Megean Weldon - An Almost zero Waste Life: Learning How to Embrace Less to Live More

LEARNING HOW TO EMBRACE LESS TO LIVE MORE

MEGEAN WELDON

In the not so distant past, on a day that I now refer to as Earth Day First, I had no idea that a single days events would rattle me to my core and forever change my life.

What originally began as a love/hate relationship with trash ultimately led me to examine and eliminate all the waste in my life that I possibly could do without. It is now somewhat difficult to imagine my life and daily routines before this fateful day because I now live a much simpler lifefull of purpose, intention, adventure, and happiness. Ive even saved money doing so.

Since then, Ive been on a mission to explore new ways to live without disposable waste and seek out new sustainable habits and ideas. Ive found ways to avoid generating waste through preparation and by curbing my consumption to eventually eliminate most of my waste. Im not suggesting that you NEED to cut down waste to this extreme, but Im sharing my story to help you live a simpler, cleaner, and less stressful lifestyle.

I was born and raised in rural Northwest Missouri where my closest neighbor was five miles away, which gave me plenty of open space to simply be outdoors. I learned to love and respect the earth from an early age and was interested in everything involving nature and the world around me.

Nature has always been a big part of my life and has helped shaped who I am today. I was fortunate to live in a family that valued time outdoors, and my passion for nature followed me into adulthood.

Fast-forward a couple of decades, and Im now an IT manager with an active three-year-old son who is as crazy for nature as I am (I can tell by the dirt rings he leaves in the tub). Ive always considered myself an environmentalist with a love for the green lifestyle.

Because of this, Ive always celebrated Earth Day. The ways I showed my appreciation for the earth on this day included recycling, planting fruit trees in my backyard, and starting a garden. On an Earth Day five years ago, which I call my Earth Day First, I decided to pick up waste around my neighborhood. It was after a long workday, and I was tired, so it seemed like an easy way to honor our planet without reinventing the wheel.

I got my dog, put on her leash, grabbed a trash bag, and headed out on what I thought would be a quick trek around the block. I wasnt expecting to pick up much trash in half a mile. Boy, was I wrong.

I filled the first bag within minutes. Then, I walked back to the house to get more trash bags.

Five or so bags later, I was fuming. How could the people in my community be so careless? How could they be so wasteful? I was furious until I went to open my own trash can in front of my house to dump the bags. It was completely full, and it wasnt trash day until the end of the week. In that moment, I realized that I was as wasteful as these complete strangers that had made me so angry. I called myself an environmentalist but wasnt I just as wasteful? I felt like a hypocrite.

Until this pivotal moment, I didnt realize how my normal, everyday habits were hurting the planet. But now I knew I needed to make some changes, and fast. So, I researched (and researched!) and stumbled upon a few helpful tips, but nothing life changing. I quickly realized I had to get creative and use common sense to reduce my trash for good.

I started by replacing disposables like bags and water bottles with burlap and glass. I also learned that I could stretch the food in my pantry and refrigerator. It was a start, and I was no longer mad at myself for not knowing better. Transformations dont happen overnight, and this was my beginning.

This book is about so much more than trash.

Living without waste isnt a new idea. People have been doing it for generations. Living mindfully is a gift from our beloved ancestors, countless indigenous peoples whose cultures and ways of life depended on frugality, and others who had no choice but to live this way because they couldnt afford to waste a single cent.

Im here to guide you, providing alternatives to reducing waste. Just remember: This journey isnt about perfection. We all have different stories, potential, and limitationsand thats okay!

Zero waste living may seem impossible, overwhelming, and downright insane, and to some degree, it is (Im not going to lie).

But zero waste living isnt about creating absolutely ZERO trashits about setting realistic expectations because in our world of convenience and instant gratification, living with no impact on our environment is impossible.

For me, its about creating as little waste as you can in a healthy way (think low-waste lifestyle). I still like the term zero waste because thats our ultimate goal, and although youll never get there, its good to challenge yourself to see how close to zero you can get in a way that is sustainable to you and your family.

Each habit should be realistic and doable. Zero trash living will hopefully add a lot of value to your life and simplify an otherwise chaotic world. You will overhaul nearly every area of your life in ways you never knew needed attention and change your view on consumption.

Theres this assumption that once you commit to going zero waste you must purge all plastic items from your house and purchase sustainable, nonplastic counterparts. Im here to tell you thats NOT true. If you purged all the perfectly useful items from your life to buy new, that would negate the reasoning behind zero waste in the first place.

THIS WHOLE LIFESTYLE WILL CONNECT YOU BACK TO THE EARTH AND WHATS TRULY IMPORTANT.

And while the goal isnt to live a perfectly plastic-free life, try to avoid plastic whenever you can because plastic has a limited number of recycling life cycles. Once plastics life cycles have been completely maxed out, they are almost always sent to the landfill. Metal and glass containers can also be easily upcycled, so I tend to use jars for gifts and food storage.

Now youre probably wondering what to do with the current list of plastic and disposables in your house. As tempting as it may be to toss your single-use disposables, I suggest using them first. Then, if you find items that you wont use again, donate them to local churches, schools, daycares, or nursing homes. This will help you take ownership of the items youve already purchased, seeing as theres no sense in creating more waste in the attempt to reduce waste. As a cultivated consumer, you shouldnt feel bad that you have these items in your home. We all do. And remember, zero waste living isnt about being perfect.