I started keeping track of my trash in October in a sort of “trash audit“. I live a generally plastic-free life but to get rid of that last 5% I needed a better understanding of where the plastic came from. So, I started saving all my trash in a small container on my kitchen counter.

In the months of October and November, I learned a lot about where I could improve. I was reminded of things I already knew–like I should buy loose produce at the Farmer’s Market to avoid plastic tags and unnecessary packaging. I also picked up a new habit of making fresh pasta!

Overall, I’m happy to see that my trash pile has shrunk! Before we dive in, a quick reminder of the “rules”. This is just my trash not my whole family’s (although they don’t generate too much more than this). I do not include my family’s trash because I am not with them 24 hours a day. So, I can’t expect them to be vigilant about saving their trash. I do however save any trash generated from feeding my family meals at home. So, while I don’t drink milk (being basically lactose intolerant) my kids drink a lot of milk. So, the milk caps are technically trash that my kids generate but I add them to my trash since I decide what they eat.

Now that we know the ground rules, here’s my trash for the month of December!

The biggest lesson I learned this month was that having to show the world my trash made me question things I wouldn’t have before. Good example…I rarely purchase chips because they come in a plastic bag, but when there are random free bags of Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar chips (my favorite) at work, I would grab a bag here and there.

Now that I have to keep all my trash, I skip those free bags of chips and wait until we have homemade catered chips that aren’t packaged.

Also, since I’m a minimalist and hate clutter, having to save all my trash makes me REALLY want to have next to nothing to save. This challenges me to see how little I can use and makes it a fun game.

So, what can you take away from this? If you’re trying to use less plastic (or really do anything challenging) find ways to 1) hold yourself publicly accountable 2) make it a game. These two things will increase your likelihood of success.

Let’s break down my trash week by week and see what else I learned.

Week 1

In October’s trash audit, I talked about how frozen green peas are so easy to feed my kids and that when they are in season again I would buy a whole bunch at the farmer’s market and freeze them. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to substitute other vegetables they like and maybe by summer I’ll find I don’t need peas at all.

The biggest takeaway from this week happened in a place where I’m nearly 100% plastic-free–the bathroom. After reading how the US goes through an estimated 1 BILLION toothbrushes a year, I switched to a bamboo toothbrush. The bristles are still made from nylon (i.e. plastic), so you’re supposed to pull them out with pliers, then compost the bamboo and trash the bristles.

If this sounds like a PITA (pain in the ass – pardon my French), it’s because IT IS! I can’t imagine people doing this before tossing it into the compost. And yet if they don’t, the plastic bristles contaminate the compost and you don’t want the nylon to leach chemicals into local soil.

So, after I collected the bristles and deemed the process to be ridiculous, I purchased a package of bamboo toothbrushes with boar hair bristles.

I know these won’t fly if you’re vegan, but I feel no guilt about throwing these toothbrushes in the compost. And my pliers can stay in the toolbox.

Week 2

In November’s trash audit, I decided I would stop shopping at Trader Joe’s since even the pre-made curry sauce in glass bottles had a plastic cap. This week I used one of the last curry bottles I had in my pantry. This also motivated me to try to make more authentic dishes from scratch. So, I’ve been delving into my own heritage and making some Vietnamese and Chinese dishes completely from scratch.

This weekend I tried making potstickers (dough and all) from scratch. It took way longer than expected and the recipe needs a little tweaking, but I’m happy I did it! Also, now I know I can avoid the pre-made potsticker wrappers that are always packaged in plastic!

Here’s a picture of a potsticker in process:

Another great result of posting my trash each month is that I get lots of wonderful comments, questions, and suggestions. One of my coworkers reached out to me and asked me to save my wine corks for her since she uses them in an art project. I’m still going to see if I can find a nearby winery to refill bottles but this makes me happy I can drink my favorite wine without throwing away plastic!

Week 3

Week 3 has one of the smallest amounts of trash so far. All things I can’t necessarily avoid at the moment. The pen refill and contact solution I use sparingly. The Tabasco sauce comes in a glass bottle so this might be the best I can do without trying to figure out how to make the sauce from scratch. I will however buy a bigger bottle of Tabasco sauce next time so I have few of these caps in the future without sacrificing any of that hot-sauce-goodness.

Week 4

Week 4 was a good reminder that I can buy spices in bulk at my local Sprouts. For some reason I forget this and even though I bought a glass spice jar with a metal lid, there was still a plastic seal! Yes, I probably should have guessed there was a seal but I’m a busy mom and it’s so hard to remember everything.

Week 4 1/2

Week 4 1/2 renewed my determination to find products in brick and mortar stores instead of ordering on Amazon. The funny thing about this Amazon purchase is that I was ordering a reusable metal filter for my Chemex coffee maker to replace the paper filters.

So, even when you’re trying to be less wasteful, sometimes you’re still SOL. I guess you can’t win them all.

Overall, all my trash fits in a quart-sized plastic bag which I’m happy about. It’s smaller than last month’s trash but there’s still a little room for improvement and thus more blog posts to come!

What do you think? Does this give you some ideas on where you can improve? Are you interested in saving your trash for a month or even a week to see what you learn? If so, leave a comment to let me know what you find out!

For related and random posts, check out:

• All My Trash for November
• Plastic-Free Dental Care
• Plastic-Free Deodorant