When frugal hits zero-waste!

_{photo © Heather Johnsgaard}

I am a Scot... a stingy Scot if truth be told. I've spent my life making the best out of what I have, and when the haven't was bigger than the have, I've made the best of that too!

I think twice before I buy, mostly because I hate spending my hard earned money… not that I don’t, I just hate doing it. Even if I am happy with my purchase, really wanted or needed it, for a few days after I always feel guilty having spent.

I’m not sure if that stems from growing up without having a lot, or having had to save my pennies and wait before I buy, or if I just like seeing a few dollars growing in the bank knowing if something comes up, I'm covered. Notwithstanding I worked in the financial field for 14 years and have seen what can happen when we are not cautious with our money.

_{photo © Heather Johnsgaard}

What I’ve been pondering lately though, is whether being frugal and living a zero-waste lifestyle are one and the same? Or am I just destined to be somewhat of a scrooge my whole life?

In my mind, no, they are not… but essentially, perhaps they are.

Being frugal means living economically. Being careful, cautious and unwasteful. Costing little and being somewhat plain and simple.

Living a zero-waste lifestyle may deviate from costing little, living economically, and not necessarily plain and simple, but it does mean living an unwasteful life. Carefully choosing what you buy before buying it with regards to packaging, sustainability, and eco-friendliness, and I believe, longevity.

I finally decided to join the movement. It does seem to fit in with my lifestyle perfectly, and I have been attempting to live a zero-waste lifestyle as much as possible. I have all the makings for it. I’ve always been a “think before I throw” type of person. If I think I might have a use for something, then I’ll hang on to it. To some that may be the sign of a hoarder, but in most cases I do get to use everything up. When it appears the use I thought was there just isn’t, I then try to donate to thrift shops, or as a last resort, chuck it.

Sadly, we live in a throw away society

Living in an area with no pick up garbage service, I am forced to cart our garbage to the local refuse station. If you have never been to a garbage dump you really should go, you would be astonished. Perfectly good items thrown out that are completely useable. It is heart breaking.

This makes me even more determined to do my part. A few examples are:

I now use cloth produce bags, and if I forget them at home, I use the paper bags for mushrooms at the store for my fruits and veggies… I’m not sure that’s so good, after all trees and manufacturing, but I think it is much better than the millions of single-use plastic bags that plague our world
I also use reusable cloth bags for carrying my groceries
I frequent the bulk food shop to buy larger quantities instead of several smaller amounts of foods like beans, rice, pasta, cranberries, and more. We are fortunate, our small bulk food store allows me to bring my own containers to fill, a saving for them and less waste for me
I collect all my veggie scraps in a container in the freezer and make my own stock; the spent waste then goes into my compost pile to benefit my garden and breaks down more quickly than the raw
I either zest my citrus fruits and keep the zest in the freezer to use later in baking or salad dressings, or I save the peels to make homemade cleaning agents
I recycle everything I am able to. Whether that means repurposing it into something else, or dropping it off at our recycling center, it’s takes small effort for something worthwhile

_{photo © Heather Johnsgaard}

I know there are a ton more things I can do, and I'm working on it. Not only am I saving money, I am saving our world.

In our fast-paced world, it is sometimes hard to take the time to make little changes; we don’t think about it, we don’t know how, or we may think we don’t have the options. But all it takes is one small step, one small effort. Every step grows until there are miles.

If everyone took one small step, we would have thousands of steps leading to a path for the greater good. *********************************************