The story below is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Small habits can add up to sustainable lifestyle changes.
If you’re interested in reducing waste in your daily life but you get overwhelmed by too many changes all at once, you are not alone. We have more products, resources and information than ever before to make sustainable changes that are better for our health, the planet and even our budgets. But we are also busier than ever, juggling many responsibilities, schedules and priorities, that sometimes any kind of change can feel like a threat to the careful balance we’re maintaining in our lives. You are probably already practicing some eco-friendly habits like using your own reusable shopping bags and refillable to-go cups for your water and coffee. But maybe you just haven’t taken the time to examine other places in your life where one or two changes could eliminate significant waste. Consider this your starter guide!
Don’t be intimidated or feel pressure to make too many changes at once; aim for one or two habits at a time, every month or so, prioritizing the ones that feel the most accessible to you. By starting with something that feels small and easy, it will slowly feel more possible to make and sustain other changes. When the goal is to make a permanent lifestyle change like becoming low- or zero-waste, so slow and steady is key for long-lasting results.
For Cooks & Gardeners
- Keep all your veggie scraps in the freezer until you have enough to make into stock.
- Root vegetables, lettuces, garlic, herbs, onions, ginger and even pineapples can all be regrown from scraps. Look up a full list and guide to start your own kitchen scrap harvest.
- Learn how to make kitchen staples like dressings, yogurt, pasta, nut butters and milks, jams, hummus and more. You’d be surprised how many of the store-bought variety come in containers that are not entirely recyclable.
- Reorganize your kitchen so that perishable items are front and center to cut back on food that gets wasted when it goes bad from being out of sight and out of mind.
- Store leftover bacon fat in a jar for cooking with (this is especially delicious with roasted vegetables, like Brussels sprouts!).
- If you don’t already, make this your year to start composting. Countertop compost containers are a great option if yard space is not available to you, or sign up with Star City Compost for neighborhood pick up!
- Wash and reuse all plastic — even the freezer bags, forks and plastic cups (no, really!). Ditto for garden planters which can be cleaned and reused for decades.
- Aluminum foil and plastic wrap can also be cleaned, stacked and reused multiple times.
- Egg shells, coffee grounds, banana peels and more can all enrich your soil and help certain plants — do a search to learn what your garden might like!
- Too many lemons? Juice and freeze in ice cube trays. Store the cubes in freezer safe containers and have lemon juice whenever you need it!
- Keep a meal kit in your car or office that can be easily washed and reused when needed. Don’t forget a cloth napkin!
- Pack your morning yogurt or oatmeal in nearly-empty jam or nut butter jars to get a two-for-one travel container that also gets every last bit of food out!
- Mix used coffee grounds and make body scrubs by combining with sugar and coconut oil.
For Readers & Students
- Roanoke Public Library cards are free and work across 19 different branches. Free public programming along with internet services, quiet work and meeting spaces available by reservation and amenities like fireplaces and even indoor slides for kids are just some of the perks of visiting!
- A library card will also gain you access to the online audiobook and e-book catalog.
- Students can purchase digital copies of textbooks, often at a steep discount.
- Explore study and planning apps that help you go complete paperless using your tablet, computer or phone.
- For the hard copy devotees, choose supplies made from recycled materials that can be composted or recycled.
- Who said you need a backpack? The millions of free canvas tote bags you’ve been hoarding are looking for work.
- If you’re lugging around heavy textbooks, your carry-on roller suitcase may be a better fit for school. Your back will thank you!
For Holidays & Special Occasions
- Opt for natural decorations that are also activities! Dry citrus slices and string in your windows for an easy and festive look.
- Save scraps from your holiday tree (or even go foraging outside) to create bundles of evergreen that can be bunched in jars, tied with baker’s twine to dress up gifts, or simmered with orange slices, cranberries and cinnamon sticks on low for a DIY stovetop scent (that can be composted when you’re finished with it!).
- Gift wrap is one of the most expensive kinds of trash we have — get creative this year by saving brown grocery bags and looking up an easy tutorial for how to make your very own brown paper packages tied up in string.
- Go with the classic old newspaper as your signature gift wrap; if you’re so inclined, you can even use a marker to write stylistic celebratory greetings in graphic fonts, or draw and color in seasonal doodles using simple cartoon tutorials online.
- Instead of traditional plastic stick-on bows, look up DIYs for paper bows or yarn pom poms; or just draw one directly on the paper!
- Fabric can be tied into a cute little bundle, which is especially handy for oddly shaped parcels.
- Save any used wrapping paper, bags and bows to reuse as often as possible for future occasions!
- Go gift-free and suggest you and your loved ones split a special experience together, like taking a class, going to a concert, or saving up for a trip later in the year.
- Make your Halloween costumes! Start a Pinterest board now and begin planning by saving throughout the year for something fun and surprising, like cardboard masks or wings from old delivery boxes. Save packaging and do a search for the materials you’ve accumulated to see what inspires you!
- Deliver your Halloween pumpkins to local farms, who often put out calls for their pigs and goats.
- Compost your holiday tree and greenery.
- Dye Easter eggs using kitchen scraps — save your red and yellow onion skins, avocado pits, beet scraps and more for some surprisingly vibrant results.
For Parents
- Save junk mail and paper scraps for instant craft and coloring paper.
- Use delivery boxes to create imagination vehicles, dollhouses and more. Use the boxes as they are or look up ideas for more involved craft projects.
- Go the consignment and resale route for younger kids’ clothing– you can find some great deals on gently used items and get an even further discount with trade-ins.
- Host a swap with your kids’ classes for clothes, toys and books.
- Have a “fiver” birthday party, where guests contribute $5 toward a single group gift instead of bringing dozens of gift-wrapped items your child may or may not use.
- Aluminum pie tins, toilet paper rolls, delivery boxes, measuring cups: you have a wealth of toys for developmental and imaginative play all over your home. Don’t feel like you have to purchase expensive hoards of new toys each month!
- Makeup (ideally clean, nontoxic makeup!) is surprisingly effective face paint.
- A tissue box makes a very good hat. Or a doll’s car. Or a space ship.
- Burp cloths can have a second life for decades as washcloths and cleaning rags.
- Got a million random knickknacks like Legos, tiny plastic figurines, lost buttons, etc? Superglue them onto an old or thrifted lamp base, picture frame, or canvas. Spray paint the whole thing or leave them as-is for an original keepsake.
- Is there anything you can’t do with toilet paper rolls? From whimsical cardboard animals to holiday tree “candles” to binoculars perfect for little imaginations, these are crafting gold.
- Love to save keepsakes but not into scrapbooking? Collect small cardboard boxes for each year of your child’s life — you can paint, collage, or simply label it with your kid’s name.
General Low-Waste Tips
- Use a smaller trash can so you can be more aware of your waste.
- Consider switching to plastic-free personal grooming items like safety razors or bamboo toothbrushes.
- Seek out brands that offer refillable containers instead of single-use plastic.
- Learn how to mend; a search for “visible mending” will show you how to creatively prolong the lives of your clothes with just a needle and thread, no machine required.
- Get into the habit of waiting a certain period before making an unplanned purchase. Not only will this give you a chance to save up, wait for a sale or research the best option, but the desire for the object might even pass, so you won’t end up with stuff you don’t need!
- Make meal plans to avoid food waste.
- Shop the bulk section of the grocery store and use your own containers.
The story above is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!