A Family’s Journey toward Zero Waste
Being a zero waster is a lot like being a boy scout. You always have to prepared for anything. I wanted to share with you, dear reader, some of things that I do to stay prepared. I keep two reusable shopping bags in case I have to buy something. Typically one is made of fabric…
I have not been shopping for 6 months. 6 whole months. Wow. I never thought that I would be able to make it. While I am proud of that achievement, I have to admit that I wouldn’t mind going shopping to get something new and trendy. But then I remember that my closets and cupboards are…
One of the reasons that I decided not to shop for 52 weeks is that I learned that fashion is the #2 most polluting industry after the oil and gas industry. How? Just to list a few examples: polyester and nylon are synthetic fabrics made from polymeric or plastic fibers, potent chemicals are used to…
After 22 weeks, fashion deprivation is starting to kick in…must stay strong…but seriously, I am not about to quit now. My colleagues at work advised me that it would be OK to go to a friperie (used clothing store) but for someone like me, that’s like telling an alcoholic that it’s OK to have…
At the start of this zero waste project, I gave myself a stretch goal of not shopping for 52 weeks. As a hardcore fashionista and shopaholic, this goal frightened me. However, 17 weeks later, I am proud to report that I have not shopped yet (Shout-out and congrats to my friend Marianne who is also…
I heard an interesting documentary on CBC Radio about a woman named Elizabeth Withey who wore the same black dress for a year. I was intrigued. The idea behind this wardrobe approach is that you have one less decision to make every day, not to mention simplifying your wardrobe. Capsule wardrobes with 30 pieces (or…
I was walking around the house when my husband said to me, “There’s a hole in your sock. You should throw it out.” That got me thinking about how we are so quick to throw things out when there is something not quite right with an item that we own. It used to be that…