How to live a healthy life and reduce our waste to zero?

In the last few years, the idea of ​​zero-waste living has been gaining more and more support from the world. Surrounded by so many things, products and packaging, it really isn't an easy task to generate half a jar of junk, like the popular French blogger Bea Johnson, who is entirely dedicated to the environmentally friendly lifestyle. But change is in small steps that can radically change our daily lives as long as we solve it.

We have several ideas on how to reduce waste in our daily lives. They can have a significant impact on our health, well-being and our lifestyle in general.

To give up unnecessary things

We live in a world of overconsumption, where the main thing is to get as much material benefits as possible. Often, we don’t need the things we buy and we are overloaded with junk and waste. It is not a matter of giving up all our favourite things, but only those that we really do not need, because that is the basis of a happy, harmonious life - minimalism.

To reduce our belongings

If we do not want to give up the things we use, we can make an effort to at least reduce them. We really don't need a lot of things around us to feel happy. We can make a list of unnecessary things, cosmetics, preparations, etc., set them aside, and if we have not used them in the past 2-3 months, we can get rid of them because the opportunity to use them really does is minimal. We can even replace our shampoos, soaps, conditioners, creams, even perfumes with alternative ones that we can make ourselves at home. Thanks to their pure ingredients, they will be many times healthier to use.

Replace disposable products with reusable products

One of the most important steps is to recycle the materials we use again and again. It is important to note that it does not only involve throwing away our garbage in the appropriate container for the purpose. There are a number of other much more important activities that can help us limit the waste we generate in our daily lives. It is especially important to choose reusable storage containers such as glass jars, containers of various materials, paper bags. If we still need to use plastic and / or nylon, we can simply use them longer - for example, once we used a kitchen foil or plastic freezer bag, we can clean them and use them again . When shopping at the supermarket, we can choose such products packed with as little plastic as possible, and why not carry a canvas bag to replace the plastic one? It is a great idea to have a paper counter in the store, which we will also be able to use several times. It's also a great idea to buy bulk. There are already a number of stores where we can get food in bulk.

In order to live in an environmentally friendly way, we must think of all the resources at our disposal and use them wisely. We can replace baby disposable diapers with reusable ones, wet wipes with reusable, plastic straws with paper or wooden, paper kitchen roll with cloth of good absorbent properties; plastic and cardboard glasses in the office with glass.

Another major step in reducing waste is to use only natural cleaners in our daily lives. Yes, that's right - natural! Eating good-quality foods that are free of chemicals and colourants is a key factor in our good health, but the preparations we use for daily cleaning at home also affects our well-being as a whole. Just imagine what the quality of the air we breathe at home after the use of aggressive cleaning products ... There are a number of natural hygiene products that have the same effect but are distinguished by pure ingredients that do not contain toxins. An example of a channel cleaner, sink, the tub is the combination of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Vinegar again does a great job of cleaning glass and mirror surfaces. To clean any kind of surface, we can easily and quickly make a multifunctional preparation by mixing 3 teaspoons of water with 1 teaspoon of vinegar, adding 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 3-4 drops of tea tree oil to them.

In the consumption of water, we can use a filter jug ​​or install a system on the kitchen faucet itself, which purifies fluorine, chlorine and heavy metals. That way we won't buy huge quantities of plastic water bottles. Let's figure out how much we throw away per month? Now let's multiply the number by 12! After we draw the line, the plastic figures for annual consumption definitely give rise to a topic of reflection. Therefore, it is a good option to invest in quality reusable bottles that can be filled with filtered water. The same goes for buying different drinks - the best option is to buy them in reusable glass bottles because they do not lose their properties and are easy to clean.

Let's recycle

Today we face the serious problem of environmental pollution - we are trapped with plastic waste and its decomposition can take up to 500 years. Separate waste disposal is important, but even more important is the reduction of waste volume. Unfortunately, although they can be recycled, only a quarter of them are processed in Europe. In fact, after melting the plastic, it can again be used to make pens, garden furniture or water containers, even textiles. Did you know, for example, that 25 l plastic bottles are needed to make a high-end overcoat? Unfortunately, although plastic is recyclable, almost half of this waste in Europe is disposed of in landfills where it is not processed.

Let's compost

It is good to start composting at home by turning bio-waste into soil, so-called. humus. There is ample information on the internet about how to do it yourself at home, thus effectively limiting the disposal of the junk. We often find comments of the sort: "This is organic rubbish and is easy to decompose." Yes, unlike plastic, it breaks down without harming the environment, but only if disposed of properly and not in large quantities. It is curious that almost two-thirds of the waste generated by a household consists of organic components (flowers, spoiled fruits and vegetables, sludge from coffee, egg scoops, etc.) that are naturally degraded. That is, if we decide to compost our waste we will surely eliminate a large proportion of the entire percentage.

The problem of discarding food can be solved by making a few small changes to our daily lives:

• Learn how to store our products properly. Much of the food is discarded because we have not used it and have not been able to store it. There are a number of effective tips on how to keep your food fresh for as long as possible. Did you know, for example, that potatoes, tomatoes and onions expire many times faster if stored in a refrigerator?

“We need to learn to shop only for what we really need.

• It is good to shop only with a pre-made list of products and stick to it in the supermarket. Thus, in addition to a large amount of food waste, we will save time and money.
• We should not shop on a hungry stomach, because we are more likely to grab everything that comes before our eyes.