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If living green is a new endeavor for you, reducing your waste output down to zero is an ambitious goal. However, it is a noble one. With some re-thinking and effort, you can make great strides in the quantity of trash you and your household produces. Put in some of these practices and what you add to landfills can be significantly reduced.

Start with one or two of these practices. Get the whole family on board. As you succeed, add in another one or two, and soon, you will have your home running smoothly green-conscious.

Zero waste tips

• Shop in bulk. Larger packaging often means less packaging, so that giant bag of toilet tissue at the big box store reduces your waste at once. Additionally, most warehouse-type stores do not offer plastic or paper bags. Instead, they recycle the boxes and crates that products come in for customers to use exiting the store. Better still, bringing your reusable bags and containers decreases your waste from shopping even more.
• When offered bags in traditional grocery, sundry, or clothing stores, say “no.” Carry collapsible sacks in your handbag or pocket to hold the items you buy. If you do take home sacks, be sure to reuse or recycle them.
• Bring home less stuff. Curb your shopping habit so that you only bring back those items that you genuinely need. Instead, spend more time window shopping and just enjoying the things on the mannequin without taking them home. If shopping is your therapy, redirect your funds to an experience such as a spa treatment or foot massage instead.
• Make memories, not purchases. When you used to use shopping to bond with your children, instead, find an activity you can do together such as an escape room, time in an arcade, or playing mini golf. Those memories last a lifetime while a new toy or clothing may only last for a season.
• Instead of baggies, cling wrap, and foil for your leftovers, invest in reusable glass containers with BPA-free lids that seal. You reduce waste, and your food tastes better. Utilizing containers made of freezer-to-oven glass reduces your water waste too since you can store and cook in the same dish.
• Rent instead of buy. For big-ticket clothing items that you will use or wear only once or twice, take advantage of local and online shops that let you rent formal wear, prom dresses, wedding clothes and other unique occasion items, and even a new wardrobe regularly. Check out sites such as Rent the Runway and Stich Fix or a local store in your area that rents clothing. Like tuxedo rentals, you will save on waste, closet space, and money.
• Make the thrift stores and charity shops part of your shopping habit. Of course, donating gently used clothing and household items is always a great idea to reduce waste, support a worthy cause, and give someone else the opportunity to buy something they will love at a great price. However, shopping there is good for you too. Take a bag or two to donate and then while away a couple of hours shopping in the same store. Other folks may have donated just the items you need for your household. You save time and money both.

If you are in the market for a home designed for green living, reach out to your real estate agent and inform them of your needs. They may have access to more detailed information about homes coming on the market with green or alternative energy sources and access to other waste reduction options.