the right direction

My absence from blogging is not due to lack of effort or time spent thinking about reducing waste. It has simply been a transition period. For me, change takes time. Especially life style changes. But I have made some serious strides to decrease clutter and trash that our home creates.

Today was a wonderful Zero Waste day! I was out of my house all day and did not create any waste! I brought my own lunch and coffee cup. I brought my mason jar and purchased iced tea (and they only charged me $1.17 opposed to the $3 it was supposed to cost since I brought my own cup!). I sold some old wedding stuff and made $40 and then I purchased some clothes from a consignment store and used my $35 credit I had from selling my old clothes (Finally seeing a substantial financial benefit to cleaning out all of those closets)! After dinner my husband and I rode our bikes to get ice cream and it was served with all compostable ware.

I did pop into Target today to buy some Mothers Day cards and as I was walking down the aisles I noted to my self how many of the aisles I no longer need. Target is a store that I used to not be able to get out of without spending $50 and today I simply didn't have the need for anything else in the store. It was a great feeling and a nod in agreement that I am making positive change.

I'm slowly making my way through all of the girly bottled shit that accumulates over the years in ones bathroom (lotions and sprays and what-not). It's been fun to use it all and it makes it special knowing that I will never buy those things again. Finding replacements of the things that I want to keep around has not be difficult either. I am currently sampling different shampoo bars/conditioners as well as tooth powder/paste recipes and the many uses of coconut oil in the bathroom.

I am continuing to go through our house and get rid of unnecessary clutter. I got Bea Johnson's Book: Zero Waste Home (which I will pass along to my sister when I'm done). The book has been super inspiring and has helped me make decisions on what to get rid of.

My next hurdle (as evidenced by my shopping spree today) is simplifying my wardrobe. I really like the idea, but I think this will take longer than the rest of the things. I don't have a very defined style nor do I have "staple pieces" ... or even many clothes that I LOVE. I just wear what fits in at that moment and then update. At least now I am updating with already used clothing as to not create more objects in the world, but I could go one step further.  All in due time.