Late last year I felt a renewed sense of urgency around paring down. Inspired by books and blogs and compelled my upcoming 50th birthday, I started to dig in. I've read about zero waste, minimalism, and simplicity, and there seems to be a lot of overlap. The material changes I've made have been a patchwork of all three "movements."
Zero Waste
I've learned so much from Ariana at Paris to Go. She studied sustainability in college and her articles on environmental justice and the impact of food and textile production are thought- (and action-) provoking. Bea Johnson at Zero Waste Home focuses on straightforward how-to's. They've motivated me to make the following changes:
-Transitioned my household away from plastic sandwich bags and plastic wrap. We use etee wraps, U Konserve food cozies, and a variety of BPA-free, reusable bags.
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| Photo: Shopetee.com |
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| Photo: UKonserve.com |
-Stopped using plastic bags when I buy produce and food in bulk. I use linen and mesh bags instead.
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| Photo: Amazon.com |
-Switched to tree-free facial tissues, recycled paper towels and toilet paper, and biodegradable trash bags.
-As our tupperware/rubbermaid stuff wears out, I'm replacing them with glass containers.
These are small changes. We will never be a family that only produces a Mason Jar full of trash per year, but this is what's feasible for us right now.
Minimalism
Bea and Ariana have both posted photos of their homes and their spaces are organically minimalist, reflecting their commitment to consuming as needed. They have disciplined, distilled definitions of "need." To me, that's where "minimalism" and "zero waste" overlap, but a lot of minimalist writers take things beyond the material. Francine Jay, the minimalists, and Jennifer of Simply + Fiercely are open about the spiritual and emotional revelations that led them to minimalism, and their writings have been affirming for me. Jay's 100 Essentials and Dominique Loreau's 99 Objets gave me roadmap for (wince) "curating." Loreau's book offers a fun glimpse into small-space living in Japan, but 100 Essentials is more useful to me, providing reviews of versatile objects.
These authors have had the biggest impact on my household items. I've been married for 20 years, and many of our wedding presents have worn out or broken. I think long and hard before replacing anything. For example, our cookware is almost half of what it was: we now own 2 sauce pans, 1 soup pot, one wok, and 2 skillets.
Simplicity
For me, one thing that is missing from a lot of simple living/simplicity content is photos of people and stuff. (Says the woman writing a wordy post.) I'm not looking for novelty-- I'd happily look at images of someone "remixing" the same outfits over and over, for example. For a visual fix I go to The Gardener's Cottage and Gretchen's Closet. Janet (Gardener's Cottage) blogs about simple living, style, and veganism. She's super-creative. Gretchen's blog focuses on ethical fashion.
Because of their blogs I've radically changed the material aspects of observing holidays, and celebrations in general. For years I felt self-imposed pressure to produce tons of thematic baked goods, decorate every space and fixture, and come up with a J Crew lewk.
Now our holidays look more like Janet's Natural Christmas, and I'm revisiting "holiday" dressing after seeing what Gretchen wore to a wedding:
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| Cotton jersey dress for a wedding. Photo: Gretchen's Closet. |
Thanks, interwebs!
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