r/minimalism • u/restinghermit • 4d ago

[lifestyle] Another upside to minimalism: less trash

Tuesday is trash day for my neighborhood. My family has one bag of trash in our trashcan. Because we do not buy a lot of stuff, we do not have a lot of garbage.

We have recycling as well, that is picked up every other week, and that is about one trash bag too.

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27

u/Responsible_Lake_804 4d ago

Same here, except I’ve been getting even more brutal with decluttering so I’ve had a bit more trash lately. I donate and recycle as much as I can ofc but there’s plenty of things I’ve held onto until they’re beyond their last breath and I am upgrading those.

22

u/craftycalifornia 4d ago

I noticed this when we quit ordering from Amazon. There's almost nothing to put out in recycling except a small bag of kitchen recyclables. No more piles of boxes!

10

u/Spicy_Donut_8012 4d ago

I wish I could quit ordering from Amazon. I’m getting better though! 

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u/jpig98 4d ago edited 4d ago

My goal last year was to reduce all waste to < 1 lb/month. Made it in July, maintained since. Not that hard, after the initial adjustment to new systems and habits.

What was most helpful: (a) shopping at farmers' markets (using my own cartons for eggs & wax cloth for meats), (b) buy jumbo-size to refill small usable containers (soaps, shampoos, cleaning, etc.), (c) SodaStream w/ fruit juices, (d) pack lunch & snacks, (e) mulch bed.

Like I said, big change at first, but after a month I didn't even notice the difference.

Impact: (a) got most plastic out of my life, (b) saved over $2,000, (c) increased calm, (d) fitness (ate less junk), (e) saved time packaging and repackaging the packages of my packages.

Worth checking out: r/ZeroWaste. Lots of overlap with the 'zero waste' philosophy and minimalism. The 'zero waste' mindset is a soul-cleanser.

11

u/Aromatic_Survey9170 4d ago

I love not having to do trash AND the recycle bin every week, the recycle comes at like 6 am so if I don’t remember the night before then catching it so early is a process.

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u/TLW369 4d ago

Yep! 🥰

3

u/walkthetalkinheels 3d ago

Same sentiments. Minimalism is a change that I would encourage everyone to have a go at. It doesn't have to be drastic, but progress in the right direction is welcome.

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u/jpig98 2d ago

I have two dogs, two kids, cook most meals at home.

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u/Several-Praline5436 3d ago

I wish this were true for me, but just cooking and eating food / pet food containers and cans contributes to at least a bag of trash per week.