STUFF- Minimalism

Clean neat and tidy. Aren't typical words I use to describe myself. Ask my closest friends. While, I'm not filthy, and can keep a presentable home for company, my own personal space is.... chaos. Mainly from having lots of stuff. Papers, clothing, shoes, things. Why do I need so much stuff?!

I don't.

.Even though I admire that there are real humans who live in homes that look like something out of a catalog- my grandparents for one, see previous blog post for proof- that's not always how life is. But I'd like to get to a point that everything has a place, even if it isn't always in that place. Here's some of the things I do that keeps "stuff" to a minimum.

Whether you are intrigued on living more minimal, or the life style is thrust upon you from situations, there is much to learn! You can apply reduce, reuse, recycle in many ways. When I realized I do a lot of small things others don't I figured why not share what smalls steps you can do to make your life, your home, and your brain- less cluttered!

Plastic bags? I mainly shop at Aldi's and bring my own bags, I use thirty one totes that were a Christmas gift, as they do not provide them. When I also shop at my local more expensive grocery store called Martins, I still bring my totes with me and ask the check out people to bag using them- no plastic please! While you can recycle plastic bag- you can return them to the entrances of most Walmart's, why go through that step at all if you just don't need them? The less that is used, the less that is produced. The less that needs recycled.

Tip- If you don't have fancy thirty one totes like me, use a plastic laundry basket in the back of your car- saves you from making multiple trips with bags inside anyways!

Menstrual cups! This is a controversial topic on if it is very economical or not. For me it is, as how many paper/cotton sanitary products I was using monthly adds up to far more than 1 piece of silicon lasting me 5 years. Not for everyone, but definitively an option! Affordable too! (I have an entire blog post dedicated to them- check it out!) They come wit ha little fabric pouch baggie and it goes where ever you go, super easy to store and use!

Baths vs showers! Water consumption can be a big save especially in your pocket as far as the water bill goes. Simple math by how quick the faucet in my bathtub fills up cups of water vs the shower head has deduced about per every one minute of shower is 1 gallon, and per letting draw the bath tub run everyone 1 mins is 2 gallons. Depending on your time and style, bathes can totally can save you. I pretty exclusively only take baths, and only let my water run for no more than 3 mins. But I can soak for much longer without the water running to enjoy the hot bath. However if I were in the shower, man I've taken almost 30 mins showers! The choice is yours, sometimes being mindful is enough to make a change in your monthly water bills/ consumption.

Tip- Don't forget about the brick in your toilet tank trick too!

Clothing! A big culprit for many! Studies show the average American throws away roughly 81 pounds of clothing a year. That's 26 billion pounds a year! And if you are a hoarder, junk is just in your house taking up space, often times you aren't using. Purchasing second hand is the best way to decrease clothing production and cut down waste. Especially if you need new clothing. Unluckily for me, I'm broke and fat. Ha! (but really) I've gained a lot of weight and grown out of my clothing. Not being able to afford "new" clothing within fast fashion society has me resorting to second hand thrift and consignment shops. This is a fabulous way to start supporting small business, save money, and try new experiences!

Tip- Start by going through your closet and decide what you actually wear, and what fits. Keep those things, and start a consignment/donate pile for those that don't. Or maybe try up scaling some old items in your closet, turning old things into rags.

Other low waste idea's:

1. Making all your bills auto pay/online to reduce mail clutter and paper waste.

2. Re-usable razors- not disposable.

3. Bringing metal/wooden utensils with you as to not ask or use plastic wear. If you must use plastic wear, use it until you can't anymore. Stop one time use plastic!

4. Glass water bottles instead of plastic

5. Bamboo toothbrushes- they are biodegradable

6. Avoid Styrofoam, paper plates, napkins- Use wash clothes and acrylic eatery

7. Start a garden/compost!

You might not think these small things save space, but when you step in someones home and their coffee table doesn't have paper bills (because they receive them electronically), Or under their sink is visible and can be used for storage because they recycles their Walmart bags taking up all that space and or their house doesn't smell like last night dinner scrapes because their compost is outside- you begin to enjoy the flow of clean sustainable living!

Tip pick one thing to tackle this week. Do it, and repeat the following week with something new.. Make time to live more clean, until it becomes a habit!

There are so many more ways to start minimizing the foot print of TRASH you leave behind! Leave in the comments below your favorite low-waste life style hack!