Ditching the consumer obsessed lifestyle and incorporating sustainability practices can make you a healthier and wealthier parent. Engaging in the practices of minimalism, minimal or zero waste, and buy nothing can:
- Save you money
- Reduce stress
- Help you focus and engage in the present
- Live more sustainably
- Connect with your community
These sustainability focused practices have had profound positive effects on so many areas of our lives. We’ll be doing a series of posts on how to incorporate them into your life!
Zero (Minimal) Waste
Search zero waste on instagram and you’ll see a lot of beautiful people holding tiny mason jars full of all the trash they’ve produced for that year. The formal definition of zero waste, as written by the Zero Waste International Alliance, is:
“Zero Waste: The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.” – Zero Waste International Alliance
The actual practice of zero waste is typically broken down into the 5 R’s:
- Refuse – what you do not need
- Reduce – what you do not need
- Reuse – what you consume
- Recycle – what you cannot refuse, reduce or reuse
- Rot – (compost) the rest
Personally, I prefer to call my practice minimal waste because I think the term “zero” can feel like an unattainable goal. To say I’m striving for zero waste feels unrealistic and leaves me feeling defeated no matter how little trash I produce. Incorporating minimal waste into your sustainability practice can help you save money and live better!
Minimalism
The most well known practitioners of minimalism are probably The Minimalists who have been evangelists of the practice for decades. They argue that minimalism “. . .is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.” The Minimalists
Minimalism is the practice of living with less. It applies not only to tangible stuff but also to financial burdens including debt and countless subscriptions to things. The tradeoff is that owning less and owing less allows you to live a life full of meaningful experiences and intentional use of your time.
Minimalism has been critiqued as a “rich, white, single person” trend that isn’t realistic for low income people or families. I completely disagree.
As a single parent living paycheck to paycheck, practicing minimalism helped me be intentional with my spending and stick to my very limited budget. It can be a powerful tool for taking a hard look at your relationship with money and stuff. If you grew up low income or struggled with poverty, the psychological implications of that can deeply affect how you perceive the value of your stuff as an adult. For people in this situation, minimalism can be a complicated and painful journey, and ultimately a healing one.
Buy Nothing
Buy Nothing groups have cropped up in cities around the world, often with breakout groups by neighborhood or zip code. Social media platforms have been an instrumental tool in the growth of these groups.
When I bought my house in Austin, I furnished more than half of it with items I received from my local buy nothing group.
My Sustainability Journey: The beginning
From the outside, trends like zero waste and minimalism can seem unapproachable and only possible for childless adults. How can a family of 4 possibly attain zero waste with lego collections and art supply boxes that take over entire rooms?
I want to tell you it is possible to practice zero waste, minimalism and buy nothing as a single parent or family. Over the last decade I have slowly incorporated practices from all three of these philosophies into my life.
I started practicing minimalism before my son was born. After he was born, I took it a step farther and strived for zero waste. Here’s the thing: both of these trends are really “practices.”
They’re not something you do once, accomplish and can check off your list. They are intentional lifestyle choices that can take years to fully transition to and build habits around. Just as with religion or yoga or certain careers, a practice is something you build on over a long stretch of time. You never stop learning!
Where are you at in your sustainability journey?
Leave a comment on our sustainability posts! I’d love to know where you are in your sustainability journey and what your struggles have been so far.