Blog - Zero Waste Home

[Winter's Tale]

I have been reading this blog for a few months (http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/) and found it quite thought-provoking.  The author also just came out with a book.  She and her family produce only one quart of garbage in a year.  She is quite mustachian in that she continually questions assumptions about what is "normal".  For instance, when she goes grocery shopping, she brings jars and reusable bags with her so that she can purchase food with no packaging at all.  Pretty good stuff.

[kt]

I've read it before and it is impressive. You could also look at http://myplasticfreelife.com/ which looks at reducing plastic use, which often also means reducing packaging and such like.
I must admit it makes me feel lazy. :S  I just cannot be bothered with the faff. Plus, I am pretty sure it would make things more expensive, particularly some food items. There is a place locally which sells ingredients by weight but last time I tried to take my own container they didn't seem keen. I have bought meat from the butchers with my own box.
Are you making any changes as a result?

[kkbmustang]

I've been following that blog for over a year and bought the book, which is now dog-eared, flagged and highlighted. I've read it through three times and will likely read it again. I'm slowly incorporating some things (right now, shopping more bulk and bringing my own containers to the store). I hope to add composting to the mix down the road.

[jfer_rose]

While I am new to MMM, I've been reading the Zero Waste Home blog for quite some time and I agree with you that it fits right in with MMM ideas. I'm nowhere near zero waste but I'm starting to make small changes, for example, I finally got some mason jars to use instead of ziplock bags for freezing foods and I've stopped buying paper towels. I particularly like reading about Bea's wardrobe. She's so very stylish with so few clothes!!

I've been reading minimalism, and simple living blogs for quite some time and it makes MMM very easy to digest. Another good one is the Non Consumer Advocate if you haven't seen it! http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/

[Winter's Tale]

jfer_rose, I definitely agree about making small changes.  I think the biggest change for me has been that I am much more mindful about noticing the packaging that items come in.  Since following the blog and reading the book, I have started taking reusable bags and containers to the grocery store and avoiding plastics as much as possible.  I also started browsing thrift stores for clothes, with surprisingly good results. 

I just moved into a house and am excited to start using a clothes line to dry (inspired by MMM), composting, and gardening more extensively.

[kt]

Small changes are definitely the way to go!
Mulling this over I've realised I've made some definite steps forward (little ones) since coming across this blog a few years ago. I always take reusable bags to the store, in fact my go-to handbag has change to become one which is more accommodating of unexpected purchases.
I stopped buying super-cheap takeaway type plastic boxes to freeze things in and bought a number of sturdy glass jars instead. it will take years for these to pay off but so far i've had some of them over 2 years with no breakages, whereas the plastic boxes often broke after 1-3 uses.
I don't use kitchen roll and am in the process of making some cloths for this kind of thing instead.
I look for paper or card packaging over plastic.
I am at least aware now of the problem of packaging and am trying to make small changes.

[mensa]

We lived in South Korea in 2007. I really noticed the initiatives taken by the government to reduce waste - it was so much more efficient that our government initiatives! I'm not sure if it was local, or nationwide, but there were some amazing things. The most effective thing I noticed was:

The garage in the building where we lived was where the garbage and recycling were done. Residents separated paper, plastics, glass, styrofoam, food waste and textiles into appropriate bins. We had to buy "garbage bags" from local stores which were very expensive. Only true garbage went into them (ie - anything that didn't get recycled). An attendant (who doubled as the parking attendant) went through your garbage to ensure that recyclables were not included. It took us a while to get the hang of this - we didn't speak Hangul and didn't understand what the attendant was yelling at us in the beginning. It really was very effective - a small bag, about half the size of a shopping bag for garbage would take more than a month to fill. Since food waste was composted, we really ended up with very, very little. Really, mostly dental floss, and tissues, iirc.

It is amazing what can happen when a government is truly behind an environmental initiative, rather than just paying lip service to it.

[cordgrass]

I also have been a follower of her blog and bought her book.  Lots of thrifty tips, like how to make your own makeup.

[Frugalady10]

I started reading the other blogs mentioned before MMM. The author of "My Plastic Free Life" b.og has a book that is very interesting. Another enviroment friendly blog I like is The Good Human thegoodhuman.com.

[GuitarStv]

In Toronto here, we're charged for plastic bags by all the major grocery stores.  The law that forces that has been in effect for more than five years.  I just bring my reusable bags by default now.  90% of the people at the supermarkets pay 5 cents a bag for grocery bags that they then take home and throw out though.  :S

[jfer_rose]

GuitarStv, we have a similar law where I live, but I am one of the people who pays for the bags. I use them for garbage bags and for cat litter disposal. I've looked and looked but I haven't found bags that would work for those purposes for less than 5 cents each. My hope is that as I make changes I will need fewer garbage bags, but I'm a long way from getting rid of them completely.

[GuitarStv]

GuitarStv, we have a similar law where I live, but I am one of the people who pays for the bags. I use them for garbage bags and for cat litter disposal. I've looked and looked but I haven't found bags that would work for those purposes for less than 5 cents each. My hope is that as I make changes I will need fewer garbage bags, but I'm a long way from getting rid of them completely.

Biodegradable poop bags for 2.9 cents a bag:  http://www.cheapdogpoopbags.com/2013/01/dog-poop-bag-with-handles/.  We use these to pick up our dog's poop around the neighbourhood.

[iamsoners]

jfer_rose, when we lived in DC we would use re-usable bags for our groceries and whenever we needed to stock up on plastics for household things, we'd grab some from the bag recycling bins they have at most grocery stores.  There's usually lots of good bundled bags in there.