I'll be honest with you – when I first heard about "zero-waste living," I thought it was another one of those trendy things that only people with too much time and money could actually pull off. You know, like those folks who shop exclusively at Whole Foods and drive electric cars that cost more than I make in two years. But then our trash bills started getting ridiculous, and my wife started pointing out how much stuff we were throwing away every week, and I figured maybe there was something to this waste reduction thing that could actually help regular working people like us.
The whole thing started when we had to call for an extra trash pickup because we'd filled our regular bin plus about three extra bags. Cost us forty-five bucks just for that one pickup. My wife looked at all those bags sitting on the curb and said, "Larry, half this stuff probably didn't need to get thrown away." She wasn't wrong. I could see packaging from stuff I'd bought and barely used, food that had gone bad before we got to it, broken things I could've probably fixed if I'd bothered to try.
That got me thinking about waste the same way I think about electrical systems – if you've got current leaking all over the place, you're wasting energy and money. Our household was basically bleeding money through poor waste management, and as an electrician, I should know better than to ignore inefficiency when I see it.
Started looking into what this zero-waste thing was actually about. Turns out it's not as complicated as people make it sound. There's this system – refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot. Sounds fancy but it's really just common sense stuff that my grandparents did because they couldn't afford to waste anything. Refuse means don't bring junk into your house in the first place. Reduce means buy less stuff. Reuse means fix things instead of throwing them out. Recycle the stuff you can't avoid throwing away. And rot means composting, though we had that rat problem I mentioned before so we're still working on that part.
The refuse part was easier than I expected. Started saying no to plastic bags at stores – I've got hands, I can carry a few items without a bag. Stopped taking those free promotional items that companies hand out at trade shows and home improvement stores. You know the stuff – cheap pens, keychains, magnets with company logos. I used to grab that stuff automatically, bring it home, and it'd sit in a drawer for years before ending up in the trash. Now I just walk past it.
Kitchen was the obvious place to start making real changes. We were throwing away a ton of food packaging – plastic containers, bags, wrapping. Started buying more stuff in bulk, bringing our own containers to places that let you do that. Took some getting used to, and not every store is set up for it, but you can eliminate a lot of packaging waste that way. Also started buying bigger quantities of things we use regularly instead of individual portions. Costs less per unit and creates way less trash.
Food waste was a bigger problem than I'd realized. We'd buy groceries with good intentions, then end up ordering pizza or picking up takeout because we didn't feel like cooking, and half the groceries would go bad. Started meal planning – not fancy stuff, just writing down what we're actually going to eat each week before we go shopping. My wife handles most of this since she's better at planning than I am, but I chip in by actually eating the leftovers instead of letting them sit in the fridge until they grow fuzzy stuff.
Got better at using everything before it goes bad too. Vegetables that are starting to look questionable go into soup or get chopped up and frozen for later. Bread that's getting stale becomes breadcrumbs or croutons. Bones from chicken or whatever get saved to make stock. My wife found all these ways to use food scraps that I would've just thrown away without thinking.
Bought a bunch of glass containers to replace the plastic ones we'd been using. Glass lasts forever if you don't drop it, and it doesn't get all gross and stained like plastic does. Initial investment was about sixty bucks for a good set, but we're still using the same containers two years later, whereas I was constantly throwing away ruined plastic containers and buying new ones.
Bathroom was another area where we were generating stupid amounts of waste. Disposable razors, plastic bottles of shampoo and soap, toothbrushes that lasted maybe three months. Switched to a safety razor – costs more upfront but the replacement blades are dirt cheap and work better than disposable razors anyway. Started buying shampoo and soap in bar form instead of plastic bottles, or refilling containers at stores that offer that. Electric toothbrush with replaceable heads instead of throwing away the whole toothbrush every few months.
Some changes didn't work out. Tried making our own cleaning products because the internet said it was cheaper and more environmental. Turns out vinegar and baking soda don't clean everything as well as actual cleaners, especially when you're dealing with electrical work grime and teenage boy bathroom disasters. Went back to regular cleaners but started buying concentrates and refillable containers when possible.
Clothes and household items were another area where we could reduce waste. I'm already pretty good at repairing things – comes with the territory when you work with your hands – but I started being more systematic about it. Got a basic sewing kit to fix small tears and replace buttons instead of throwing away clothes. Learned to sharpen knives properly so they last longer. Started maintaining tools and appliances better so they don't break down as often.
Started shopping at thrift stores for some stuff too. Why buy new work clothes that are just going to get destroyed when I can get perfectly good used clothes for a fraction of the price? Same with tools that I don't use often enough to justify buying new. Got a decent circular saw at a garage sale for twenty bucks, cleaned it up and replaced the blade, works like new.
The recycling situation around here is pretty limited. They take basic stuff – paper, cardboard, certain plastics, aluminum cans – but a lot of things that seem like they should be recyclable actually aren't, at least not through regular city pickup. Had to do some research to figure out what actually gets processed versus what just ends up in the landfill anyway. Found out there are specialized recycling programs for electronics, batteries, certain types of plastic, but you have to make an effort to get stuff to the right places.
Been keeping track of how much trash we generate, mostly by paying attention to how often we need to put bins out for pickup. Used to fill our bin every week and sometimes need extra bags. Now we're putting out maybe half a bin every other week. That's probably a seventy percent reduction in actual garbage, which translates to real money savings on disposal fees.
Some of the changes took more effort than others. Meal planning and actually using groceries before they go bad requires more organization than I'm naturally inclined toward. Remembering to bring reusable bags to stores, keeping glass containers clean and organized, researching where to take different types of recyclables – it's all manageable but it does require thinking ahead more than I used to.
But honestly, most of the changes have made life simpler once we got in the habit. Less packaging means less stuff to deal with when you get home from shopping. Having fewer things but taking better care of them means less time spent replacing broken stuff. Using up food before it goes bad means better meal variety and less guilt about waste.
The environmental benefits are nice but the practical benefits are what keep us doing it. Lower trash bills, less time shopping because we waste less food, better quality stuff because we buy fewer but better items, less clutter because we're not constantly bringing disposable junk into the house. It's like improving the efficiency of any other system – you get better performance for less money.
My boys have gotten used to most of the changes, though they still complain about having to use metal water bottles instead of buying cases of plastic bottles. But they've learned basic repair skills and they're better about not wasting food, which are good habits regardless of environmental benefits.
Not claiming we're perfect at this. Still generate plenty of trash, still make choices based on convenience sometimes, still working on composting without attracting pests. But we've proven you can significantly <a href="https://zeroemissionjourney.com/adopting-a-zero-waste-lifestyle-practical-tips-and-everyday-choices/"><a href="https://zeroemissionjourney.com/adopting-a-zero-waste-lifestyle-practical-tips-and-everyday-choices/">reduce household waste</a></a> without major lifestyle changes or spending a fortune on specialty products. Just takes paying attention to what you're actually throwing away and making smarter choices about what you bring into your house in the first place.
Larry’s a mechanic by trade and a minimalist by accident. After years of chasing stuff, he’s learning to live lighter—fixing what breaks, buying less, and appreciating more. His posts are straight-talking, practical, and proof that sustainable living doesn’t have to mean fancy products or slogans.
