do, at least for the time being.
That’s why I was over-the-moon excited when I discovered a brand called Who Gives a Crap. They sell toilet paper (and a few other products) that is more eco friendly than conventional toilet paper. They have two kinds available, a bamboo, or a recycled paper version. You’ll be getting a full review of them later this year (March), so I won’t go into too many details, but I ended up trying (and loving) their bamboo paper, so I decided to switch to them once I got my order.
And, I’m happy to report, it wasn’t actually that hard! The difference is very minimal, and I’ve actually gotten used to the texture difference, and don’t even really notice it now. As stated above, this is the only toilet paper I use now, so it was a great switch for me to make.
So, while I didn’t technically reach my zero waste goals for last year, I ended up changing a bigger, and arguably, more important aspect of my life. Which leads me to: my 2022 zero waste goals!
I think I’ll stick with last year’s goals of trying to remove paper towels and, possibly, plastic zip-lock bags. Who Gives a Crap has some Forest Friendly paper towels (they’re made out of bamboo and sugarcane), so I’ll check those out, while I also try to cut back on my over-all use of paper towels. Just because they aren’t made out of trees doesn’t mean I should feel complacent with still producing garbage!
Since I was actively thinking and observing my paper towel use last year, I realized the reason I use them the most is to cut up food or use them instead of a plate. Which is dumb, because I should just be using a cutting board, instead. Or, y’know, a plate!
I don’t even know when it happened, but at some point, grabbing a paper towel just became ‘faster’ than grabbing a cutting board or a plate. Which is actually bullshit, because it literally takes the same amount of effort to grab a paper towel as it does to grab a cutting board or plate.
Do you have any zero waste goals for this year? Let me know in the comments below!
This article was written 21.06.07, please excuse any reference to the COVID pandemic that no longer applies.
So you’ve decided to go zero waste, or someone you know has decided to go zero waste. Everything was going swimmingly until you realized the holidays were coming fast, and now you’re freaking out because you don’t what you’re gonna do.
First: take a deep breath.
Your loved one didn’t turn into an alien, you can still give them very meaningful gifts without having to create a lot of waste. Your loved one also isn’t going to assume that just because they changed their life, that you are now an expert. As long as you try to give them something that aligns with their new lifestyle, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.
For those who are trying to become zero waste: Your family may get some stuff wrong, or still give you non-zero waste presents – but that’s totally fine! Being zero waste is not about doing everything perfectly, it’s about trying. As long as you’re trying to do better, you’ll be fine.
Though if you’re super anxious about what they may get you, give them a list! Or, send them this article so they can get some zero waste ideas.
Gift Idea #1: Gift Cards
Sure, it’s a little cliché, but gift cards are actually great presents! As long as you know a store the person likes, you’re set. No having to worry about whether you got the right thing, in the right colour, or if they even need the thing – just give them a gift card, and boom! Done. You don’t even have to wrap it! Which is great for the whole don’t-create-waste thing. (Though you may want to at least put it in a card and not like… Frisbee it at their head)
When I was younger (elementary school age), I remember one time I got a gift card from a family member as a gift, and I remember feeling insulted. Every single year, they asked me and my siblings for a list of stuff we wanted, and every single year? They never got us stuff off our lists! This used to drive me crazy! Honestly why would you ask someone what they wanted as a gift and then not buy it?
Anyway, the year I got the gift card, I was upset, because I had given them my list, and they didn’t get me something off it. Again. I felt like they were saying they couldn’t be bothered to actually get me something I wanted (even though I gave them a list).
It wasn’t until later when I went to actually use the gift card that I realized: instead of buying me 1 thing I wanted that I probably wouldn’t like by this time next year, they gave me the freedom to pick whatever I wanted. (As long as it was within the gift card’s price range)
Once I figured that out, I started asking for gift cards every year, and now love to get them! I not only like having the freedom to pick whatever I want, I also think there’s a bit of privacy at play here – yes, they’re family and they might love you, but they don’t need to know every single thing you own.
Gift Idea #2: Dry Mason Jar Mixes
You’ve probably seen these on Instagram, or Pinterest, and though I kind of hate how popular they’ve become (I don’t need 100 almost-identical jars to flood my feed every year), they’re actually a pretty cool idea.
You don’t even have to be a good cook to give out these babies! All you need is the ability to measure and pour, and a container you don’t mind never getting back. You don’t even have to really dress them up – just give them a nice-looking label, and maybe tie a ribbon around the lid and you’re done.
There’s also all kinds of dry mixes you can give people: cookies, brownies, cake, cupcakes, pancakes – whatever baked good their hearts desire! You will need to include a recipe card for these, so they do contain a little waste, but it’s way less than having to buy a product (that’s usually in plastic packaging) and then wrapping that in something just to throw it away.
Also, they (or you!) can reuse the jar!
Gift Idea #3: An Experience
Similar to the gift card idea, this gift can be great, though some people may turn up their nose at it. You could pay for them to have a massage, a cooking class, concert tickets, a subscription to something you think they’d love – whatever you pick, just make sure it’s an ‘experience’ instead of a physical product. You could also go with them and then your gift is a twofer of not only being a cool thing they can talk about later, but it’s also turned into a good bonding experience.
People often look back on the experiences and things they tried with fondness rather than an item. Life is all about experiences, so why not make someone else’s a little cooler and give them the chance to try something they might not otherwise get to?
If you still want to gift the person an actual item, try to make it something you know they’ll use a lot, or something you know they need, like clothing or a kitchen appliance. Also, see if you can skip the wrapping paper by using a gift bag, or see if you can get some recycled paper and/or paper tape. That way, it’s as zero waste as possible.
Or, you could do what my dad used to when I was little: tell the gift receiver to stick out their hands and close their eyes. (He did this because he is terrible at wrapping presents, so he’d often forego wrapping all together and just hide whatever it was behind his back) Can’t get more zero waste for wrapping than using none!
I hope the above ideas have helped to get your zero waste gift-giver ball rolling. It’s really not that hard to make things ‘zero waste’, it just takes a little bit more thought when you’re first getting started. But, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, it’ll become as normal as any of your other traditions/lifestyle choices.
Case in point: Even before I ever heard of the words ‘zero waste’, I was trying to think of homemade gifts I could give my family because I was broke. (Want to give a stranger a zero waste present? Sign up for my Patreon! Doing so allows me to continue bringing you the content you love, for as little as $1/month!) I decided to make homemade snacks and handed them out in jars I got from Dollarama.
Everyone loved them! Not only did almost everyone finish their jars before the get together ended, they also marvelled at how ‘unique’ a gift idea it was. I didn’t think they were going to finish them at the party, but it worked out well, because everyone who finished gave me their jars back and said they wanted a refill for next year. So I reused the jars the next year, and again, they were a hit.
I planned on reusing them again, but that’s when the pandemic hit. Not to worry though, I still have them! They’re just waiting to be used whenever we can see each other again. I even left the labels and bows on, so everyone keeps getting their own jars back!
With cheap, plastic decorations, bulk boxes of individually wrapped candies and chocolates in plastic, and even the costumes, Halloween (or, any holiday, really) definitely doesn’t spring to mind when you think of ‘zero waste’, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have one!
Yes, it’s totally possible (and not all that much more work) to have a zero waste Halloween!
With just a little tweaking, you can have the zero waste Halloween that your wallet (and planet!) will thank you for having.
Tip #1: Make Your Own Treats!
I figured I would start with the hardest tip, and then work our way down. The most environmentally friendly and most zero waste way to still have a kick-ass Halloween is definitely to make your own treats.
Obviously, you can’t pass these out at the door (well, you could, but I don’t think parents would let them eat homemade stranger candy), but if you’re having a grown-up party, or even just your own house party with your kids, this is an awesome tip!
Not only will you get to binge on healthier treats (since you’re buying all the ingredients you need, you’ll know exactly what’s going into them), but I’m sure your kids would love to help bake/create the treats with you. It’s a fun way to spend the day, and you get a reward for all your hard work at the end!
Another bonus of making homemade treats? You can literally make whatever you want! Not that into chocolate? Don’t make it! Really craving a rice crispy square? Get yourself some marshmallows (if searching for vegan ones, I recommend Dandies), and rice cereal and go at it. Want to try homemade chocolate? Go get yourself some cocoa butter and Silk (milk) and go nuts! Rather not eat typical ‘candy’? No problem! Get your bakers hat on, and whip up some cookies, brownies, or whatever other treat your heart desires. And, to make them festive, you could decorate them with the Halloween theme in mind!
The only limitation to the treats you create is your imagination!
If you want to make actual ‘candy’ at home (i.e. lollipops, hard candies like Jolly Ranchers, etc.) you’ll maybe not want to let the kids help with those. Those items require boiling sugar and that stuff gets super hot/a tad dangerous to work with, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you want to give some of your homemade treats away (I only recommend doing this to people you know/who trust you enough to actually eat what you hand-make, that way your good intentions don’t end up in the garbage), you can get some jars/containers and decorate them simply before giving them away. Similar to thedry mixes some people give at Christmas. Do them up a little pretty, and people are sure to love them!
Tip #2: Don’t Buy a Single-Use Costume
My mom was always really big into Halloween, so maybe this was just my family, but some of my best Halloween memories consist of mix and matching clothes I already had to make my costume. Sure, we had to go buy Halloween make-up (weren’t gonna waste ‘the good stuff’) and maybe a wig, but the majority of our costumes growing up were homemade.
If you don’t want to wear your everyday clothes, check out past year costumes you already have, to see how you can give them a new life as something else, or, go hit up a thrift store (like Value Village), that may have some more specific Halloween-themed pieces. The trick here is to go through what you already have, see what your missing, and then either go get a few choice pieces to complete the look that can be re-used in the future, or change what your costume is, so you can use pieces you already have.
You could also keep a few things from your Capsule Wardrobe purge to keep specifically to wear for Halloween. This way, you won’t care if you have to say, roll it around in the dirt to get the specific look, (we actually did this one year) or cut some holes into it.
Or, you could just forgo the costumes if you’re not going out/not that into it. You could have a house party in your pj’s watching scary movies with family and friends, instead.
Tip #3: Buy In Actual Bulk!
If you don’t want to make your own treats, or you don’t have the skills to make one treat in particular that you just absolutely need to make Halloween special to you, try to get it at an actual bulk store!
Here in Canada, we have this place called Bulk Barn, and every year around Halloween, they have a few dedicated bins to Halloween treats. Foil-wrapped chocolates, hard candies, gummy worms with a bat decoration stuck to the bin, etc. Basically they slap a ghost or spider-web on some of their regular offerings and call it a day.
But this is still better than buying those boxes of big-name treats, because you can fill your own container* with the exact amount of treats you’ll need. So yes, this option still gives you waste (depending on what treats you’re buying), but it’s still better than getting a bunch of those giant cardboard boxes (that can’t be recycled! The dyes used to make those silly pictures sometimes prevent the cardboard from being recyclable), filled to the brim with plastic wrappers.
I recommend you go out and buy store-bought treats last, because it will create some more waste than the other options here, but if you absolutely feel you need to, then do it. Zero waste isn’t about denying yourself things you like, or feeling like you have to ‘give up’ things you enjoy, it’s about helping the planet and minimizing your environmental impact.
It’s also impossible to be ‘true’ zero waste in today’s society, so don’t worry too much about trying to be perfect. Everyone creates waste – the trick you need to remember is to create as least as you can, as often as you can. If you create a little bit more than usual once a year, there’s no Zero Waste Police who are gonna show up and fine you, or revoke your zero waste card.
So relax, and have fun!
*Bulk Barn has temporarily suspended it’s BYO policy due to COVID safety practices. Call/check your local bulk store to see if/when the policy will change back
This article was written 21.06.02. Please excuse any reference/joke about the pandemic that is longer applicable.
There are lots of different options to living small, which is great! But, if you’re a newb, how are you supposed to know which way is the best fit for you?
Not to worry, because today I’ll go through three of the biggest ways to live small, and explain the differences so that you can make a more informed decision.
Please note: this article isn’t the be-all, end-all of tiny living information. I always recommend you do your own research, and look at multiple articles, posts and even videos of people living these different lifestyles so you can hear from a wide range of sources.
Tiny Houses
You can technically call Skoolies and van conversions ‘tiny houses’ as well, but I’m going to use this term in this article to mean non-vehicle small houses.
‘Tiny house’ refers to homes that are (usually) 400 square feet or less, and are more stationary than a vehicle home. Tiny houses can be built either on a trailer (wheels), or right on the ground like a regular house. These homes are better suited for those who don’t want to travel very often, but who still want to reap the benefits of small living.
Most tiny homes I’ve seen consist of a kitchen, living room and bathroom on one floor, and then a bedroom and/or office/second bedroom built in a loft area. You don’t have to follow this formula however. It’s your house, so you can make it look however you want! Though, that does bring us to an important question: will you be building out the tiny yourself, or outsourcing to a company that specializes in building them?
Some companies have certain templates you must follow if you want to order a house from them. While DIY-ing your house gives you all the freedom and flexibility you may want, there’s a big risk involved if you don’t know what you’re doing. And sure, you could learn – there are many DIY-ers who built their own house – but building a house from literally nothing can be a huge project to undertake.
And, because this is a tiny house, there are even more logistic questions you’ll need to keep in mind, like:
– Will you build on a wheel base, or right on the ground?
– If building on a wheel base, are you able to conform your dream home to road safety standards so it can be transported?
– Will you make your house on or off-grid?
– Do you have a plot of land you can put/build the house on, or will you be renting a space?
– Are tiny houses even allowed in your city/country as the main living area?
I’d recommend checking out the laws wherever you are before getting your heart set on a tiny home. There’s nothing more crushing than getting excited for something, only to have the government say it’s not allowed.
Skoolies/Bus Life
‘Skoolies’ originally started out as a term to refer to converted school buses, but I’ve seen other bus lifers use this term to describe their non-school bus conversions, too.
Many people choose living in vehicles over building out a tiny home, because converting a vehicle gives them more freedom to travel. Since vehicles are already built to road standards, and you’re starting with a structure, some find converting a vehicle easier to do than starting from scratch.
Another benefit of converting a bus is the fact they come in many different sizes! Most buses range from 25 to 40 feet in length, which is a ton of space when compared to building out a van. Though, because the vehicles are pre-sized, one downside to bus conversions (and van conversions) compared to tiny houses, is the fact that they’re typically narrower than you may be used to. Most buses and vans are between 7-8.5 feet wide.
You can also usually find school buses for pretty cheap, since most school boards operate on an ‘age out’ system. This means that while the buses are still in great condition (because the school board has to maintain them) and have a few good years left, due to their age, the district switches them out, regardless. A similar thing happens with city transit, shuttle and even tour buses! Which is awesome, because that means more options for you.
A lot of buses also come with pre-built storage compartments, and some (such as coach and tour buses) may already also have plumbing and even Wi-Fi installed. This is great because that can help you not only keep the cost of conversion down, but may also help you finish your conversion sooner.
So, which bus should you get? Well, that depends on you and your needs. The biggest complaint I’ve seen with school bus converters is the fact that yes, they were able to get the vehicle for cheap, but they had to spend more on the conversion, because school buses aren’t meant for long distance drives. A common complaint I’ve seen with shuttle buses is the fact that they are slightly wider than most other buses, which can make driving down certain narrow roads a challenge. And while transit buses are good for long drives, these typically sit pretty low to the ground which again, depending on what type of roads you plan on driving down can be a problem.
That said, buses are a great medium for those who want a bit more space than vans allow, but more freedom than a tiny home. Also, no matter which tiny you choose, they all are going to have a list of both pros and cons. You just have to find the one that you think would work best for you.
Van Life
Van conversions are arguably the most aesthetic of the three tiny home types, but just because they are flooding your Instagram feed doesn’t mean they’re the best choice for you.
Sure vans are more compact, which is great for driving and parking in regular spaces, but can you really live in 60 square feet? Think about how small that really is. A 10×10 foot bedroom is 100 square feet. Go ahead and look around (and possibly measure) your bedroom. Can you really fit everything you need in such a small space? A kitchen, bedroom, place to work and bathroom?
(Can’t fit a tub in a van!)
Due to their compact sizes, many van lifers have to choose to live without certain amenities, such as a proper bathroom and/or shower. Pre-pandemic, this was less of a problem, since there were open gyms, cafes, etc. that had free public bathrooms. Now though, you may want to consider giving yourself your own bathroom. Even pandemic aside, public bathrooms are not always the cleanest, and are also not always around when you may need one.
Boondocking is all fun and games until you need to pee (or worse). If there’s no rest stop close by, do you really want to pack up and leave your gorgeous, private spot, to drive who-knows-how-many-miles back down the road to the closest public bathroom? Or, are you comfortable popping a squat where you are? Is it even legal to do so in that area? (Yes, there are laws about this)
A lot of vans also don’t come with pre-installed storage, and again, because they’re smaller in size, you can’t fit as much in them. Sure there are some crazy conversions out there that have tons of storage, but there’s only so much you can do with a small body.
Another con to van life? Because of their increase in popularity, many people are catching on to the stealth camping techniques used by van lifers when staying in a city, and you may get fined (or towed!) if you’re parked somewhere you’re not supposed to be.
As said above, tiny living isn’t for everyone, and while you may love the aesthetic of the life, don’t get lost in the rose-coloured Instagram filtered pictures. You need to think out the logistics of living tiny if you want to have any hope of succeeding at it.
That said, if your heart is really in it, and you think you can seriously make it work, then go for it! Continue your research and plans for what you want your goal life to look like, and while I want you to be mindful of the realities of the lifestyles, don’t get discouraged just because it may be harder than you originally thought.
One of the things everyone has too many of, is clothes. I don’t know what it is, but practically everyone I know has overflowing dressers and closest. And, perhaps the worst part, is that their dressers and closest are overflowing with clothing they won’t even wear!
Seriously, how messed up is that? Why would you keep hundreds of items of clothes if you never wear them? That’s just wasting your money, wasting space for things you actually like/want to wear and is not doing your self-image any favours.
While I can’t tell you to stop buying yourself clothes (just because we’re in lockdown doesn’t mean you won’t ever have to go outside again), I can help you start the process of whittling down your wardrobe.
The first step to downsizing your wardrobe? Get rid of everything that doesn’t fit (yes, even that goal weight item you’re keeping for ‘inspiration’), and anything you haven’t worn in over a year. Chances are, if you haven’t worn it again, it’s probably because you don’t actually like it. By ‘get rid of’, I do not mean throw in the garbage! Unless it’s actually super holey and can’t be worn, donate them! There are tons of second hand stores that are always looking for clothing donations. (I know with COVID this may make it harder, but just be sure to do your research on the new donating guidelines!)
If the clothes are too worn/holey/stained to be donated, see if you can cut them up and turn them into something else. There are tons of tutorials online of creative ways to upcycle old clothing. I personally have made a few fabric bracelets, a hair tie, and reusable pads out of old clothes. (There will be a dedicated reusable pad/zero waste period post coming soon!)
Also, if you have an insane amount of the exact same item of clothing, get rid of it! There are only 7 days in a week, and unless you don’t have a washing machine, or get covered in mud every single day, you don’t need 7+ of the same t-shirt, or pairs of the exact same leggings. Honestly, no one will care if you repeat an outfit, and if they do, well… let’s just say there are more important issues to be worrying about.
Okay, now that you have a few tips to help you downsize, let’s get on to the items you’ll be keeping. Adopting a capsule wardrobe can be a huge help in not only maintaining your style, but also in keeping you from buying too many clothing items. The concept of a capsule wardrobe is simple: you just make sure that each new piece of clothing you buy (or each item you’re keeping) will match with something you already own. It’s basically turning your wardrobe into a giant mix and match set.
So, now that you know what a capsule wardrobe is, let’s get into the how-to.
Step 1. Choose a Base Colour.
This can be any colour you want! Yellow, green, pink, pastel, even tie-dyed! It all depends on your style, and what you want your wardrobe to say. This colour will be the bottom building block for the rest of your wardrobe (i.e. the colour you have the most of), so make sure it’s one that you love to wear!
I personally try to dress ‘gothic country’ (which I’m pretty sure is a style I invented), so that made choosing my base colour really easy: Black. It goes with everything, and I had the added bonus of having a lot of pieces that were already this colour. (Instead of having to rush out and buy more to my already-over-flowing closet)
Step 2. Select Neutral Essentials
Keep these items a solid colour that is different then your base colour. These items are these that you wear with most, if not every outfit combo you make. You can have multiple colours for your neutral essentials, as long as they go with your base colour. For me, these colours include white, grey and denim.
Step 3. Choose An Accent Colour (Optional)
This has to match the other colours, but this one can be a vibrant colour, or, (if your other colours are vibrant), can be a darker colour. This is to add some contrast/’pop’ to your outfits.
Step 4: Shoes, Jackets and Accessories
For shoes and jackets, it’s best to keep them as your base colours. However, accessories can be a vibrant accent colour. Just, be sure not to wear too many bright accessories. If your whole outfit is black, wearing ten red/blue/some-other-bright-colour accessories would just look out of place.
Again though, these tips are for general practices and will change wildly depending on your own personal style. You could make your base ‘colour’ polka dots if you really wanted – it all depends on what you want your style to be.
The main point of building a capsule wardrobe is to be able to wear most of your clothing with each other, so you’re not constantly buying new clothes/outfits. It doesn’t matter if you execute a ‘perfect’ capsule wardrobe, what matters is you being able to get rid of all the unnecessary clothes you own, in a sustainable way/a way that you can actually keep up with.
If you don’t know by now that single use plastics suck, I’m just gonna go ahead and assume you’re an alien. Because seriously, where have you been if you don’t know that?
Everyone knows single use plastics suck, that’s not news. The news is: we can finally replace them with sustainable alternatives!
Sure, there are some of the obvious/in-your-face replacements that everyone knows, *cough* reusable straws! *cough*, but those aren’t the only single use plastics we need to focus on replacing. And, let’s be honest, most people who jumped on the reusable straw train don’t actually use straws all that often – so their impact isn’t as big, but they still get the ego boost of ‘doing something good’.
For example: I don’t use straws (less than 1 time a year), and the once in a blue moon I do use one, I use the plastic one I have that came with a cup. So for me, buying a reusable metal or silicone straw wouldn’t have that big of an impact. (Though it’s definitely still on my list!)
My biggest waste was the pads I was using for my period. As a woman, that’s something I cannot control, that I have to go through 12 times a year (usually more). For my period, I was using 3 disposable pads per day (2 day time, and 1 night), for about 6 days. This meant I was using at least 18 pads per cycle.
On average, I have 14 periods per year, which means I use about 252 pads in 1 year. 252! That was insane for me to see calculated out like that. I was contributing almost 300 pieces of garbage to the Earth each year – and this was someone who thought they didn’t produce very much trash! So, last year (2020), my goal was to start using reusable pads and to be strictly on reusable pads by the end of the year. (The full reusable period post is coming soon!)
I’m proud to say I’m 100% using reusable pads now, so instead of using 252 pads a year, I now only use 12. Even if I have to replace them every year, that’s still a huge reduction in my garbage impact. And the best part? It didn’t take all that long to get used to the change.
That’s the other great thing about reducing your single use plastics – it doesn’t take that much time to get used to the change, and, often you won’t even notice the change, and will be glad because the alternative is usually so much better!
As you can see, I included the usual suspects (reusable straws and cutlery), but I also feature some often not talked about alternatives. Why aren’t these single use plastics talked about? Well, I’m no expert, but I think it’s because these companies might actually not give that much of a crap about the planet. I mean, think about it, it’s much easier for a company to say they’re getting rid of plastic straws, than say, all plastic packaging. Also, what sucks is the ones that aren’t talked about often are the ones that will have a bigger impact on the planet.
But, now that I’ve given you this handy collage of great swaps to make, you have 0 excuses to not at least start switching some of your single use plastics to reusables. This collage obviously doesn’t have every plastic swap you could make, but I think these are pretty good alternatives for beginners. This is really just to get the ball rolling and getting you used to seeing what could be changed, more than an exhaustive list of everything.
I also didn’t want to overwhelm fellow newbs. I understand how disheartening it can be when you start diving in to these swap lists and look around and see just how much of your stuff is made of plastic (seriously, I never noticed how much of my own stuff was made from plastic before).
And, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out! I’ve found the zero waste community very welcoming, so please don’t be shy! And remember: the planet needs everyone doing zero waste imperfectly, more than a few people doing it 100% perfect (which is literally impossible, anyway).
Like this article? Check out more articles on ways to save the planet here!
Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!
I wanted to make this article to tell you about this amazing search engine called Ecosia, because honestly I love it, and I think more people should start using them. It seems like just yesterday I was watching a Shelbizleee’s video where she talked about them, and I decided to give it a shot. I can’t believe it’s been an entire year!
Ecosia is a search engine, like Google, but unlike Google (or Bing, or whatever search engine you use), Ecosia is well, an eco-search engine. For about every 45 searches, you help to plant 1 tree. Yes, you read that correctly: just by switching your search engine you could be helping to plant trees! How cool is that?
It’s super simple to switch to as well. You don’t even need to download the add-on (though if you want to, you totally can – it’s free!), all you have to do is set it as your home page, or go to ecosia.org every time you need to look something up, and then just use as normal. That’s it!
It’s funny, because before I made the switch, I was actually worried about using it. Yes, I was actually worried about switching my search engine. I don’t even really know why, it’s not like I couldn’t switch back if I didn’t like it. Luckily though, their search results are pretty good, and I haven’t felt the need to switch back, or even really felt like searching was harder at all.
The only ‘problem’ I’ve encountered is even my own fault. Because Ecosia needs to store a cookie (not the edible kind) on your computer to save your searches, if you are like me and use Private Browsing Mode all the time, or have your browser set to automatically delete cookies when it closes, your personal counter gets reset to 0. Like I said though, I know this is 100% my own fault and I could change my settings to allow my browser to keep cookies even after it closes, but for my peace of mind, I like having them dump each time.
That’s fine though, because all I’ve been doing, (that you can do, too if you have similar settings), is keep track of the searches you have before closing your browser. It’s actually really fast/simple to do. I’ve kept a running tally of all my searches on a sticky note on my desktop (along with the dates of when I had to close the browser), and then every few months I add them all up to get my total number of searches/planted trees.
As of Friday (Feb. 12th, 2021), I had a total of 1,638 searches, which is roughly 36 trees planted. Isn’t that crazy? From changing nothing significant about my routine, I’ve helped plant 36 trees!
If you care about the planet/helping the environment, please try out Ecosia, I promise you won’t regret it. It’s the perfect option for those who want to help, but who maybe can’t or don’t want to go out and be active helpers. (Especially now with the pandemic)
You literally cannot be more passive in helping the earth than this!
Want to see more ways to help the planet? Check out more articles here!
Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!
This article was written 20.12.18, please excuse any reference to COVID that no longer applies.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a good holiday, despite not being able to see relatives in person. (Thank God for the internet, am I right?)
To kick off the new year, I thought I’d start with what zero waste goals I hope to achieve by the end of this year. I can’t remember if I made a post about it yet, but last year my main goal was to switch from disposable to reusable menstrual pads, and I’m happy to say, I succeeded!
It actually wasn’t as hard or gross as I originally thought, and if I haven’t posted it already, I promise I will make a dedicated post talking all about that transition.
Since I felt like that was my most wasteful thing, I was struggling to find what else would be a goal that would make a big (ish) difference by the end of the year. Then it finally hit me: I use a lot of paper towels. I’m kind of surprised I never noticed before, but I guess since I hadn’t really thought about it/it was just a ‘normal’ thing I did, I didn’t really pay much attention to it. And this is why we have a problem!
With that in mind, my next main goal for this year is to stop using paper towels. That seems like a crazy thing to say, but when you think about it, chopping down a tree that took years to grow just to be used in a product we only use 1 time? That’s crazy! (Same thoughts I’m having about toilet paper, but I think I’ll do better if I focus on changing 1 thing at a time, instead of trying to change everything all at once, so toilet paper switching will have to wait)
Since I started doing some research into zero waste living, I’ve discovered there are bamboo paper towels. These are better for the planet because bamboo re-grows a lot faster than trees do, so it’s not as devastating as (for example) cutting down a 40 year old tree, and then having to wait another 40 years for it to re-grow. Bamboo is a type of grass, so it grows a lot faster, which is great! Though switching to bamboo would still be producing waste, I’m just thinking of using them as a transition while I figure out what else I can use.
It sounds dumb, but it never occurred to me that most things I use paper towels for (wiping up spills) I can just use a sponge or a towel for. I’ve also seen reusable paper towels as well. Those look like they are just wash clothes snapped together into a roll, so I may actually attempt to make some homemade reusable paper towels, if it turns out that actually is all they are. I’ll of course continue to keep researching, so I can make the best decision possible, but right now reusable paper towels are looking like a great option. Not only will they eliminate the single use paper towels I use, but because they can be washed, I can throw them in with the reusable pads (which I’ve actually been feeling bad about, because I’ve had to wash them by themselves and while I set the machine to do a Small load, I still feel like it’s a ‘waste’)
If I begin succeeding with the paper towels, my next main thing I’d like to switch to reusable is Ziploc bags. I use them also a lot more than I originally thought. Since COVID started, I did start washing and re-using them, which is good, because I’m not using them as single use plastic. However, since my end goal is to be as zero waste as possible, I’d like to switch them to reusable silicone bags, or to use jars or something else to replace them.
Zero waste isn’t about going out and buying all new reusable stuff, and while I think it’s great and helpful there are a lot of reusable alternatives out there now, I don’t think it’s practical for someone to dish out all this money to buy reusables and then just throw out all the plastic stuff they own. When I say I’m going to transition, I literally mean it. I will use the plastic bags and paper towels I have left (which admittedly isn’t very many at this point – which I think is one of the few good things to come out of 2020) and then will start to look to things I already have before deciding to go out and buy new reusable things.
So there you go. My 2 big zero waste goals for 2021 is to reduce/stop using paper towels made out of trees, and to stop/reduce use of Ziploc bags.
Do you have any zero waste goals you’d like to achieve? Do you have any tips or tricks on how to transition away from using paper towels or Ziploc bags? Let me know in the comments!
*This article was written 20.05.20 when the COVID-19 related lockdown was just beginning to ease in Toronto/Canada. Please excuse any reference that is no longer applicable.
Since I’ve gone vegan, it’s opened me up to this whole world of research, and in my research, I somehow keep stumbling upon things that bring me closer to that old ‘hippie’ cliché.
I don’t know why, but the more I learn about alternatives to the 9-5 path, the deeper I’ve been falling in love with it. I mean, if the goal of life is to be happy, that’s what I should be focusing on, right?
With that in mind, let me tell you about something new I’ve discovered: zero waste living!(By ‘new’, I mean I just discovered this way of life only a few months ago) This is a way of life I would love to try to adapt, because well… who doesn’t want to help save the planet?
I’m currently nowhere near a zero waste expert, but I am determined to integrate it into my lifestyle until I could be considered an expert. (Or at least… someone who actually remembers to bring their reusable bags to the store)
While I’d like to say that I’ve changed a lot of my lifestyle since discovering this way of life, I actually haven’t. But I think that’s okay! Because I’m still a newb, I can share my experiences with other newbs (or people who are maybe scared to try) and hopefully help you to take the plunge.
So: where the heck do you even start?
I understand how overwhelming overhauling your lifestyle can be, especially because I’ve already done itonce. But, the great news is that you don’t have to go zero waste over night. In fact, if you were to toss all your plastic stuff and buy brand new ‘zero waste aesthetic’ things it would actually be more wasteful of you.
So, as the same with going vegan (or any other major life change): go slow.
One of the easiest things to switch that I’ve seen a few people in the zero waste movement talk about are The Big 4. These are the 4 most used non-reusable things most people use without even thinking about it, but if they were to change just these four things, it would have a massive impact on how much personal trash you make.
They are:
Water bottles
Plastic bags
Straws and
Coffee cups
Now, I’m sure you’ve seen some recent campaigns calling for the banning of plastic straws, or that gross video of somebody pulling a straw out of a turtle’s nose, but straws are actually not that big a deal, in the grand scheme of things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying switching to reusable straws are pointless, I’m just saying there are other, bigger impact swaps I think you could personally make to help the environment.
The number one best thing you can do to help the environment is to adopt a vegan diet. I know, I know, I’m starting to sound preachy, eh? Well, it’s for a good reason! There have been multiple studies that show veganism is the best diet in terms of planet-saving.
Just look at the stats from my 4th Year Veganversary post:
I’ve saved 1.6 million gallons of water and 29 thousand pounds of CO2 since I’ve stopped eating animals. That’s insane!
To put these numbers into perspective for you: 1.6 million gallons of water is the equivalent of taking 93,023 showers, which is triple the amount of showers 1 person takes in their entire lifetime!
So you can either not shower for literally the rest of your life, or you can go vegan. Seriously, guys, it shouldn’t even be a debate at this point.
I won’t go too much further down that rabbit hole, since I did cover those specs in my 4th Year Veganversary post, but I thought I should at least reiterate the water and CO2 stats here, because those relate to saving the planet, and that’s the goal of zero waste. (… Right?)
I will say though, that perhaps the best part of the above, is that I was able to save so much and help in a very easy, passive way. I’ll admit I’m not exactly ‘active’ in the activism scene, (which I’ve been feeling kind of guilty about) but I love knowing that basically without even trying I’m saving the planet every single day! It feels really awesome to say, because seriously, what is easier/more passive than just not eating animals? It’s not hard, I promise! (Also, for those of you who may be concerned about nutrient requirements, I’ll point you to my Nutrient Collage series. But also note I have been vegan for 4 years now and I’m still not dead so…)
Okay, sorry, I know I got a bit off topic. Which isn’t hard to do, because see how all these things are basically interconnected to saving the planet?
… Anyway, I think that everyone could be doing more to help save the planet, (some more than others) and I love that there are so many passive ways for us to help in this day and age.
Let’s say you’re already vegan (or don’t want to go vegan) and you’re looking for some other things you can do to save the world. I think the best way to go about getting into sustainable living (in a way that will form habits that stick) is to start small. As with anything, uprooting your usual routines are not easy, so you can’t exactly quit trash cold turkey.
Okay, so with not being able to just suddenly stop producing trash, you’re gonna need some help, right? I mean, that is why you clicked on this article… right?
Right. So let me get into the specifics: where to start your zero waste journey.
Unfortunately, this isn’t going to be a one size fits all starting point, because I don’t know your lifestyle, what your current trash is like, or your situation. Also, as I said above, I’m not an expert! (Yet 😉 ) So keeping that in mind, I think that a good place to start would be The Big 4. I mean, they got the name ‘big’ for a reason. Most people use these things every day without thinking about it. And if that’s you, I’d recommend you start there.
Maybe instead of buying a Tim Horton’s (or Starbucks, calm down US) coffee in a paper cup, you try to remember to bring a reusable cup. Or, ask for no straw. And start trying to keep reusable tote bags for groceries in your car (or back pack or whatever you use for grocery shopping).
Now, for me personally, I wasn’t ever the person to go to Tim Horton’s every single day for a coffee (yay being broke! Lol), but I still have a reusable coffee cup. While that wasn’t really a ‘big’ thing I was changing, I felt good that in the once-in-a-blue-moon time I wanted a coffee (usually a mocha [decaf, with coconut milk and no whip] in winter because fuck it gets cold up here!) I could give them my reusable cup, instead of just making trash for a momentary pleasure. (Which again, is kind of how I view veganism. Someone had to give up their entire life for 5 minutes of pleasure? Uuuhm, no.)
Also, my vegan research has led me to uncover that plastic bags contain bone char, so I’ve tried to stay away from those as well. I fortunately have a few tote bags already, so that’s another part of the Big 4 that I personally don’t have to worry about. (As much as other things)
I’ve actually always been at least a somewhat conscious person, or at least… I like to think so. I know as a fact though through my own life experience of visiting other people’s houses that I don’t make nearly as much garbage as the ‘average’ person. Even looking into the stats of it, the average Canadian produces 2.7kg (5.9lbs) of trash every day. (US citizens average 4.4lbs per day)
And, maybe that doesn’t sound like much, but if you take into account that this is strictly for trash and not recycling (cardboard, glass, paper, etc.) it’s actually a lot. Our society has become very focused on disposables for some reason, and I think it’s time we change that.
I mean, think about it. Like, really sit and think about it: if you buy paper towels (or a plastic cup or any other single use plastic) you just spent money on something that you’re going to immediately throw out.
As my mom would say, ‘you might as well just light your money on fire’. Cause seriously, that’s crazy!
‘But it isn’t very expensive!’ Alright, well, let’s do some quick math. Let’s say you’re buying a cup of disposable coffee every morning. And let’s pretend the coffee is $5. You just threw $35 in the trash at the end of the week. Times that by 4 weeks, and at the end of 1 month, you’ll have spent $140 on an item you just threw away!
As I said above, I don’t know your situation – maybe you happen to have millions where you can afford to throw out $140 each month – but if you’re a normal person, I’m sure you could think of a lot more uses for that $140!
Now, let’s do another hypothetical: you spend maybe $15-20 on a reusable coffee cup. It’s a little bit more up front, but in the long run it will save you immensely.
I realize the above example isn’t too accurate, because you would still have to pay for the coffee inside the reusable cup, but if you have a reusable cup at home, you may also be more likely to just make coffee at home, and avoid that expense all together. Also, I think you understand the point I was making.
Actually, let’s go with another example: napkins. Everybody needs napkins to use when they eat, right? And they’re relatively inexpensive?
Well, let me break it down:
At Loblaws, a 4-pack of Bounty Paper Towels are $11.49.
It’s estimated that 1 paper towel roll lasts about 2 weeks on average. So, with that in mind, you would have to buy this particular pack every 2 months (b/c there’s [roughly] 4 weeks per month).
We can times that by the 6 months a year you need to buy them, and that would amount to $68.94.
$68.94 you’re spending on trash. (Although, as long as paper towels don’t have meat fat on them, they can be composted, but still…)
Buying something just to throw it out is genuinely insane, and the fact that it’s so normalized in our culture is weird. Why did we all just agree with that being the new normal when companies started doing that?
Seriously!
And now it’s considered weird for people not to buy things just so they can throw them out – what?!
Why that’s considered weird is actually really odd if you think about it for longer than .2 seconds. When I stopped to think about it, it definitely didn’t make sense, which is why I’m taking steps now to remedy that!
Cause why are you gonna do something if it doesn’t make sense?
As said above, I think I personally have a pretty good handle on the Big 4 already, so my personal zero waste goals won’t focus as much on those. I actually find it easier for me to achieve things if I set myself goals, so I’m going to be doing that with this, so that I give myself the best shot at success!
So, for right now, my end of the year 2020 zero waste goals are:
1. Switch over 100% to reusable pads. (I’ll be making a dedicated article about this, don’t worry!)
2. Buy new metal or silicone reusable travel size body wash/shampoo containers. (I have some plastic ones I had received as a gift back in 2014, and they’re finally breaking, so those will be some of the first plastic things I’m switching out for reusables!)
3. Get some glass food containers, or those silicone reusable Ziplock bags.
4. If I get take-out or snacks, see if I can use my own container, get them in bulk (the snacks) or ask if they have non-plastic options.
Considering we’re already almost half done this year (actually, when this article comes out it will be over half the year is gone), I think it will be really interesting to see what on this list I’ll be able to cross off, and what I’ll still have to work on come the end of December.
I think probably the hardest thing on this list to achieve will be #4. Since the COVID-19 lockdown is just beginning to ease it’s restrictions here in Toronto, I’m not sure how far we’ll get before the end of the year. They may not allow customer containers or bulk food buying until later, when things have really cooled down.
The good news though is that I can focus on the snack aspect more. While I don’t know if they’ll allow people to buy snacks in bulk any time soon, one thing I can try to control is picking snacks that come in a paper bag, or metal or glass, so that I can at least recycle them, instead of throwing them out.
#4 will also be especially interesting during the upcoming holiday season, when we can (hopefully) get together with friends and family.
The use of reusable pads is definitely #1 because it’s one of the only things I have 100% control over during this uncertain time. And, since I’ve been stuck at home, I’ve actually begun to make some reusable pads out of old towels and a fleece blanket. Also there isn’t ever been really a better time to test them to see if they work.
If nothing else, I at least hope to be able to use only reusable pads at the end of the year. I do still have some disposable pads now, but I thiiiink I’ll be able to use them for the next few cycles while I continue to make reusable pads, and should be able to be completely switched over before the end of the year.
That’s actually one thing I’m the most excited about, because even though I started using all natural cotton pads, I still feel bad that I’m throwing them out. I haven’t done a calculation, but I’m like… 90% sure that pads are my biggest cause of trash.
Anyways, I hope you were able to get some good starting points or tips for beginning your zero waste journey. This is going to be the only post for this year specifically talking about zero waste. Since this is my first year starting, I thought it best if I leave the articles for next year, and the following years, since I’ll be gaining experience and then can share what I learn.
I will however be talking about the above zero waste goals in my annual End of Year post, to see if I achieved what I set out to, and kind of do a year in review type thing, along with teasing some upcoming projects. So be sure to keep your eye out for that! Also, keep an eye out on my Twitter and Instagram, where I’ll most likely post day-to-day things I discover or frustrations I have.
Also: if you’re starting your zero waste journey, do you have any questions you’d like to see me answer? And, if you’re a zero waste veteran, do you have any tips and tricks to help out us newbs? Let me know in the comments below!
