I love watching YouTube videos for ideas on new ways I can reduce my waste and live more sustainably, but I HATE how cutesy and unrealistically pretty some zero waste channels can be.
Recently a few of the bigger names in the community have started embracing the less aesthetically pleasing parts of zero waste living and that is so great. Shelbizleee is one of the ones I have seen who has started doing a series of these videos busting the chic-minimalist-mason-jar-vibes and having some real conversations about ugly but eco actions.
Her videos (search “the *NON-AESTHETIC* parts of zero waste…” on YouTube) have made me think about which of the things she does I also do, or should start doing.
Here is my version of that video:
Here is a list of these non-aesthetic zero waste (or low waste) swaps and habits that she mentions in her first video and whether I do them or do something else:
A bucket next to the loo for period underwear
Nope, I don’t use period underwear because I have a hormonal IUD (Intrauterine Device) as my contraception, which means I have super duper light periods that just don’t need pads or moon cups or period panties. I did used to use reusable cloth pads and a menstrual cup, and I rinsed them each night in the sink rather than in a bucket.
If I do ever change my contraception option I would probably go back to these because they worked perfectly for me. The bucket option does sound more sustainable than rinsing them individually in the sink, so I would definitely consider this.
Using natural deodorant that isn’t an antiperspirant
Yes, I do this! I actually don’t use deodorant much in general, especially not in winter or during lockdown. When I do, I use Dirty Hippie natural deo which comes in cardboard or Palm Free Irish Soap deo.
I also have an old bottle of Mitchum’s antiperspirant which I use for fancy things like job interviews or weddings where I actually care about sweating.
I might consider Wild or one of these new fancy brands one day, but it will take me ages to get through what I have because I only really use it once or twice per week!
Collecting fallen out hair in a bag
Yep! I don’t have a plastic bag like Shelbizleee, but I do have an old coffee jar in the bathroom that I use as a compostables bin. It takes hair, nail clippings, bamboo cotton buds, and leaves that fall off our bathroom plants.
We actually have 3 bins in the bathroom and 2 in the bedroom because we find it easier to seperate our waste at that point rather than later. The bathroom has compost, recycling, and landfill bins, the bedroom just has landfill and compost. Because we make so little waste the bins are really small (coffee tins, old ointment containers, thrifted ceramic jars) and don’t take up any more room than a standard bin would.
I guess that by finding “cuter” bins this is still kind of aesthetic, but it looks a bit weird to have several bins in each room.
Thin plastic recycling and hoarding “hard to recycle” things
We absolutely used to do this, but we don’t at the moment. There are so few places that accept soft plastics for recycling that it became a mountain of plastic trash under the stairs in our old house because we never went anywhere near the drop off locations.
Soft plastics are a nightmare because they are totally inefficient to recycle. They are hard to clean, hard to dry, and the material is almost value-less to any business as a material to make stuff out of. Recycling is not the answer to all of our consumerist problems.
It takes a whole extra chunk of work on our end to get the plastics ready for recycling, and even then the chance of them actually making it into another product is super low. Instead of using our energy on this at the moment we choose to spend time emailing politicians and social media-ing at companies to try and change systems at the source. It takes the same amount of time and could have a MUCH bigger impact.
If we find ourselves close to a drop-off point again in the future we will probably start recycling soft plastics again, but it isn’t what we are prioritising at this point.
Having a “donations” pile
Yes! When we decide that things we have are no longer needed we will try to re-home them. Rather than dumping them at a charity shop we (mostly me) will try and do the work to find a person or place that will actually find value in them.
I sell some things on Facebook marketplace or Adverts.ie, but mostly I give them away for free. My favourite ways to give away stuff for free are to ask friends if they want them, offer them on freecycle and No Buy Facebook groups, and listing them on Olio app.
I also use all of these places to look for things I need instead of buying them new! I have picked up clothing, furniture, food, and even technology bits from free sharing groups in several countries already. They are excellent for saving money and resources!
Collecting compost in the freezer
When I lived in warm countries without access to a compost heap at home I used to do this. Keeping your compostable scraps in a container or bag in the freezer means they don’t get smelly or icky while they wait to be taken to a compost bin or heap.
Now I live in Ireland, so it’s not hot and things don’t rot as fast. We have a very non-aesthetic bucket with a lid that we collect our kitchen scraps in and we make a trip to a local community garden once per week to empty it into their big compost heap. Because the bucket has a lid that seals, the smells stay inside and we don’t need to freeze it.
You can find big buckets in the trash at lots of restaurants. Ours is an old mayonnaise bucket that I picked up from a poke restaurant in Dublin. Find a small business and go in at a quieter time to ask if they have something like this, be polite and friendly and you might be in luck! Some of our favourite big jars that we use for storage also came from restaurants because they buy everything in bulk.
A drawer full of single use napkins, sauce packets, and cutlery
Oh yes, we definitely have a load of this stuff. No matter how hard you try, or how many times you ask for no napkin and no little single serve packets of soy sauce or plastic forks you will inevitably end up with some.
That is OK. You are trying, so focus on the wins.
We hold onto all our accidental napkins, sauce packs, and cutlery. They live in the back of our cutlery drawer and they are great for picnics, dinner parties where you don’t have enough cutlery, and all sorts of other things.
I use the napkins for anything that is super gross and I don’t want to get on my re-usable cloths. You can use them to sprout seeds and avocado pips! I also use them if guests ask for one. There are a surprising number of uses for a paper napkin.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this and that you’ve found a new idea or two for how you could reduce your waste and live a slightly greener life (even if it is non-aesthetic)!
Keep trying, keep using your voice to ask for better, and keep safe.
Until next time!
xo Cait
Wasteless Wanderess 