These articles are all about beginnings: beautiful, messy, exciting beginnings. Living zero waste may not be easy, but it’s sure full of adventure.
Gift giving as a zero waster comes with a slew of wasteful problems to overcome. My efforts this year were not perfect, but I’ve done so much better than in years past when giving physical gifts. In the spirit of keeping the gifts themselves a secret (many of the recipients follow this blog), let’s just …
I, The Zero Waste Bystander, from America’s heartland, lover of barbecue and burgers, pork chops and Parmesan, have sworn off meat. A lot of people who know me will assume I’ve gone vegetarian because my husband doesn’t eat meat or dairy. This assumption is somewhat true (he does cook 99% of all our vegetarian dinners), but …
While I’ve mentioned menstrual cups in past blogs, until today I’ve avoided writing about them outright. There were a lot of reasons for this decision. I never thought of this website as an official “How-To Zero Waste” website, but rather a documentation of my journey as a zero waster. There’s plenty of literature already available …
Consider this blog the Zero Waste Bystander prequel. I had not yet heard of “Zero Waste”, had never bought a mason jar before. Instead I was stuck feeling ashamed of how much waste I created on a day-to-day basis with no idea how to cut back other than taking shorter showers or walking to the …
I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t start mending because I was trying to live “zero waste”. That habit was a child born of necessity. I used to have an easy way to fix things: my parents. As I’ve said before, having a support system makes living zero waste a whole heck of a lot …
Believe me when I say I’ve had some bad Valentine’s Days. I’m talking in a black dress and pumps, makeup and hair done up right, drinking wine from the bottle, walking around a grocery store at 8pm on February 14th to buy myself chocolate and flowers while crying kind of bad. And that was while I was …
Cooking Without a Crutch: An Intro to Animal-Free EatingRead More »
I’m moving. Again. Not out of Seattle (I just got here!), but I will be moving to the other side of the city. I could beat around the bush by talking about the lower rent or the nicer building, but the fact is this decision is much more a matter of the heart than of …
I like January. Even if we know monthly calendars are arbitrary yada yada yada, it feels good to use this month as an excuse to start something new. If that new thing is reducing your waste, I salute you. Getting started on the path to a less wasteful life is the hardest part and you’re no doubt looking for …
As any clickbait article will tell you, Millennials are a generation defined by a delayed adulthood. We were raised on the idea that youth is God’s greatest gift. A lot of us turn 18 without knowing how to cook, do laundry, sew, or change our car’s oil unless we were lucky enough to have parents who …
In part 3 of my guest blog series, my friend Eric Hallam agreed to talk about his experience delving into the world of composting. He and his fiance are the whole reason I was able to stay zero waste while living in my St. Louis apartment last year, and now they’re helping me while I settle into …