What is Eco-Minimalism?

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Minimalism + Zero Waste Living = Eco-Minimalism

Minimalism

Minimalism is all about living intentionally. Think about the life you want to live. Let go of anything that holds you back from this life. Keep the stuff you love and helps you live the life you want. 

This can look different for different people. My husband and I wanted to simplify our life and our finances so we could have a more flexible lifestyle. We simplified (decluttered) every area of our home. This allowed us to downsize to an apartment, switch to a remote job, visit all 50 states with our kids, and move to sunny Florida!

Zero Waste Living 

The process of decluttering opened my eyes to our society's waste problem. We live in a world where disposable king. While we do our best to recycle, only 9 percent of plastics are actually recycled. The rest ends up in landfills or in our waterways. Our landfills off gas methane, a nasty greenhouse gas. Our waterways become contaminated, hurting animals and polluting our drinking water. Once I learned this, I wanted to create less waste.

This is what what we did:

• Bought dry goods in reusable containers in the bulk section of our grocery store
• Replaced disposable items with reusable ones
• Bought a worm composter to keep our food waste out of the trash 
• Found stores that sell refillable body + cleaning products
• Bought secondhand furniture and clothes
• Found zero waste alternatives for items I needed

Eco-Minimalism

Eco-minimalism is the combination of minimalism and zero waste living. It didn't happen overnight for our family. In fact, we are still making changes. I am always looking for zero waste swaps to embrace in our home.

Here are 10 swaps you can try:

1.  Send virtual invites instead of paper ones
2.  Check out the bulk bins instead of the packaged food aisles
3.  Wrap gifts in used packing paper instead of buying wrapping paper
4.  Use up school supplies and switch to plastic-free options
5.  Use up your paper towels and switch to rags
6.  Skip buying disposable water bottles and use your refillable one
7.  Stop buying toilet paper wrapped in plastic. Switch to PlantPaper
8.  When you use up your makeup, switch to these plastic-free ones
9.  When you need new hair ties, buy these plastic-free ones
10.  Check out your local refill store