Have you ever wondered what the untold benefits of going low waste are? By know, it is well known that low waste living has many economic and environmental impacts. Time to get selfish… did you know there are several surprising personal benefits of living a low waster lifestyle?
Here are 5 personal benefits of living a low waste lifestyle that I have noticed from my own low waste journey that I wish I knew earlier.
Low vs. Zero Waste Living
Before we getting too far into the unusual benefits of low waste living, what is the difference between low and zero waste living?
Low waste aka low impact means some form of trash is still being produced. Low waste is a lifestyle aimed at lowering your ecological footprint by substituting your everyday products with high quality aleternatives. Although there are many great options for sustainable substitutes to everyday products there are a handful of products I use in my everyday life that I have yet to find a good alternative to. Therefore I save myself the stress and do what works best for me.
Zero waste living will always be the end goal for me. But being a busy professional I don’t want to stress myself out always having to find ways to reuse or recycle.
Low Waste Living Saves Money
This lifestyle is all about finding ways to be mindful about purchases. Buying recycled products, second hand clothes, DIY’s, and reusing items. Applying mindfulness to your spending and forces you to get up close and personal with why you buy certain products. For example when I first started my low waste journey I was spending more money than I’d like to admit on random internet purchases. When I started asking myself if said internet purchases fit my zero waste goal, my spending went way down. Being conscious of your emotional spending is painful, but let me tell you, addressing it is a game changer. Less emotional spending reduces the amount of money wasted on unnecessary or unwanted goods.
Although zero waste products are more expensive than their conventional alternative. These products are reusable or refillable. Glass jars can be reused for food storage, old t-shirts become rags, plastic jugs are bird feeders, newspapers are wrapping paper and so on. Yes, there is an upfront cost of joining the low waste lifestyle. Buying reusable items for the time is pricey. Not having to buy paper towels, sandwhich bags, cleaners, rags, wrapping paper, water bottles and so on saves money in the long run. I bought a reusable pack of ‘unpaper towels’ from Marley’s Monsters for $34 for a pack of 12. I used to buy a 2 pack of recycled paper towels twice a month, spending $100 on just paper towels a year. Switching to ‘unpaper towels’ saved me almost $70 a year. And that’s just on paper towels.
Getting Creative
Between DIY’s and finding new ways to reuse things, living a low waste lifestyle promotes creativity. just the other day I was scouring Google for all the ways I could recycle my egg shells instead of just tossing them in the trash. I live in an apartment in Iowa, so the obvious just compost it idea hasn’t happened yet. My search gave me two ideas I like but haven’t committed to yet; grind up egg shells for the dog and save them for planting in the spring.
Simplicity
Buying less leads to less stuff hanging around your home. My low waste journey started with using up all of the extra products I had laying around clogging up my cabinets. That was oddly satisfying! Firstly, there is finally room to store the appliances the kitchen cabinets. Clean counter tops! Secondly, being intentional about the beauty products I buy means my bathroom cabinets are almost empty.
Another huge part of my journey to a low waste and non-toxic lifestyle was getting rid of all the junk in my house that either I did not want or I did not genuinely like. All the clothes were donated to a local thrift store and any junk that was still in good condition was given to Goodwill. Although I threw away more than I had intended I know exactly what I own and where to find so in the future I won’t be purchasing duplicates.
Low Waste Living is Less Stress
For me, having less reduced the amount of stress in my life. There are no closets full of junk to keep ignoring. My house is easier to clean because there is less in it. Knowing everything that is in my house provides me a sense of control I didn’t have before.
Having an autoimmune disorder, I used to constantly stress out about getting sick. But being able to bust out a tea when I feel a cold coming on or having herbal remedies for everyday ailments that come up has empowered me to be more in touch with my body. I no longer stress as badly about getting sick.
Every time I support a local farm at the farmers market or find a new way to give something a second or third life has positive economic and ecological benefits is just really exciting to me. I’m weird I know.
Overall Mood
Zero waste cleaning and self care products tend to have fewer damaging chemicals leading to a happier, healthier household. further buying products with non toxic materials used for packaging means less micro plastics going into your body.
Let’s be honest, there’s something oddly satisfying about finishing that lotion that has been in the bathroom drawer for years. I made a game out of going low waste. Finding new ways to reuse a product is a win in my book!
In conclusion, starting out a low waste lifestyle can be stressful. Make small changes at first. Anytime you finish a product replace it with a better alternative. Get a good set of reusable containers. But don’t sweat not being able to replace everything you use.
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