What time savings?

Own less + Waste less = Live more

Exposing our lifestyle to mainstream was bound to attract criticism but we've kept an open mind, realizing that, had we heard about a Zero Waste family a decade ago, we too would have been judgmental and thought, 1)"These people are total hippies", 2)"They must spend a lot of money", 3)"They must spend a lot of time doing this."

Shattering these preconceptions about our lifestyle has become my vocation.

Proving that 1) and 2) are false is easy. Photographs of our minimalist modern interior quickly establish that we're not granola. And when I speak of curbing consumption, buying secondhand, buying in bulk, and adopting reusable alternatives, all of which are known to be economical, my audience immediately grasps the truth behind our money savings.

But I find the third misbelief trickier to break.

Unlike aesthetics and monetary savings, which can simply be demonstrated with pictures and bank statements, time savings are much harder to tangibly prove. While it seems obvious to me that a life of voluntary simplicity would afford more time,  I sense my interlocutor's doubtful silence (I even hear an unspoken "Yeah, right"), whenever I speak of time savings within the context of the Zero Waste lifestyle. Maybe he/she thinks: "Too good to be true"? Understandably, I propose a fragile argument against the force of ingrained beliefs.  In our fast paced society where marketers lead us to associate fast food and disposables with time savings, I can see how it would be difficult for the skeptic to imagine that a lifestyle which rejects these products would save time. We are all so convinced that we use our time wisely that only change can prove us wrong. Maybe you have to live it to believe it... so I feel it's my duty to support my claims with hard evidence.

Below is our household's evaluation: On the left is a list of chores that were required to run our previous household; To the right, the time savings that Refusing, Reducing and Reusing have offered in our new household. While I understand that not everyone either 1) Has a pond or and fruit trees to care for; or, 2) Would see these things as chores, I included them for transparency.

The 5R's take time to implement into one's life, but it's time well-invested considering how much you'll save in the long run. Much of my household's time savings are based on downsizing (house, yard, car, amount of stuff). But they're also the sheer result of going waste free (no trash or recycling to take out, no liners to purchase). We eliminate the need for disposable products (no need to keep buying and disposing of them) and opt for multi-functional ones -for example, our solid soap, which we purchase loose from the grocery store, serves as 1)shampoo, 2)shaving cream, 3)facial cleanser and 4)body soap, so we no longer need to manage the supply and the recycling of these 4 products.

As you can see from the chart above, the Zero Waste lifestyle is actually more about not doing (i.e, not participating in unsustainable activities) than it is about doing (working on Zero Waste) as one would expect. For me, Not participating in unsustainable activities has made room for living more, along side working a fulfilling full-time job.

Increased time is the greatest life improvement that Zero Waste can afford. It shouldn't be considered as a perk, but rather a reason for going waste-free.

What would you do with more time on your hands?

3 things you can do to save water using 3 containers you already have

I went to Quebec to speak about my lifestyle last week. The Quebecois might not see it as a blessing, but the amount of snow on the ground made me envious... In California, we're experiencing a major drought. And although I brought some 'bad" weather back with me (it finally rained this weekend), Northern California is far from meeting its annual precipitation requirements.

A drought is sad, but it's not all negative: It's made everyone here rethink its water consumption. For our household, it's been an opportunity to tweak a few things. Since adopting the Zero Waste lifestyle, we reduced our water consumption substantially with the tips mentioned in my book, such as applying the rule "If it's yellow, let it mellow", running only full loads of laundry, eliminating thirsty landscaping, installing drip systems, etc. That said, our current desperate situation pointed to some inefficiencies.

Here are three small adjustments we've made or 3 things you too can do to save water using three containers you already have.

Tip 1: A bucket... to flush the toilet 

A bucket collects water in the shower

In previous years, we had a bucket in our shower to collect water while it heats, but having to take it downstairs and outside to dump it onto our plants, we got lazy and eventually stopped doing it.
Today, we brought the bucket back, but we use the collected water to flush the adjacent toilet: It makes so much more sense, it's so much closer than our backyard!
If you've never tried it before, don't be afraid, there is no trick to it: just pour the water into your toilet bowl and whatever is in it, will simply flush out.

The tile grid helps to set the best location for filling the bucket
-we can't spare a drop here!

To keep it from scratching the tile and avoid the purchase of a plastic bucket, we outfitted its bottom rim with a scrap piece of clear tubing, sliced in half .

Tip 2: A tub... to soak dishes (and water plants, if needed)

Our kitchen sink's tub

We used a tub in the sink before the drought, but we had set it on the right hand side of the sink and we would fill it every morning.
Today, we have moved the tub to the left hand side of the sink, under our soap dispenser and faucet. We no longer need to fill it in the morning: it gets filled through washing, straining, rinsing, etc. After Zizou licks our dishes, we use the collected water to rinse them prior to loading the dishwasher. We then dump the water onto ornamental plants outside (once or twice a day, depending on the amount of cooking involved) - that's an advantage of using a mobile tub vs. a double sink to collect water.  The trace of Castile soap in the water also benefits our plants, by keeping fungus and pest at bay (see anti-fungal recipe in my book).

Our tub, placed under the soap dispenser and faucet.

A sink strainer also eliminates the need to run water for the garbage disposal -we empty it into our compost receptacle.

Tip 3: A trash can... to collect rainwater

Our former trashcan as rainwater catchment

The refuse bin is generally a household's largest container: A Zero Waste lifestyle frees it up for better uses than sending resources to a landfill. We've been using ours for gardening purposes: To carry the cubic yard of loose mulch that we get delivered to our house once a year, to contain the leaves that we sweep off our steps and use as weed control, to collect the few weeds that we pull throughout the yard and then put in the compost bin. Since 2008, our trash can has thus been repurposed into a wheelbarrow -sans wheels that is :). But in the winter, it usually rests in the back of the house, only to be used by the occasional weekend house renter. This past storm blew its lid open to collect 12" of rain. Scott marveled at how many inches dropped from the sky (as you know, he is a number's kinda guy), I marveled at how much water I collected for my living wall (as you know, I am a practical kinda gal). It seems that nature took care of things, but we learned from her and will open our lid for, we pray, subsequent rains.

With the water that I collect every week from my herb planter and that we collected with our trash can this week, I have enough water to care for my houseplants this month...

A small bucket also catches drainage from my herb planter

My plant wall thriving with my rainwater/drainage mix

... and at the end of which, we'll hopefully be blessed with more rain!

Regardless of rainfall, my trash can will no longer sit unused, for I have found that, with its lid upside down, it's a great place to deposit the crumbs that collect at the bottom of my bread bag and toaster each week... I'd have never thought that my trash can would one day become a bird feeder ;)

Our former trash can as a bird feeder.

Zero Waste can save and make you money this holiday season!



Long before I ever heard about the term, businesses adopted Zero Waste to make their processes more efficient and financially wise.

Graphics by Leo Johnson

In the home the same is true. I have mentioned the monetary benefits that this lifestyle has afforded my household before, but I want to go into specifics, on how it can save money, and even make a profit this holiday season! This time of the year can be a source of financial stress during these trying economic times, but ZeroWaste can afford relief. Here are concepts that I introduced in earlier posts and how they translate to holiday savings and potential revenue.

Zero Waste will save you money this holiday season by:

• Curbing consumption: Using what you have is obvious, but I know how tempting the holidays can be! The best waste prevention is not spending at all, and not spending at all offers instant savings! Use a potted plant as a Christmas tree, and yard clippings or edibles as table decorations. You probably do not need new ornaments either…
• Focusing on activities vs. stuff: You can offer your expertise or services (i.e., your time) as gifts. Usually older people need a hand, more than they need stuff. Hold on to your dollars and offer your creativity, cooking, manual skills, mobility or time instead. Offering repairs or beauty care will please the elderly, for example.
• Buying used (if you must buy): Thrift stores, rummage sales and online secondhand markets (Ebay, Etsy, Craigslist) undeniably offer affordable gifts and decorations.
• Buying groceries in bulk: Since bulk is generally cheaper, celebratory meals for company will cost you less.
• Eliminating disposables (keep your money out of the landfill): Reusable gift bags and Furoshiki squares offer cumulative savings over the years. No need for wrapping paper or tape.
• Turning your waste into useful gifts: You can make lemon bars, marmalade, lemoncello with excess lemon harvest, turn junk-mail or kids artwork into stationery, melt bits of old candles, soap or crayons into new shapes, use corks for a bath mat and sew rags (i.e., worn-out clothing) into gift bags. I will be making the latter for family and friends.
• Reducing activities that support consumption: Avoiding the mall and decreasing media exposure (tv, and magazines) will ease the shopping temptations and spending binges as well.
• Reducing your paper output: E-mailing your Holiday card or video you’ll be saving material, shipping, and printing costs. This year, our kids will be “elfing” themselves for a comic custom video.

Zero Waste can even make you a profit by:

• Participating in collaborative consumption, i.e., sharing seldom used assets: You can rent your dwelling (through VRBO or Airbnb) and car (through Getaround or Relayrides) this holiday season and make a profit. We take full advantage of this aspect as mentioned here and on Twitter. The process is evidently easier once you have decluttered, but the potential revenue is HUGE!
• Sharing unused resources with others (see post on decluttering): It offers an opportunity to not only re-gift (instead of buying new) but also, and preferably, sell these items for a profit. And the holiday season, is the best time to do so, since Ebay, Amazon and Craigslist can bring you many more buyers than the rest of the year. Green shoppers looking to buy used hope to find your unused items in the secondhand market!
• Recycling and composting: The holiday season also usually means more consumable consumption, which increases recycling in the home. Why not save your recyclables, and take them to the recycling center for redemption after the holidays instead of throwing them in the curbside recycling bin? Instead of costing you money, recycling could make you money!
• Controlling clutter: If you get a gift that does not fit your needs, relieve yourself from the gift guilt. Don’t let anything that you do not need or love, take root in your home, let others use it: Sell it!

ZeroWaste has taken the financial stress out of my holidays. It did not remedy my anxieties overnight, rather over a couple of years as we slowly implemented and understood the full advantages of the lifestyle, but today it engages my creativity and pays back! Now that’s one advantage we did not foresee when getting into this.Can you think of other ways that Zero Waste will save you money this holiday season?

The Bottomline

Hi everyone! This is Bea's husband, Scott.

This is a note to the people that may be standing on the sideline, deciding whether or not this lifestyle or these changes make sense. Or maybe it is a note to the doubters that are thinking this is just a waste of time or money...or maybe it is to the husbands out there that are thinking this is just a big hassle. (I know because I was one of them at first...)

After some prodding from Bea, I went back over our expenses - in detail - from a few years ago (our "old life" in 2005) vs. our expenses now ("zero waste" lifestyle in 2010). To compare apples to apples, so to speak, I also took into account that our two boys are eating significantly more (ages 8 & 10 in 2010 vs. ages 3 & 5 in 2005). I could eat more than both of them put together in 2005 - now, Max eats as much as me - maybe more some days. (Note: Bea has always eaten more than me :)

The bottomline: It looks like we are saving even more than we thought...

> On food we are saving 36% overall:

• Groceries are down 33%
• Farmer's market is up over 1000% (from almost nothing to being a core part of our meals)
• Restaurants are down 67%

> On "drug stores" (like Target, Rite Aid, CVS Pharmacy, etc.) our spending is down 76% (We can't even remember what the heck we were buying there!?)> Overall - our spending is down almost 40% across those categories!!! (not counting for inflation)

I attribute these savings to:

• Shopping the outer rim of the store vs. the aisles
• Less meat for dinner (once per week vs. most days)
• More vegetables (we are spending a lot more at the Farmers Market every week)
• Less dinners out / more family dinners in... (sure some of that is due to the economy)
• Drug store purchases are way down - we don't buy all the "throw-aways"

And this does not factor in any of the time savings - fewer trips to the store, less time spent in the store, less time driving to/from the store...more time with my family, doing the things that we like to do.

Ok - back to Bea for the regularly scheduled program next week...(probably something on how to reuse turnip peels to degrease your stove :)

Zero Waste Lifestyle: time and money consuming?

Soon after the New York Times article came out about our lifestyle, I received comments on the blog about time and financial concerns related to the Zero Waste Lifestyle.

"I wonder exactly how much time/money you put into the effort?" wrote Julie K.

Not that I particularly choose to pick on you, Julie K, quite the contrary. I completely understand your concerns and feel that they represent those of many readers. I started out just like you (running an average household that filled a number of trash bags a week), and a few years back, I would have raised the same objections to the Zero Waste lifestyle. I would have let those concerns stop me from making waste reducing changes, stunted by the picture of a lifestyle that seemed so unattainable. But here is what I found out thru the course of our metamorphosis (the quotes all belong to Julie K):

TIME:

"Making of balms, cleaners, etc. and sorting through the trash, etc are very time-consuming for many people who work 1-2 jobs":

• The 1^st step of going Zero Waste is SIMPLIFYING (a bonus if you do work 1-2 jobs and can benefit from any simplification at all), which is figuring out those items that you do need and those that you can live without (remember the 80-20 rule?), and narrowing it down to your personal staples. At one point I made cheese, and then found out that it was not worth the amount of time and money involved when I can just get it from the store straight into my jar. Simplify! You might not need that balm like I do and I am clearly not saying that you should make balm or mustard if you don't need them! More power to you, if you do not need them!
• Zero Waste is also an ever changing journey, where one can adapt according to the also ever-changing market and/or family tastes. A couple of weeks ago, a new store opened and I found yogurt in bulk... Do you know what that means? I don't make yogurt anymore. Also, my son grew out of his taste for soy milk... Do you know what that means? I don't make soy milk anymore either.
• "Sorting through the trash": I don't have any to sort. That's the point of all of this. If you stop it before it comes into your home, it does not even need to be addressed.
• Did I ever mention that I work 4 part-time jobs? If I can do it, you can too... all you need is "to care" to get started.

"Many of your readers with little extra time may see some of these changes not as a fun hobby, but rather as a chore"

• Caring for the environment is neither a chore nor a hobby, but rather a citizen's duty. Look around, and get informed. Educate yourself about the impact of our society's wasteful habits, it will soon become clear to you that we can't keep on doing things the way we've done them for generations. If you don't want to do it for yourself, then at least have some compassion for those that will succeed you.

So, how much time do I really spend working on our Zero Waste?

A couple of hours a week, Friday afternoons...That's when I grocery shop and run errands that might take me to a store. While dinner is cooking, I might squeeze oranges for OJ or once in a blue moon make mustard.

And this blog helps you access information that took me a couple of years to figure out. Now, that's a time saver!

MONEY:

"Many specialty shops like Whole Foods are quite pricey"

• Whole Foods, you already know, is not my favorite store (see a "Letter to Whole foods" or "Difficult trip to Whole Foods" article). But it is the largest bulk vendor in my town, and many others. So, while I try to shop as locally as possible, I consider it our main option (I have not been to Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco for three months). If you have a better (and more ethical) option than Whole Foods, please go for it!
• In Whole Foods defense though, it is hardly "Whole Paycheck", if you stay away from the prepared foods and cut down your meat consumption. In the past 2 years, we've seen our grocery bill significantly decrease. About a 1/3 less than what it used to be (How did we ever think that packaging was free? Did it ever occur to you that it is included in the products price?)

"In the past few years I've also noticed a huge rise in the prices at the farmers' market"

• Inflation hits not just the supermarket, but every business, and that includes the farmers' market. As for organic, I believe that they are worth the upfront investment: the more you buy organic, the more likely we'll see those prices drop. It's a simple economic rule.
• Quality veggies and food, like anything else of quality, does not come cheap. In the long run, it is better for you than "Top Ramen" and is worth it, but you know that already.
• That said, the best time to shop the Farmer's market is at closing time, when farmers slash prices. They rather sell their produce for less than pack it to take it home!

"The glass and stainless canisters you use are expensive when compared to the (free) plastic bags at the store"

• One does not have to purchase a glass canister to reduce their waste, on the contrary. Please reuse those that you have... That empty pickle jar would be perfect for buying olives in bulk. Many other options also abound in thrift shops. No excuses. I personally have been collecting the french jars mainly from thrift stores for 7 years and have loved their versatility (waterproof, durable, heatproof, freezer compatible, universal and interchangeable tops, and available in many different sizes). But no need to comply: Find what works best for you and your budget.
• Our stainless canteens are one of our best buys. And so you will hear from those who have made the same investment. Canteens pay for themselves in only a few months from what you saved on water bottles! (Not to mention that bottled water is essentially tap, and that you eliminate plastic leaching into your drinking water.)
• As for the "free plastic bags": Nothing in life is free... find out what the real cost of free plastic bags is! (http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=2)

"All the things you do are admirable, but maybe not possible for the average person to take on (at least not all of them at once.)" That last bit in parenthesis is one thing I could not agree more with! Bit by bit is surely the way to do it.

Besides the environmental benefits, is it all worth it? Just for the sake of our health (knowing the outcome of packaged/junk food, and the effects of plastic packaging on our health ;), I would do it all over again. And while I thank you, Julie K, for your valuable comment, I do hope that you too will take steps to reduce your waste... You'll be amazed at what you'll find out about yourself.