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Getting outside and enjoying the summer weather every chance we get is a must for our family! We love nothing more than spending the afternoon at our local lake taking in the sights and sounds of our local nature reserve while enjoying a picnic spread. But like most every other activity that involves my family over the past year, our zero-waste lifestyle comes into play. Even while picnicking at the park!

Earlier this month, knowing picnic season was just around the corner I stopped by my local Walmart to pick up several must-haves for summer, including Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen Sensitive products. It gives us all the coverage we need to keep us safe from the sun and can easily be found right at Walmart. As its summer, whenever getting out in the sun sunscreen is a must. 

This sunscreen for sensitive skin is a must for our family’s summer picnic basket. It has a unique zinc oxide formulation, provides broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection, is paraben-free and fragrance-free, and dermatologist-recommended for over 15 years! As a family, we love Blue Lizard® Sunscreen‘s patented Smart Bottle™ technology, which causes the bottle to change color when exposed to harmful UV sunlight. So we always know when to reapply. Here’s where you can find Blue Lizard® Sunscreen at Walmart:

What’s even better? For savvy savers like us, this month there’s a new iBotta deal for Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen! Currently, when you join iBotta (as well as existing members) and purchase Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen – Sensitive, the 5 oz.-bottle only, you can earn $4.00. Click here for more details! So with this season’s sunscreen in-hand from my local Walmart, I headed home to prep a zero-waste picnic lunch for the afternoon. 

What supplies you’ll need for zero-waste picnics this summer:

As you might think, packing a zero-waste picnic is not that different from packing a regular picnic. Because when it comes to packing a zero-waste picnic you are aiming to create as little waste as possible, so you won’t be using disposable products. So you’ll need to skip the plastic disposable products in-store. Think in terms of natural elements such as glass, stainless steel, wood, cloth, fiber, or stone products. Consider purchasing utility reusables, such as Mason jars, which can be used for a myriad of picnic foods such as salads, smoothies, snacks for the kids, and even bbq.

Other useful products include glass brewery bottles and stainless steel products, such as straws, silverware, and serving ware. All items that can be affordably purchased and used for many seasons to come! You’ll also need reusable versions of picnics staples including reusable napkins, picnic blankets, picnic baskets, and wrappings to coverings to keep foods fresh, such as reusable cling wrap. And one of the easiest ways to acquire reusable cling wrap is to make your own! Here’s the why and how. 

Why make Beeswax wraps:

Beeswax wraps are a naturally anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap that will actually hug bowls, cups, plates, and jars with just the right amount of cling. They’re great for wrapping snacks, fruit, veggies, cheese, bread and even bowls, making them perfect for zero-waste picnics! Wraps also cost just under $1.00 to make and will give you hundreds of uses per beeswax wrap. The best part? They’re customizable and make great hostess, teacher appreciation, or holiday gift for friends and family too! Now let’s see just how simple making DIY beeswax wraps at home this summer can be!

Ingredients & Equipment you’ll need:

• Beeswax: You can buy beeswax in bars (which will need to be grated or in pellet form)
• Jojoba oil
• 100% cotton fabric. (The thinner the better. I use fat quarters from Walmart for $1.00)
• Scissors: Sheers to cut your fabric and pinking shears to prevent fraying.
• Paintbrush
• Grater (if buying block beeswax)
• Stainless Steel Baking Sheet
• Parchment paper 
• Ruler or Tape Measure
• Oven
• Binder clips 
• String
• Tongs

Instructions:

-Preheat your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. To keep my home cooler in summer, I use a convection oven to make beeswax wraps.

-Next, you’ll need to create a drying station. To do this, I cleared off one of my kitchen baker’s racks, cut and laid out a sheet of parchment paper beneath where the wraps will hang to dry. I then cut strings across the underside of one shelf. Then when ready to use, I hang the wraps by the binder clips.

-Now to prep your fabric. You do this by cutting your fabric into the size you need. For this post, I cut mine into 8×8 inch squares.

-Next, prep your baking tray by laying parchment paper over the baking sheet. Then place your fabric on top. Remember, parchment paper is reusable. So when done, just pop your sheets into the freezer and the wax will come off leaving you with a like-new sheet of parchment paper. 

-Next, measure out your beeswax and then sprinkle your beeswax mixture evenly over the top of your fabric and then drizzle your jojoba oil over beeswax pellets as well.

-Place sheet in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is fully melted. 

-Next, pull your sheet out of the oven. Then quickly, using the paintbrush, spread the mixture evenly over the fabric, making sure to fully saturate each area, particularly the corners and edges. If any part of the wraps needs further saturation just pop the sheet back into the oven for an additional 1-2 minutes. When the mixture is evenly melted, remove the baking sheet from the oven and lift the sheet with tongs.

-Finally, hang your sheets with your binder clips on your drying rack station. Allowing each wrap to dry 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it will feel very tacky at first but will cure and dry quickly. And now your wraps are done!

A few quick tips:

• Wraps can be made in any number of sizes and it really just depends on the size and number of sheets you want to make. Here’s how much materials to use for the specific size wrap you need: 8×8 Sheet (2 teaspoons beeswax & 1/2 teaspoon jojoba oil, 11×11 Sheet (2 teaspoons beeswax & 1 teaspoon jojoba oil), & 14×14 Sheet (3 teaspoons beeswax & 2.5 teaspoons jojoba oil).
• To use each wrap, just place over a bowl or container, wrap around food like cheese, or fold into a snack bag.
• The warmth from your hands will mold the wrap into the desired shape.
• Wraps should be washed with cold water, Castille soap, air dried, and stored standing up in cabinets. 
• Since they cannot be washed with hot water, wraps are not suitable for meats for high-moisture foods.
• After a year, you need to re-wax them in order to keep using them. 
• If you prefer vegan wraps, powdered pine resin can be substituted for beeswax.

How to pack a zero-waste picnic:

When you’re ready to pack your picnic start by collecting all your jars, bottled drink, and reusable materials. I like to place anything that doesn’t need immediate refrigeration in my wicker picnic basket and everything else goes into a reusable insulated bag, along with ice packs. I then pack up my straws, napkins, Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen, DIY essential oil bug spray, and silverware and you’re set for a zero-waste picnic this summer!

Now, if you need a little help knowing what the essentials for zero-waste picnicking are I’ve included an infographic to help you along. Just download it to your favorite device and keep it with you as a zero-waste shopping guide the next time your in-store!

For our last picnic, I packed jarred wedges of cheese, spicy dill tuna salad, gluten-free tortilla chips, olives, frozen cantaloupe (also serves to keep picnic items cooler), baked hummus with queso fresco, and 1-minute microwave jarred chocolate cake for us all to share. I was able to easily cover the hummus with a new beeswax wrap. It was a feast for our little family of three!

We picnicked as a family at our favorite local spot overlooking our local nature reserve’s reservoir lake. It was tranquil and trash-free!

While there we remembered to apply Blue Lizard® sunscreen before heading out to the gazebo for the afternoon and then reapplied two hours later to ensure SPF protection was maintained. Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen’s sensitive skin formula is perfect for our whole family, even my husband, whose fair skin has seen its share of sunburns over the years. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s our go-to for summer activities, including picnicking by the lake! 

Now that you’ve seen how easy prepping for a zero-waste picnic can be, I encourage you to consider making your own beeswax wraps for your perfect zero-waste picnic this summer. Then be sure to check out Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen’s sensitive skin formula this month at your local Walmart. Remember, this month you can earn $4.00 when you purchase Blue Lizard® Australian Sunscreen – Sensitive, 5 oz. bottle, at Walmart from the iBotta savings app!

So friends, will you be taking in a picnic as part of your adventures this summer? And how will you make these adventures more zero-waste? I’d love to hear about them below!

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Plastics. Is it possible to live without them at home? This is a question I’ve been often asked since becoming a zero-waste minimalist. A question that is ever present on my mind today as it’s my family’s first no-plastics anniversary.

Now it goes without saying that while I choose to live without the intentional purchasing of plastics, I’m not a zealot. I recognize how hard it is to avoid plastic completely in this day and age. Many of us need to use a phone, drive a car, or work at a computer in our everyday lives, and all of these items tend to have lots and lots of plastic components within them. While I personally envision life completely without plastic as the end goal for our family’s lifestyle and household, I understand that it is not necessarily the possible reality for today for most.

It’s not about deprivation but rather about creating and implementing a household standard of being as low-plastic as possible!

Despite any initial challenges presented, there are numerous things that anyone can do to live with fewer plastics that will drastically reduce your plastic footprint on the environment and help you live a happy, healthier life. All it takes is a little awareness and initiative on the daily.

So you may be thinking, how do you start living without plastics? Well, there are several things that are relatively easy to implement right away. Simple changes you can start today in your life, your community, and beyond.

Here are 7 Tips to Live With With fewer Plastics

1. Avoid 3, 6, and 7 plastics: There is no need to be eating or drinking toxic plastic residues. Identify the type of plastic your product is by looking at the recycling symbol molded on the item. Every plastic product hosts a number from 1 to 7, which is surrounded by three chasing arrows that form a triangle, that helps you to identify it’s molecular makeup; these symbols are often located along the bottom of the product itself. The three following plastics are both very damaging to your health and the environment. Here’s why:

• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC #3): An extremely toxic plastic often containing multiple unsafe additives, including lead and phthalates. Still used for some toys, clear food and non-food packaging, including all forms of cling wrap, squeeze bottles, cooking oils, and many peanut butter jars.
• Polystyrene (PS #6): Contains styrene, which is toxic to the brain, nervous system, and various organs. This chemical is used in Styrofoam containers, egg cartons, disposable cups and bowls, take-out food containers, and plastic cutlery.
• Polycarbonate (Other #7): Contains bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to numerous health problems. This chemical is used in some baby bottles, sippy cups, sports water bottles, juice and ketchup containers, large water storage containers, most metal food can liners, and all plastic resins. Including patio furniture!

When I first became a low-plastic household a year ago, these products were the first to be recycled as I couldn’t donate these products in good conscious. I replaced many of these items with glass replacements, including mixing bowls, measuring cups, and all plastic cups with a plethora of mason jars. I haven’t regretted this decision once.

2. Refuse plastic bags: This goes for grocery shopping and refusing all single-use disposable plastics. Remember, plastic bags are often used for minutes only before being discarded. Bags which are rarely recycled. Bags which ultimately end up in landfills where they take hundreds of years to break down. Bags which cause soil and water table toxicity while decomposing. A simple way to remedy this? Use reusable bags. Especially for produce.

This is such a simple way to reduce your household’s carbon footprint as there are tons of reusable bags on the market, including uber cute, affordable ones. Another bonus? Many stores, including Target, will give shoppers a small discount on purchases for using reusable bags. I personally use a myriad of bags, everything from canvas bags to mesh produce bags, which gives me peace in knowing that with each trip to the store I’m not adding to the world’s plastic waste epidemic.

3. Avoid bottled water: This is one of my favorite ways we’ve reduced plastics at home. As a family, we no longer purchase bottled water. Instead, we use our own reusable water bottles or mason jars when we go out and about. This has helped out family avoid chemicals such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET #1) – which contains the toxic metal antimony. It has also allowed us to prevent 1,065 plastic bottles (3 bottles per 3 family members, per day) from landfills and downcycling last year alone. My bottle of choice? Reusable glass bottles.

4. Use non-plastic containers for food:  One of the biggest changes we’ve made as a low-plastic family is replacing all plastic ware with mason jars. We love them! We use them for everything. This includes lunches, leftovers, freezing, storage, take-out, traveling. Everything. I can’t stress how much I love mason jars and want you all to not underestimate the utility of the ubiquitous mason jar. They are affordable, come in all sizes, and are truly one of the best reusable food storage options on the market!

5. Carry your own non-plastic cutlery and straw with you: Plastic disposable cutlery and straws are among the worst plastic pollution culprits. Like bags, single-use utensils are usually used and quickly thrown away. Plus, common plastic cutlery, especially at take-out places, is made of polystyrene, known human hormone disruptors.

As a family, we’ve had to get into the habit of carrying your own cutlery with us in lunches and even leaving a set in the car for spontaneous snack sessions. Again, lots of options are available on the market, with everything from stainless steel straws to antimicrobial reusable chopsticks and cutlery set, often priced under $7.00 on Amazon!

6. Buy in bulk: This might surprise you coming from a zero-waste minimalist, that I live in a very, very small town (think Mayberry) without any co-ops, health food stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Fresh Markets, or Targets. Literally, we are three hours removed from any such store. So living an intentional and sustainable life has been quite a challenge for us as a family when it comes to buying foods at our local grocery store.

One of our workarounds for this has been buying food in bulk from our local Sam’s Club. Foods which contain plastic wrappings, though much less in comparison of purchasing single-use products locally. We make every effort to buy items in bulk including products such as baking goods, cleaning supplies, personal care products, hardware items – anything that may come in single-use plastic packaging. Our local club even allows us to buy ground coffee in bulk using mason jars!

While this isn’t plastic-free shopping, as we recycle all our product packaging from most bulk shopping trips, we have reduced our plastics by ninety percent while shopping, and at bulk buying centers you can purchase goods sans any sort of bag at all, which is perfectly in line with our low-plastic household ideal. It’s still a win in my book!

Now for those who do live in areas with more bulk shopping options you’re in luck! You can check with your respective stores to see if you can bring your own jars with you to be tarred and refilled in-store to eliminate plastics entirely. Also, some stores may be hesitant to allow you to do so. Just remain persistent.

7. Replace what you can: My biggest tip for living a low-plastic lifestyle? Simply look around your home and see what plastics you can replace easily and affordable. Do you have a slew of plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles sitting by the tub or in the shower? Find a brand you like and try and get it in bulk. You can eliminate plastic deodorant containers by using baking soda for deodorant. What about your toothbrush, comb, and hairbrush? Wooden options exist with bristles made of bamboo. Plastic razors? Replace with safety razors that over time can save you upwards of 95% over retail pricing! Every little bit helps!

So, I say all that to say this- Have fun living with less plastic – don’t let the enormity of the plastic problem get you down!

Sure, plastic waste is a huge problem, and it is a real drag that chemicals are coming out of plastics and being eaten and absorbed by people and wildlife all over the world, but remember, waves of change are in motion all around you, and you are part of a community of people who are committed to using less plastic.

Change can be as simple as educating yourself and those in your home about the about the damage caused to health and the environment by plastics, especially single-use and disposable products. So have fun with your plastic-free journey – be innovative and creative in looking for new ways to express your life without plastic. You can do it. Flawlessly.

Friends, do you have tips for living with fewer plastics? Be sure to leave your tips in the comments below!

Composting is a sacred act. Especially to those in the zero-waste community. Composters who consistently, deliberately, and thoughtfully tend to the transformation of waste into life-giving garden nutrients are among the biggest rock stars of the green movement. For without the cycle of decay life on this planet could not exist, and it is truly one of the best and most sustainable ways to keep your gardens at home thriving season after season. 

Now you may be thinking, we’re just discussing rot here, right? We are. But composting is far more than just free fertilizer for the garden. It’s a vital and necessary sustainability strategy for reducing waste, closing the nutrient cycle, and preventing air pollution that causes climate change.

Composting can remove well over half of your household waste stream while reducing the burden on landfills. Composting can also provide homeowners with a cost-effective means of replenishing your lawn, trees, houseplants, or garden. 

Still, there is an even more compelling reason we should all be composting. When organic matter like food waste goes to landfills, it ends up decomposing anaerobically—or without oxygen. This process creates methane, a greenhouse gas 20-35 times more potent than carbon dioxide, the chemical responsible for global warming. Which contrary to what many politicians will tell you is a very real problem facing our planet’s future, as landfills in the United States third-largest source of compiled methane emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Compost can also help households deal with the food waste epidemic.

When we scrape off our dishes after a large meal, we rarely pause and think about the significance of our action. It seems routine to us: if we have leftover food scraps, shouldn’t they be thrown in the garbage? Our routine practices, unfortunately, make it difficult for us to conceptualize the magnitude of global food waste.  The problem is bigger than we think.

It also goes without saying that there is no more powerful ingredient to soil health than compost. Whether you till it into your garden beds or use it as mulch around shrubs and trees, it is considered essential to organic and sustainable food production each season. Once it’s in the soil, finished compost—or garden humus—increases plant fertility, adds both micronutrients and macronutrients, buffers pH levels in zones prone to excess acidity, helps prevents many plant diseases, breaks down soil toxins, and improves soil structure. It’s like a booster shot to the soil.

Even for those without a garden, composting should still be a necessary household practice. It’s just as simple to compost your scraps as to walk them out to the trash. Many communities even offer neighborhood recitals or weekly curbside collections bins for your organic household waste. Waste which can be used to enrich local farms and co-ops that risk soil overuse the nation over. While this may seem daunting to start, composting will become second nature in no time flat! 

Here a few tips to help get you started composting today:

1) A compost pile can be as easy as starting to rot a heap of veggie scraps, dead leaves, and grass clippings in the far corner of your yard, but most people, like myself, seek to contain their compost in a neat-looking compost bin.

2) In order to maintain my zero-waste kitchen, I keep a stack of compost bowls ready to collect scraps. A quick tip- to reduce the risk of fruit flies being attracted to your compost bowl, simply place your bowl in your freezer or deep freeze until ready to dump in your compost bin! 

3) Let’s also consider your compost bin itself. There are many different kinds of compost bins to fit every living situation: simple pallet bins, tumblers, towers for urban yards, and even worm composters that fit in the space under your kitchen sink. To start composting, just be sure to select the bin style that works for you, and if it is an outdoor model, install it away from your house. 

3) In my own home, we use bins constructed of already on hand hinges and free heat-treated pallet wood. Each bin took my husband under a half hour to construct. We also found that as bins fill up, the thermal energy they expel can cause the contents to expand. To remedy this, we added chicken wire around each box, as needed. 

4) Compost is truly a work of nature in progress and is highly dependent on balance. An efficient compost pile is a careful balance of dry, brown things that contain carbon (like leaves, dried grass, straw, or shredded paper) and wet, green things that contain nitrogen (like fruit scraps or veggie peelings). So, for example, if you add a lot of shredded leaves or cardboard to the pile, you will need to balance and mix it with a nice heap of fresh grass clippings so things don’t get too dry, or vice versa. 

5) You will also want to shred or chop your compostable items before you put them into the pile, as smaller items rot quicker than larger pieces. Slow-to-compost items like tree branches, nut shells, and hair can be added to the back of your compost pile to ensure you’re keeping your faster compost pile closer to the garden. Compost also requires weekly turning and aerating, moisture added as needed to maintain proper moisture, and items such as fish, meat or lipids, substances that create strong smells and attract critters from miles around to your yard, should be avoided.  

A good rule of thumb when it comes to composting: When in doubt, leave it out. 

7) So for those I still have with me on this composting thing, I also wanted to equip you with a starter list of 101 common household items that can be composted. Keeping in mind, the following list is simply a starter series and is meant to get you pondering over what can be composted daily and weekly from your home. To imagine how little you actually need to throw out each week at home! 

101 Things You Should Be Composting At Home:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Crushed Eggshells
• Coffee grounds
• Coffee filters
• Shredded Tea bags (non-rayon bags with staples removed and recycled)
• Loose leaf tea
• Outdated Nut Milk (soy, rice, cashew, almond, and coconut)
• Used paper napkins and paper towels
• Unwaxed cardboard pizza boxes
• Shredded Brown Paper bags
• Counter crumbs
• Dry and Cooked pasta
• Cooked rice
• Stale bread, pitas, naan, or baguettes
• Stale tortilla chips, pretzels, and potato chips
• Pasta sauce or tomato paste
• Crumbs from the bottom of snack bags 
• Paper towel rolls
• Stale crackers
• Stale cereal
• Shredded Cardboard boxes from cereal, pasta, etc. (Remove any plastic windows)
• Non-Waxy used paper plates
• Nut and nut shells (except for walnut shells)
• Spoiled tofu and tempeh
• Seaweed, kelp or nori
• Unpopped and burnt popcorn kernels
• Old herbs and spices
• Stale candy 
• Stale protein and energy bars
• Pizza crusts
• Old oatmeal
• Hair from the shower drain
• Shredded Cardboard egg cartons 
• Stale pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds
• Avocado pits
• Wine corks 
• Moldy cheese (in moderation, placed deep in center of pile)
• Melted ice cream (same as cheese, see above)
• Old jelly, jam, or preserves
• Stale beer and wine
• Toothpicks
• Bamboo skewers
• Chopsticks
• Paper cupcake or muffin liners (without foil)
• Used kleenex
• Hair from your hairbrush
• Trimmings from an electric razor
• Toilet paper rolls
• Old loofahs (organic only)
• Nail clippings
• 100% latex or lambskin condoms
• 100% cotton balls
• Non-Plastic Core Cotton swabs
• 100% cotton tampons and sanitary pads
• Cardboard tampon applicators
• Menstrual blood
• Urine
• Soaked in water Dryer lint
• Old cotton linen, silk, or wool clothing
• Cotton crafting scraps
• Cotton scrunchis
• Old cotton towels and sheets (shredded)
• Shredded bills 
• Envelopes (without the plastic window)
• Pencil shavings
• Sticky notes 
• Non-Glossy business cards
• Used planner and agenda pages
• “Dust bunnies” 
• Contents of your dustpan
• Crumbs from under your couch cushions
• Shredded, wet Newspapers
• Shredded, Non-Glossy Junk mail 
• Subscriptions
• Burlap sacks
• Paper coffee filters
• Old rope, yarn, and twine
• Houseplant trimmings
• Dead bulb tops
• Flowers from floral arrangements
• Potpourri
• Used matches
• Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pits (in moderation)
• Grass clippings
• Autumn leaves
• Sawdust
• Paper Party and Holiday Supplies
• Shredded Wrapping paper rolls
• Paper table cloths
• Crepe paper streamers
• Latex balloons
• Jack O’lanterns 
• Decorative fall hay bundles 
• Evergreen holiday wreaths, trees, and garland
• Dirt from your vacuum
• Fur from the dog or cat 
• Droppings and bedding from your rabbit, gerbil, hamster, etc.
• Newspaper from the bottom of the bird cage
• Bird Feathers
• Alfalfa hay or pellets
• Dry dog, cat food, and fish pellets

So, everyone, that’s my list of the 101 household items you should be composting daily. I hope this list will inspire you to start composting this summer season. Even if composting isn’t your cup of tea, I encourage you all to re-think your food waste at home. So friends, now I have to ask, do you compost at home? If so, I’d love to hear your best tips below!

Here’s to reducing food waste at home,

Disclosure: These tips on how to reduce waste at home are part of a sponsored conversation with Tom’s of Maine.  All opinions are my own.

Did you know that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average person in the United generates 4.3 pounds of waste per day? This is 2.6 pounds more than most produced back in 1960 and 1.5 more pounds generated than a mere decade ago.

So you may wonder, where does all of this trash go? Approximately 55% of the 220 million tons of waste generated each year in the United States ends up in one of the over 3,500 landfills. With the growing amount of trash filling up our landfills, learning how to live a more sustainable lifestyle is paramount for green living in our communities.

In my own home, we are a zero-waste family. We start the ball rolling by decluttering our home and eliminating excess purchases from our home, life, and business. We also began to phasing our plastics and single-use products for more sustainable options, including glass, metal, and bamboo products. We refuse single use items at grocery stores and when dining out as well. We also upcycle products, compost, and for all other items, we recycle, or as it’s more properly known, downcycle, just about everything else we can. Particularly through curbside recycling.  

While we make every effort to recycle most items we purchase, there is always a myriad of items that my community recycling center will not accept. This is especially true for common plastic household items including used and broken toys, which as most parents can attest, always seem to accumulate before your eyes, making toys one of the harder items to declutter on an occurring basis at home.

While it’s easy to assume that toys are not a great environmental blight, consider this: Only 4% of the world’s children live in the US, but Americans buy and throw away 40% percent of the world’s toys each year. So even if you opt for more sustainable toys, purchase second-hand versions, and pass down the toys you do purchase to others there will probably still be a great deal of currently broken toys in your home that need proper recycling.

Currently, Tom’s of Maine is partnering with the recycling experts at TerraCycle, the world’s leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste, to offer the #LessWasteChallenge toy recycling program, a program which allows families to recycle toys and keep additional plastics out of landfills, all for free! 

When I was asked to join the Toms of Maine to offer the #LessWasteChallenge toy recycling program, a program which allows families to recycle toys and keep additional plastics out of landfills, all for free! So when I was asked to join the Toms of Maine #LessWasteChallenge, I jumped at the chance as Tom’s of Maine is a company with more than 45 years developing natural personal care products with a focus on natural, responsible and sustainable practices, while giving 10% of its profits back to helping people and the planet. Products that I buy for my own family at home since beginning our zero-waste lifestyle.

Families can send in their broken toys directly to TerraCycle by following four simple steps:

• Visit Tom’s of Maine Challenge Site.
• Enter contact information to receive a free UPS shipping label via email, printed at home.
• Fill an old box with up to ten pounds of broken toys.
• Attach the free shipping label to the box and drop it off at any UPS location nationally. 
• Collected broken toys are broken down, turned into new consumer goods or donated to charity.

Beyond toys, families can also help their communities and the environment by taking the #LessWasteChallenge pledge, which asks families to reduce their household waste by one pound per week and lead healthier, more zero-waste lives at home. To date, American families have pledged to keep more than 200,000 pounds out of landfills since 2016 as over 8,590 participating locations nationwide.

Moreover, Tom’s of Maine has a goal of zero waste to landfills by 2020 at its manufacturing facility in Maine. It’s a lofty goal and I applaud their efforts! And like Tom’s of Maine, I encourage you to get involved, get your children involved, by recycling your used and broken toys at home as part of the #LessWasteChallenge, and to take the pledge as well! 

Here’s to reducing our waste at home, one toy at a time,

As a minimalist who strives to run a zero-waste home, being able to cut down on my family’s consumable food waste is a must for my lifestyle. While I’m also still very much a savvy saver with a strict food budget, sometimes the two fields do not always mesh as beautifully as I would hope that they might.

I also live in Mississippi, and while an agrarian state, my newlywed home does not host a large selection of stores that carry natural foods and zero-waste food options in-store more difficult for my family.

Lasy year, as someone new to the zero-waste movement, I focused my buying power on avoiding purchases as a whole.  While this strategy was initially economically savvy, focusing solely on living plastic-free limited the quality and availability of what we could buy as a family in our area.

When your only two grocery shopping options are Winn-Dixie and Walmart, you can sometimes feel like you are living on the island of misfit plastic storage bowls. 

My focus over this past year, however, has switched from not purchasing goods to finding goods to purchase which were more in-line with my beliefs on sustainable living. This is when I discovered the joys of buying groceries and goods from my local farmer’s market!

The issue again? Finding ways to make shopping at my local farmer’s market as zero-waste as possible.

Through trial and error, I was able to find ways to make the abundance of locally sourced bulk goods and produce found at my local market align with both my vision for my family’s overall zero-waste lifestyle and our wallet too!  

So, today I’m sharing my top tips for zero-waste shopping at your local farmer’s market:

Buying larger packages or bags of food, that you will eat and not waste, at a lower price-point, will always save you money. Ask merchants at your market what their bulk pricing is comparative to that by the pound. You will often be quoted savings as much as a third off their stand prices. 

Plastic bags cost money. Plastic bags require recycling or being returned to a store for repurposing. Plastic bags require more effort than they are worth. So be sure to take your own reusable bags with you when purchasing goods at your local farmer’s market. Many merchants may give you a percentage off your price for bringing your own bag as well!

Think variety: canvas totes for general items, mesh bags for produce, and even insulated bags for safe transport of dairy, soy, and meat food products during warmer market days.

Look for produce that is pesticide-free, paraben-free, and of course, sticker free. The less you have to dispose of at home the zero-waste your day at the market will be. 

At the farmer’s market, look to buy ugly fruits and vegetables, produce that a supermarket may refuse to carry. I often opt for this produce first. I love that these organic gems, often left untouched by other customers, can be purchased in bulk at significant savings, and most importantly, taste every bit as good as their more prima donna counterparts! 

It’s a good idea to bring metal bento box containers to the farmer’s market for goods, such as berries. This will help protect them while in transit and help to prevent wilting and spoilage. 

Always bring glass mason jars with you to the market. Glass jars, which comes in every conceivable shape and size, can allow you to purchase goods such as soup, kombucha, teas, juices, and prepared foods you may not have ordinarily been able to purchase otherwise. 

Now before you use your jars with each vendor, politely ask to have your have your jars tared, or weighted, before you fill them with food. This is done to prevent you from having to pay for the weight of the jar and the goods your purchasing as well. This is especially important for higher ticket items such as organic coffees and teas that costs $10.00 or more per pound on their own!

 Another tip? Invest in a reusable wine bottle carrier bag. These bags will help prevent glass jars from clinking together or breaking in transit.

Linen squares can be used to wrap up bread, Danish, and most non-iced baked goods for travel. Linen can also be easily washed making this an idea pastry cloth for market shopping days.

Wax-lined bags are crucial for farmer’s market shopping. They are great for carrying wet produce, cosmetic products, such shampoo bars and lotions, and homemade candles as well. Especially for goods and products that might leak out or cause cross contamination.  

When merchants are ready to go home, usually after two in the afternoon, they are often ready to make deals they may not have considered much earlier in the day. A few hours of a delay can save you over half the cost of early morning shopping. 

Having a cart or small wagon with you at the market will help to free up your hands while shopping and can help with safer transit to and from your car while shopping at the farmer’s market. Like at a grocery store, when you don’t have to worry about carrying the total weight of goods in-hand, you’ll be more likely to go the more zero-waste route each time you shop. 

A notepad is a necessity at the market, and a digital option is always best! I use my phone to jot down merchant names, their social media accounts (as merchants often give discount codes, location directions, and products online to their followers), and market price lists.

A notepad will also help you to maintain a digital, personalized price point list to help keep your budget in mind while shopping at your local farmer’s market. 

Cash is king. Especially at a farmer’s market. It costs merchant’s countless funds to run card readers. Instead use cash, use your cash as a bargaining tool when negotiating prices for higher ticket organics.

Also remember to bring along your cash envelopes with you, and stay within your budget while buying what’s fresh on the market. Think whole foods, not your whole check! 

So there are my favorite tips for frugal zero-waste shopping and budgeting at my local farmer’s markets. While you may not have similar shopping choices or you may just be starting out on the zero-waste path, feel free to glean whatever ideas may help you along your way.

When it comes to zero-waste living, go slow. Be wise in your spending. Mindful of your budget. And always have fun. 

Remember, this is a lifestyle, and a lesson on sustainable living. 

Here’s to better days at the market,