The Reduce (engl. to reduce) is a very decisive part of the Zero Waste Lifestyle and means nothing other than to rethink your personal consumption and reduce it to the really necessary things. In this post, I'm going to show you how you can significantly reduce your personal waste by reducing it.
Why reducing makes so much sense
Whether closet, refrigerator or drawers - everywhere in our home lurk things that we have bought or received as a gift at some point, but still never use again. These are the consequences of thoughtless consumption. Each of these things wastes natural and partly also limited resources in production, for packaging & transport and of course finally also in the Recycling. And what do these bad purchases bring us? Actually, only full cupboards, stress, less money and a guilty conscience. Because other people could possibly make good use of these things.
The advantages of reducing
Through a minimalist life and reducing your personal possessions, you can provide more clarity in your home, both in the short and long term, and ultimately more money for the finer things in life. I would like to call this paragraph with the four major benefits of the reduced to the essentials lifestyle:
- Have more money left
- Live healthier
- Save time
- Protect the environment
- Be happier
As you consume more consciously, you will also have greater financial freedom in the future. Cutting back will also prevent you from buying masses of unhealthy things in plastic packaging, helping you to live a healthier life. As you waste less time shopping and planning your next purchases, you'll also save a massive amount of time. You'll save the environment by buying fewer things wrapped in plastic, thus saving raw materials. This and especially the new gained overview and clarity will result in you being happier.
How to reduce correctly
To make it easier for you to reduce in the sense of the Zero Waste lifestyle, I would like to give you a few more practical tips along the way, which I gave you in the article on Minimalism also explain in a little more detail.
Sell & Give away
It will surprise you what the total value of the unused and lying in the corner things from your apartment. That's why it's always worth selling this junk, for example here, but of course also to give it away:
- Second hand portalssuch as Kleiderkreisel or ReBuy (see also the article Zero Waste Apps)
- Local Flea Market Facebook GroupsThis works particularly well in big cities like Berlin, Hamburg and the like.
- Local second hand storeswho take your unused things with a kiss hand
- Food Banks & Refugee SheltersThese accommodations usually have enough clothing, but often lack everyday items such as cups, cutlery and so on.
We simply have to get rid of the idea of simply throwing things away. Because as a rule, there are still a lot of people who would be happy to receive our discarded items.
Simplify household & personal care
Especially in the supermarket and in advertising, we are littered with products that suggest to us that we absolutely need them now. But is it really necessary, for example, that we need a toothpaste for the morning and a toothpaste for the evening? No, we can save ourselves the plastic waste and chemical additives and instead simply use our Make toothpaste yourself. With a few natural means, such as Washing soda, Baking soda or Citric acid you can already replace masses of industrial products in a natural way. At Do It Yourself Blog you get all the tips from ingredients to making your own things, like deodorant, scrubs and co.
Reduce things for less waste
You see, not only can you reduce, give away or sell the current unnecessary items in your household, but you can directly avoid them in the future. Reducing will make you happier and save you more money for the good things in life. And best of all, you'll be helping in the process, Plastic waste in the environment to avoid. Just limit yourself to the essentials.
Do you have any suggestions or questions about the topic? Then I look forward to your comment under this post.
Best regards,
PS.: Check out other principles of the Zero Waste lifestyle, such as the Reuse or the Say no.
