How to reduce the amount of waste you create

Okay. Gross fact- did you know that according to the Clear Air Council, Americans alone use over 1 billion shopping bags? Per year?! A lot of that probably ends up in what Unstash has dubbed the 8th Continent, or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is supposedly twice the size of Texas. Our lack of environmental concern is out of control. Not to say that some communities aren't banding together to make changes, because they are, and they're doing amazing work. But it really boils down to individuals being empowered with the knowledge that their efforts matter, and I think that's where the challenge lies. Anyways, I'm not perfect but I try really hard to be conscious of what my actions effect on the Earth are. These are just a few of the things that I incorporate into my daily life:

photo source

• Avoid, avoid, avoid plastic bags like the plague! If I'm buying something small or just one or two things, I make sure to tell the cashier to NOT use a plastic bag. I usually have enough space in my purse to accomodate it. I've even gotten dirty looks from cashiers who put my items in a bag too quickly, and then I politely ask them to remove them. No shame here.

• If I do need to use a plastic bag for my items, like, I didn't carry a purse or there's just too many things), I reuse that bag as a trash bag. It's senseless to purchase "proper" garbage bags when those will do just fine. Plus they fill up faster, which means either take the trash out more or reconsider what we consider trash.

• I buy items that won't need to be replaced right away. This means ceramic cups, metal silverware, cloth towels/dishrags for washing dishes, cleaning up spills, etc. as well as higher quality items like a sturdy purse or nicer shoes. I'd rather spend $100 and keep the items for 10 years than spend $40 on a new purse every year. I never buy paper towels, napkins, plasticware, or disposable things. 

I'm not the only one! photo source

• I wash some of our laundry in my bathtub. We don't have a washer/dryer unit in our apartment, so part of this is out of necessity. I know it sounds crazy, but for items that aren't super soiled or would need the delicate cycle anyway (dish towels, t-shirts, light undergarments  it works like a charm, saves ton of energy that would normally be exerted by utilizing electricity for a washer/dryer. Plus it saves us quarters at the laundromat and the gas for our car that we would have used to get to the laundromat. Hang the items dry with a window open and you're good to go!

• Speaking of cars- I don't have one. My husband and I share a vehicle. That's one less car on the road & less gas in the ozone. This is partly for financial reasons, but it works for us. We share in the cost of gas and I take public transportation at least 4x per week. It takes some planning, but I swear it's possible.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. There's probably a ton more we could be doing, but as we learn, we improve. That's all we can really do! I also try to do a ton of DIY projects/upcycling that I'll cover later on in the blog. There's too many great ideas out there not to share. What do you do to minimize your impact?