6 Tips to Start the Garbage-Free Life
We are often asked how to start life in a garbage-free (er) way. This is always a difficult question to answer. The temporal availability is different for each person, and the local infrastructure also determines how one can design one's everyday life without waste. We have listed our Top 6 Tips to help you.
Leave the Church in The Village
It has not fallen from the sky and you do not have to live from one day to the other completely garbage-free - we still do not live garbage-free even after two years - a completely garbage-free life is no longer possible in our society today, Unless, for example, you want to forego the medical infrastructure. In addition, unpacked shops also produce garbage, as the noodles are usually not unloaded by truck, but are also delivered in boxes or sacks. Therefore, our tip: Do not expect absolute perfection from yourself, but look at yourself and build up no unnecessary pressure.
Start Slowly - One by One
Making life garbage-free overnight is damned difficult. For example, we started very small. First, we looked at our plastic garbage and looked at the many tetra packs of oatmeal. Since oatmeal only consists of oats and water, we thought it would be easy to do it ourselves (how to do that you can read here ). When we did that, we started making bread ourselves ( here and here you will find two recipes) and so on. So change one little thing after the other and put it into everyday life, so the project is garbage-free (he) live much easier.
Purchase a Base of Materials
To go garbage-free (he), you need a few things that you usually have at home anyway. These include, for example, jute bags or boxes. Advanced users can also buy stainless steel straws or beeswaxes. But here too: one by one. Here is for us: Only use things that you have anyway at home and then buy new.
A Little Research Works Wonders
As I already said, it all depends on the local conditions, how to start in the garbage-free (er) e life. That's why a little research is very helpful. You can find a list of unpacked shops in Germany here . If you do not have any of these shops in the city, you do not have to despair. The best way to shop for garbage (s) is through this articleread. On the weekly market, for example, you can shop very well unpackaged, the market stalls are often used to give fruits, vegetables and other things in their own containers of customers. Also in supermarkets it is always recommended to bring your own boxes, for example for the cheese. We have the experience that especially organic supermarkets are very open (who is afraid because of the cost, you should read this article ). So here's how to keep your eyes and ears open. Sharing experiences with others helps to find out a lot of unpacked opportunities.
Treat Yourself to Something
For us it is very important not to approach the garbage free life with doggedness. For example, sometimes we really feel like the cool chips from the supermarket. It would be wrong not to treat yourself that too. If one has the impression of having to do without something, one carries on this impression further and makes it less attractive for himself and other people to make their own lives garbage-free (he). One may also sin😉
Have Fun!
We enjoy going to the unpacked shop, making the oatmeal ourselves or buying chestnuts for our laundry detergent . And it's also fun to try something new again and again. If that were not the case, it would certainly be harder for us to make our lives garbage-free. So think for a moment: What do you want? What would you like to try to save on garbage? Without fun, it makes no sense!
I hope these tips will help you start your Zero Waste life and you can use them for your everyday life. What tips do you have in store for starting a garbage free life? I look forward to your experiences!