Minimalism and zero waste share numerous core tenants, one of them being - buy less. After all, the most popular eco-friendly phrase is REDUCE in Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. So with that in mind, here are a few things you don't actually need to buy.
Paper Towels
It takes 12 trees and 20,000 gallons of water to make one ton of paper towels. In the U.S., we use more than 13 billion pounds of paper towels each year, and most just end up in a landfill. Opt for reusable towels.
Plastic Bags
Plastic baggies, for example, zip lock bags can technically be reused but they're a pain to clean. They're also likely to rip with wear and tear. Instead, opt for stasher bags or beeswax wraps, etc.
Pre-Cut Veggies
Why spend the extra money on pre-sliced fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic on plastic trays when you can just take a few minutes out of your life and chop them yourself? Here are some helpful tips:
- Chop your leafy greens and store them in an airtight container.
- Bananas last longer when they're single, so separate them.
- Keep mushrooms in a paper bag in the fridge.
- Tomatoes and avocadoes stay on the counter till ripe!
Cotton Balls
Use a washcloth or reusable cotton rounds instead. It's cheaper and more sustainable.
Aluminum Foil
The manufacturing process of aluminum isn't low impact. The best solution is to try and avoid aluminum buying aluminum products unless they're made from recycled content.
