Our lives changed many years ago. Living in harmony with nature in his own small village, man has turned into a monster that take out the garbage at every step under capitalism. Fortunately, even in the big cities we live in today, small alternatives exist to make less waste. This gives me hope. And it looks like concrete evidence of living consciously.
I’ve seen crazy people on YouTube who only make enough garbage to fill one jar a year. I appreciate their effort, but it is challenging and complicated for me to do it. So should we ignore small steps because we can’t be perfect? Of course not. I have my little practical secrets to be a person who makes less waste. In this blog, I will share with you my zero waste hacks.
In the picture above I have shared my main items that help me make less waste in a day.
1- First, a cloth shopping bag: This bag is older than me. Maybe you won’t believe it, but it’s exactly 24 years old. It’s a giveaway bag my mom bought me when she was young. It sat at home for years. I finally decided to use it and brought it out of the darkness into the light 🙂
My favorite detail about this bag is that it has a very high-quality cotton fabric. Today, the giveaway cloth bags we buy in stores are made of plastic. That’s why I admire this cotton bag. I hope I can use it for many years. this little tote bag is usually folded up in my bag and I can easily use it even for an unplanned shopping trip.
2- Thermos is a very important thing for me. In winter, I put tea, coffee, or just hot water in it. In summer, it prevents my water from turning into a hot soup 🙂
3- The next item is the lunch box, fork, and spoon. Maybe you are wondering “Why it is plastic?” Maybe there will be those who are angry about it. I think it’s better to have what I already have than to buy a new, softly designed, bamboo or other material lunch box. There are thousands of products that are marketed, offered for sale, and popularized simply because their design fits the “zero waste” philosophy. For me, “less is more”.
4- A towel. I am a Muslim who follows the religion of Islam, so I have to pray five times a day. To pray, in Islam, you need to make abdest. So what is abdest? Ablution is the cleansing required for worship. Hands, mouth, nose, face, both arms, a small part of the head (see: mesh), ears, neck, and feet are washed in order. Using paper towels for this practical cleaning means producing a lot of waste. So I use a small hand towel and a small foot towel.
5- A jar? This jar is not for the garbage I accumulated in one year 🙂 For fermenting Turk yogurt. Yogurt is a very healthy and commonly used dairy product in Turkish cuisine. Therefore, instead of buying it in plastic boxes, we can ferment it at home in jars for portions.
And that was it. Few products but all are functional. I am also grateful that they prevent me from making waste.
Şevval Baştan ❤
Şevval Baştan 
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