Eco-Friendly Minimalism

For all who are interested in keeping the planet safe and healthy, I recommend reading nonfiction (and a lot of it!). As a young person (who may not be immediately taken seriously) it will help you educate people on important topics in a way that is factual and sophisticated!

Here are some of my all time favorite nonfiction books about our planet, where the future is heading, and what we as a collective can do to take action!

The Ends of The World by Peter Brannen (10/10!!)

This is a FANTASTIC, funny, and highly informative book that came out this year about the historic effects of global warming, and where we might be heading as a result. It reads like a narrative, and gives a really interesting perspective on global warming from a historical, geological and biological perspective! In the words of Michael Pye “This is a book about rocks: a vivid, fascinating, sometimes horrifying book about rocks and the story they tell about all the past and future lives of our planet”. 

Things you’ll learn about: climate change, global warming, geology, the past 5 mass extinctions, paleontology, gigantic boney fishes, climate change, dinosaurs, and coral bleaching!

Spineless by Juli Berwald (8/10)

Spineless is an informative, beautifully written book about jellyfish and their effects on the oceans and ourselves. Berwald tells her personal journey studying jellyfish from start to finish in a way that is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes infuriating, and always incredibly interesting!

Things you’ll learn about: jellyfish (literally everything about them, how to catch them, how to eat them, how to raise them, the big, the small, how they broke a nuclear reactor, eating habits, mating, EVERYTHING), global warming, the scientific community, japan, etc. etc. 

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (10/10)

A classic. Just a classic cornerstone environmentalism book. Everyone should read it sometime in their lives. Rachel Carson is a badass environmentalist who paved the way for female scientists and wrote a startling, unflinchingly honest book about the effects of DDT on wildlife (in the 1960s no less!). I love this book to pieces, please read!

Things you’ll learn about: effects of pesticides on the environment, history, and the effects of widespread human ignorance

the LOST species by Christopher Kemp (7/10)

This book is incredibly unique! It focuses on the importance of natural history museums and collections, and how many species are discovered in the musty boxes and crates of huge natural history collections. The book is broken into small sections, each talking about a different species found in this way. Its full of surprises and narratives!

Why did I decide to use bamboo toothbrushes?

I’m reducing the use of plastic at home

Bamboo handles are naturally antimicrobial and biodegradable

They are as effective as plastic and electric toothbrushes

They are organic while having good quality and design

Plastic toothbrushes are really difficult to recycle

All plastic toothbrushes you ever used are still out there!

♻️🌍🥥

‘Zero Waste’ has been coined to be one of the newest lifestyle trends to hit the market. Everyone is obsessed with their $40 steel food container, and their $115 zero waste kit. With a new wave of ‘sustainable’ bloggers taking over the spotlight from minimalism, hygge and mindfulness there are more ‘sustainable and zero waste’ products, sponsorships and marketing more than ever.

Is this a good thing?

The fact that more people are becoming aware of the waste they generate is a fantastic thing. However turning a sustainable lifestyle to better the environment into a predominately upper-class market with high demand and high prices, is not okay. While going into a spiral of articles from several bloggers, news writers, and even scientists, this trendy lifestyle is not at all what it seems.

A big topic lately is accessibility and inclusivity. When googling the term zero waste, the most popular figureheads you see are bloggers. They proudly hold their one mason jar of trash they’ve accumulated over the years high and mighty. They have minimal, simple, modern and very expensive looking Instagram feeds showcasing their favorite products ( all more than $20). People are seeing that as their first look into this philosophy, which is much more than expensive reusables, an expensive looking home, and an upper-class life.

This is why I decided to do this.

The term ‘zero waste’ didn’t seem right to me. Considering we have invisible waste we don’t even know of and tons of microplastics in the clothes we wear. In the industrialized 21st century no one can ever be truly ZERO waste. I personally always felt that the term zero waste was very binding and restrictive and can set up people for failure rather than success.

There is no right and wrong

I believe that there is no one way to be sustainable and produce less waste. Some people don’t have access to compost, produce without packaging and bulk stores. Not all women can use period cups to eliminate menstrual waste. Any reduction of waste in any area of consumption is enough and is a step in the right direction. If it’s bringing a mason jar every day to your local coffee spot, or bringing one tote bag to get groceries, or using a french press to stray away from coffee pods and filters. Being simply more mindful of your waste and of what you purchase not only will create a habit, but it will save you money as well.

Instagram: @curaterrae

@annazeltins

Zero-waste switches I've made so far :)

Hygiene and on-the-go (except for the detergent soapnuts and tea bag).

Also not pictured in on-the-go is a handkerchief and a food container. The containers I use right now are tubberware that I already owned (because tiffins are expensive!) and I use them when I go out to eat to avoid using Styrofoam take-out boxes (if I can remember to bring them). Hopefully I can get a stainless steal container soon so that I can leave it in a safe spot in my car and not have to worry about forgetting it when I go out anymore. Mostly, for on the go, I've learned that I can often just take things from my kitchen instead of buying zero-waste specific products like eating utensils or coffee cups (as you can see, mine is just a 12oz jar with a sleeve I made).

As for hygiene, there are a few products I have yet to switch to zero waste alternatives. Either because I still have plenty left and I'm not going to throw it away just because, or because it's the best product that has worked for me. For example, I have a skin condition, so I use a special facial wash and prescribed medication for my face. These come in a plastic container, but I'm not about to switch those out for alternatives that can aggravate my condition, especially as mine are prescribed! So I don't switch out products if I have them for a specific sensitive condition/recommended by a doctor, no matter what. This includes changes due to allergies (of which I have many), and vaginal health products.

Making the kitchen zero waste has been a bit of a struggle, as I live with my mom and she has her own way of handling that part of the house. She's coming around though! In the meantime I do my best to avoid packaging by either shopping from no-packaging options or making things myself. I'm working on a lot of ideas there which I'll post about soon!