5 Zero-Waste Habits That Will Save You Money (Start now!)

Pixabay Link: Waste Not (Amazon)

Today, more and more individuals are jumping into the Zero Waste Lifestyle, a philosophy that encourages people to emulate sustainable natural cycles to reduce all discharges to land, water and air, which are harmful to the health of humans, plants, and animals.

Some may think that going zero-waste is a hard and costly lifestyle to maintain, but contrary to that belief, going green can actually save you lots of money in the long run. IOW, you don’t have to invest in an electric car or solar panel right away… You can save that for later. 😉

To help you start your journey, here are 5 easy to follow Zero-waste habits that will save you money, time and of course, Mother Earth:

1. Re-useable water bottle.

Recent stats show that the average American used 167 disposable water bottles last year, but only recycled 38.  With only 23% recycling rate for plastics, America wastes 38 billion water bottles or more than $1 billion worth of plastic each year.  I know it’s important to stay hydrated at all times and having a bottle of water handy can be a necessary convenience but you don’t have to spend dollars on bottled water that you can actually get for free.  Save your money and just get yourself a reusable water bottle.

2. Go paperless in the kitchen.

Fact check:  The average family spends about $200 annually on paper towels and globally, we discard 254 million tons of paper towels every year.  Protect the trees and spend less by switching to cloth napkins.  You can even make them out of old clothes if you’re just going to use it to clean up kitchen mess.

3. Go natural on your cleaning products.

Most store brought cleaning products are filled with harmful chemicals and are usually made for one purpose only, which can be costly because you need to buy separate products for the floor, toilet, windows, wood surface, glass, etc.  Instead of spending so much money and pantry space, just go natural.  With only a white distilled vinegar, baking soda and castile soap, you will be able to clean anything in your house.

4. Say no to food waste.

Sadly, 40% of food is wasted every year in America while there are millions of homeless people who try to survive each day without food in their stomachs.

When it comes to our environment, food waste in landfills releases methane which is very harmful, at the same time, the more food that’s wasted, the more food is needed to produce, which of course puts more pressure on Mother Earth.

Make an effort to lower your food waste by only buying food or ingredients that you need, learning how to store food properly and eating leftovers or reusing them to create new dishes.

5. Have a zero waste wardrobe.

Did you know that Americans toss 25 billion pounds of clothing every year?  This year, give your closet a makeover (no, I don’t mean buying new clothing pieces to update your wardrobe) to help reduce waste and expenditure as well.  How to do it?  Just make sure to donate, sell, give away and shop secondhand.

A zero-waste lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight but you can definitely start anytime, one habit at a time.