Mindfulness Wellness Walks

Starting in August 2016, we as an unstoppable duo have managed to remove up to 95% of waste production from our daily lives.

Over the months, our waste bin has been slowly traded out for smaller containers (currently a small flower pot). We take out the trash every three months.

Our recycling has been greatly reduced.

All toxic cleaners have been replaced by non-toxic alternatives.

Our clothing doesn’t off-set factory chemicals.

We don’t use plastic bags or Tupperware.

As a result we are:

Healthier.

Less stressed.

More creatively active.  

And yes, this may sound strange, but composting has made our lives significantly better in more ways than one.

Our mission is to normalize all of the above to help people make positive changes in favor of their personal well-being, their loved ones and the environment.  

General societal assumptions and reinforcements convince us that living a more sustainable life is supposed to be complicated or expensive. We disagree. While it does require a few tools and a good system (i.e., shopping routine), my daily life has never been so mindful and calming.  Taking an active role in improving your environment, as well as adjusting how you interact with your community, can bring a great sense of peace and security. All the small details of living a low-waste lifestyle are surprisingly effective at bringing someone into the moment she or he is living now. To fall in love with your daily chores is a beautiful thing. Preparing more cooked food from scratch, adding essential oils to my laundry water, shopping for fresh ingredients, practicing Czech with the local bulk shop assistants who remember me every Monday, snacking on pastries from fresh linen napkins (instead of plastic bags), picking my own fresh basil… all of these small additions to our daily life are what help me take pleasure in the moment. I believe that finding pleasure in routine, specifically a routine that benefits your well-being and that of your environment, is the key to adopting and maintaining sustainable life changes.  

Basically, if it makes you happy, you will likely do it.

In our case, reducing our waste made us shockingly happier.

However, many of these changes do not only include additions to your daily way of life, but also subtractions.  Subtractions of wasted time, wasted money and waste in general.  More on that to come.  

In starting this blog, it is not our intention to dictate or judge on how people should live their lives.  The beauty of diversity is that we all have something to learn from each other, and our goal is to learn as much as possible from you, our community.  Our suggestions are vast and detailed, but only as a means to reach more people.  Some people are concerned with food waste, others more with plastic.  Or perhaps you’re interested in trying a new beauty routine.  We will try to share every drop of knowledge we have.  Feel free to try out one, two, or all of our low-waste recommendations. We’ve tailored our own lifestyle to meet our personal needs and desires, and so we understand it’s not a one-fit-all routine, but we’re happy for you to join us in trying to make a world a little better every day J  We hope it can help you to inspire your own alternatives as well and that you will share your tricks and tips with us.  

I’m sure that everyone has a dormant concern with industrial and commercial waste in their daily lives.  By dormant, I mean a general but sincere disappointment with waste production, pollution, and the commercial malaise that plagues even the best of us. We all have that moment of reflection after an impulse purchase, Why did I buy this?  Is this even good for my health?  Didn’t it seem more useful and necessary in the shop?