"Green" Isn't Just for Hippies

I feel like when people hear anything about "reducing waste" or being "sustainable" they roll their eyes and just think of vegans who drive electric cars and like to protest in front of power plants. I was probably one of those people (the ones who roll their eyes, not the vegans), and I think a lot of us are without even realizing it. But I've started to think that this attitude towards these subjects makes us ignorant of our responsibilities as people who rely on this planet and value its existence. 

As a Christian we talk about the creation of the Earth and how much care God put into it for our enjoyment and sustenance, and then we shame people who are trying to make an effort to preserve it. If this planet is really a gift from God, shouldn't we be treating it as such?

(Now I have to speak up for both sides. There are some people who become a little aggressive about their beliefs. They do more than just shame people who don't agree, some become mean and even resort to destructive measures to try and get their cause noticed. I don't think this is the right approach either.)

I don't think we need to worry so much about our planet running out of resources right now, but I do think we have become greedy and wasteful because we don't expect to ever run out. Have you ever taken the time to think about how much you throw in the trash every day? How many trash bags you fill in a week? Have you ever stopped to think about where it comes from or where it goes once you're done with it? We frivolously throw things out without a second thought. 

Aside from how it affects our planet, the habit of being wasteful like that is not one to be proud of. Whether that's wasting food, items that are perfectly useful, or resources that we see as trash. I'm sure most of you have a large collection of plastic grocery bags in your pantry or under your sink. Or maybe you don't even save those you just throw them in the trash. 

When we are more intentional about the waste we create we become more aware, we save money, we become more grateful for what we do have, we have less stuff and clutter around us, and we can help others. When we are wasteful we take what we have for granted. 

There are a few ways we can be more mindful of the waste we create without having to convert to the hippie lifestyle. 

Use What You Have

I think a lot of people think about being more sustainable or "green" and think they have to buy all these special products that are eco friendly. Honestly this is just as wasteful. I think one of the best and easiest ways to waste less is to use what you have rather than buying new things. This could mean reusing containers your food came in (jam jars, yogurt containers, plastic takeout containers, etc), using grocery bags to line your bathroom trash can rather than buying mini trash bags, using your items til their totally dead (like your tooth brush or loofa) before going and buying a fancy "natural" or compostable version. The less you buy the less you waste. 

This could also mean borrowing from a neighbor or friend. If you need something, rather than going and buying a new one consider borrowing it, especially if you only need it a few times. 

Meal Plan

We waste SO MUCH food in the US. The average household wastes a third of the food that comes into their house. That's insane!

As a budget crazy cheap-o the idea of wasting something that costs me so much every month is horrifying. One thing we always do that keeps us from wasting money and food is meal plan. I know a lot of people hate meal planning because they don't like past them telling present them what to do, but there are things you can do to make it easier. 

I meal plan for two weeks at a time, so I don't have to go through the process every week. I also don't assign meals to specific days, I just make a list of 14-15 meals. Having an extra meal or two planned is nice incase you forget to get an ingredient for a certain meal then you don't have to run out and get it, it also means if there's a meal you decide you don't want anymore you don't have to have it you can just use the ingredients for something else. 

It can be tempting to fill your meal plan with tons of fancy meals, but that'll burn you out and lead you to buy a bunch of ingredients that you'll only use part of and the rest will go bad. I try to plan only one or two fancy meals (like a roast), a handful of moderate meals (like a casserole or pasta dish), and several easy meals (like tacos or grilled cheese). I also try to go through the different categories (Mexican, Italian, breakfast foods, Asian, etc). Doing these things makes meal planning a bit less overwhelming.

Meal planning every other week also means we go to the store less. We have one big shopping trip every other week when I meal plan, and then the weeks in between we just pick up things we go through regularly like bread, fruit, and milk. The more you go to the store the more you spend and the more you waste. Lots of little shopping trips add up! This also allows you to buy things in bulk which saves a lot of money and usually means less packaging, therefore, less waste.

By the time our two weeks are up and we're ready to meal plan again our fridge is almost bare! Because we plan our shopping list around our meal plan we rarely have food go bad because we use everything we bought! No more throwing away food because it was forgotten. 

Storing Food Properly

Produce sometimes goes bad before you get the chance to use it, so you have to toss it. Not your fault necessarily but there are better ways to store your produce so that it'll last longer and give you more opportunity to use it. 

Fresh herbs and veggies like carrots and celery can be stored in a cup of water in the fridge. Things like berries, grapes, and cherry tomatoes should be dried and put in an air tight container, lettuce as well. Bananas should be separated from the bunch. 

Storing your produce properly can make them last weeks longer than they normally do! I even keep things like bread and tortillas in the fridge, even though they don't need to be I find they last much longer than if they sit on the counter. 

Buying New

Thrifting has become popular and I'm so glad because its awesome! Every time we buy something new we are telling the company that made it to make more. There are so many perfectly good items that are wasted because someone decided to buy something new. If we instead get things second hand we prolong the life of these items, companies have to produce less new things (which helps with both emissions AND waste), and less gets thrown away. It also saves you tons of money!

I think that companies like Amazon and especially Shein (which has become so popular recently) are some of the biggest ways we waste things when it comes to shopping. The ease at which you can purchase something makes us oblivious to how wasteful it is. First, all the shipping Amazon does, you could get 3 packages in one day that all could have come in the same box. This again contributes to both emissions and waste. It also makes us more likely to buy thing that we didn't really need, or buy things new that we could have bought second hand. Many people get several Amazon shipments a week! Is that really all stuff you need? 

Being conscious of our shopping habits could make a bigger difference than we realize on how much greed and waste we give into. We are so used to getting what we want when we want it, and I think that just adds to the mentality that causes us to treat our planet and the things we've been given without respect. If you can, try to buy second hand, and if you have to buy new, make sure its something you really need and maybe try to buy it in store rather than online. 

Food From Scratch

All convenience items come packaged in plastic, a box, or both. The more processed or convenience foods we buy the more we are throwing away from the packaging. Often times things that are considered ingredients either come without a package like produce or they can be used for several recipes rather than being individually packaged. 

Think about making boxed mac and cheese vs making it from scratch. If you're making it for your family, you would need several boxes of the packaged stuff, which if you buy it in bulk will mean several boxes wrapped in plastic, which will also have a packet of cheese powder inside each one. If you cook 4 boxes that's the outside plastic, 4 cardboard boxes, and 4 cheese packets you're throwing in the trash (or 9 items). If you make it from scratch, you use a package of noodles, some milk, maybe a block of cheese, some butter, and a few dashes of seasonings. This leaves you with 1 or 2 packages to throw away by the time you've finished making the meal. Not to mention it also better for you....

If you want to go even further, making things from scratch that you would normally buy at the store can be fun and reduce your waste even more! Things like bread, granola, yogurt, pasta sauce, and pizza. Really anything you can buy at the store can be made from scratch, its just a matter of how much energy and commitment you have.

You can also use food scraps for a lot of things. Apple cores and peels can be used to make apple cider vinegar super easily, vegetable scraps can be saved in the freezer and used to make vegetable broth (which you can freeze and never have to buy broth again!), banana peels can be boiled to make a banana tea fertilizer for your plants, and I'm sure there are many others!

Making things from scratch means less packaging and garbage and less junk food too! 

Public Resources

The city you live in spends a lot of money on resources for the citizens to use for free. Taking advantage of these things is a good way to reduce waste. You probably already associate public transportation with going green, but don't discount it. I understand it might be sketchy in some areas, but don't assume it is just because of stereotypes. Check out your local public transportation, it might be a good safe option for you. 

The public library is one you may not have thought of. Rather than buying new books all the time, try renting it from the library. Its often free, and they usually have more than just books, a lot of them will have movies and even games. 

Taking advantage of your resources is a really good way not to just reduce physical waste but also the mindsets that can lead to wastefulness.

Plastic Bags

There are two types of plastic bags I want to mention, grocery bags and "ziplock" type bags. 

I know in a few states you have to purchase plastic bags at check out, but for many people we get several bags each time we go to the store. When I see the stash of grocery bags under my sink I feel so guilty. I can't help think about how much is being wasted as well as where these bags were to go if I just threw them away. 

There are some things we can do to be less wasteful of these items. We try to make use of them rather than just throwing them out, either by lining our bathroom trash can like I mentioned earlier or for dirty cat litter. Another thing you can do is just get less of them, maybe that means not using a bag at all when you're only grabbing a few items, or try to fit more items in a single bag. Of course I think the best option would be bringing your own reusable bags to the store with you, that is a future goal of mine. 

Most of the time I do grocery pick up because I hate grocery shopping, but when they bag your groceries for you they use WAY more bags than I would usually use. I'm plan on putting in a request when I order my groceries for them to just gather my items into the basket. I'll keep a laundry basket (one of the short rectangular ones) in my car so they can just unload the groceries from their basket into mine and I can just carry the basket (or maybe baskets plural) into the house. No bags needed. I don't know if they'll let me do this but why not try? You could do the same thing if you want to go into the store to shop, just load all your groceries back into your cart after checking out (without bags) and load them into a basket in your car. You just may need to keep your receipt out so they don't think you're stealing it. Let me know if you try it how it goes! 

I do have ziplock bags, but I think I've had the same package for over a year. I try to use them as little as possible and would like to move away from them completely. We use plastic containers for most things you would put in a bag, even when my husband brings lunch to work. You can use any container you have, you really don't need to go out and buy new ones. Like I mentioned earlier the best thing you can do is use what you have. If you already have them you don't need to toss them, if you use them for dry goods then you can reuse them over and over. If you kid brings goldfish to school with them in a bag, reuse the bag for goldfish again the next day. 

I'd also like to add that anything you would normally cover in plastic wrap can be put in a container instead. 

Cleaning Products

When you run out of cleaner rather than getting a new bottle at the store try making some yourself to refill your bottle. You can make a really effective cleaner by combining some vinegar with a little bit of dish some and diluting it with water, and you can add some essential oils (or infuse it with orange peels) if you want it to smell nice. 

Rather than using Clorox wipes to clean, try using your cleaner and a rag. You can even take your sponge after you've washed dishes and use the soap left on it to wipe down your counter tops. 

Try use bars of soap rather than bottled body wash or hand soap. They also sell shampoo bars now! Try to buy ones that don't have as much packaging or can be recycled. Or make your liquid soap last much longer by buying it in bulk, watering it down a little, and using a foaming soap dispenser. 

Paper Towels

I think paper towels are a huge way we waste money. Anything a paper towel can do a regular towel can do too, or there's another way to replace it. Like I mentioned above for cleaning, just use a rag designated for cleaning, a sponge, or a kitchen towel to clean things up. If its something really gross like vomit honestly I still stand by using one of the items I mentioned, you can rinse it out and throw it in the wash. I think its better and probably easier than using a million paper towels and then having that sitting in your trash. When cooking greasy food like bacon, rather than setting it on a plate lined with paper towels I put them on a cooling rack over a baking sheet so the grease can drip off and collect in the baking sheet. No more greasy paper towels, you just wash the baking sheet. 

If you are thinking you need them to clean your hands or face during meal time, you may just need to learn to eat cleaner, take smaller bites, use utensils, and eat over your plate. When eating an especially messy meals like tacos or ribs my husband and I have gotten in the habit of just waiting til we've finished our meal and then washing our hands. No hand wiping needed. 

Paper towels are a huge waste of money and resources, they are honestly just a convenience item that we have become dependent on. That's really the essence of our wasteful culture is relying too heavily on convenience. You can argue that you need these items, but really I imagine you would find other ways to manage if you didn't have them. 

Miscellaneous

There are a few random things I thought of that can help you be more conscious of how much you waste that weren't big enough to merit their own section. Here are some of them.

• If you get a drink from a restaurant that offers a straw, try saying no to the straw and just drinking it like a normal cup. Why do we need straws anyway?
• Walk or bike if your destination is close. Its good for you too!
• Use an electric razor, straight razor, epilator, or one of the many other options available for hair removal rather than buying disposable razors. 
• Switch to a mensural cup or period underwear. You'll save tons of money too!
• Use a refillable water bottle rather than buying disposable ones. I feel like most people are good about that now that water bottles are trendy, but some are still in the habit of buying packs of bottled water. 
• Recycle whenever possible. Even if you don't have your own recycling bin that gets picked up, there's usually a place you can take it and drop it off. Make sure you know the rules and recycle properly, some things can't be recycled and some need to be cleaned before hand, so do some research first. 

Don't feel like you have to do all these things to make a difference or to be successful. I think that takes a lifetime to remove all our bad habits, if even that! Start with one or two that feels reasonable to you, and then when you've successfully incorporated those into your routine, then add another. Over tine you'll build up new good habits! 

If we can become more conscious and intentional consumers we will naturally waste less. The mindset of waste doesn't just apply to "saving the earth". An unchecked wasteful perspective can make you more likely to waste money, waste time, not appreciate the things you have, and make you lazy. I think that wastefulness could fall under one of the 7 deadly sins (probably gluttony? maybe sloth too) and I think I can safely say it is not a characteristic most people want to have. Plus, there are beneficial byproduct of trying to be more conscious of our waste, such as frugality and better health! So don't let the fear or looking like a hippie keep you from being aware of the things you throw away.

Let me know in the comments if you have other tips and ideas to help us waste less!