I am reading the book Zero Waste Home [aff link] by Bea Johnson that I got from the library. The book is all about simplifying life by reducing what you throw out. Some ideas from Bea:
- Watch what you bring in the house like disposable stuff, freebies and junk mail.
- Reduce what you need: shop less, declutter, reduce packaging, drive less, print less, watch less media that makes us want to consume
- Re-use: bags, use a re-chargeable, re-usuable or refillable alternative for disposables, borrow, barter, buy used, repair, re-think an object
- Recycle – and think about what will happen at the end of a product life before you buy it. Earth911.com can tell you where to recycle hard to recycle items
- Compost
- Rags instead of paper towels, stainless steel water bottle instead of disposable water bottles, reusable jars and containers instead of plastic bags, cloth napkins
- Empty leftover drinking water to plants
- Use smart power trips for your electronics so they reduce energy consumption
- Create notebooks out of old school papers
- Read magazines online or on an e-reader instead of bringing them home
- Use online billing
- Clean your fridge filters twice a year for better efficiency
- Drip irrigation uses 50% less water than sprinklers
- Turn the shower on to get wet, turn it off when washing and shampooing, then back on the rinse
