Ocean Protection Through Plastic-Free Living
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and whether you’re sending a gift to your true love, your BFF, or your favorite niece and nephew, you’ll want to avoid all the extra waste that comes with this holiday.
I live a generally plastic-free lifestyle but I’m not 100% plastic-free…yet. So, to see where the last 1% of my trash was coming from, I started keeping track of all of it. At the end of each month, I take a look to see where I could improve.
The conventional way we going about things looks like this: we think of something we need or want, we drive somewhere, buy it, and drive home. Or we look for it online, buy, and have it shipped to our house (most likely in plastic packaging). Another option is we buy something digital, have it sent to our device and use electricity to consume the digital product.
All of these methods of consumption generate some sort of waste and/or emissions. To avoid some of this waste, consider borrowing instead of buying. Here are five reasons why you should.
A few years ago, I rediscovered my local library. Being an avid reader who inhales an average of a book a week, I love my local library. But for some reason the library seems like something for old people. Maybe it’s because they don’t have the marketing budget of Barnes & Noble, but let me tell you…free is cool.
In a single year, with the average book costing $9.99, I would save $519.48 by checking books out of the library instead of purchasing them! That’s a nice chunk of change. Even if you’re a more relaxed reader and read one book a month, that’s still $119.88 a year.
Let’s apply this concept to other things. Maybe you need a rotary saw for a home improvement project? That could easily run $75. You’d use it for the project and then it would sit unloved for years in your garage. Now, that’s just one tool, but multiply that by many other tools. In many cities there are tool libraries where you can check out tools like a rotary saw.
Or you can try reaching out to your neighbors to see if they have one you can borrow. This increases the feeling of community and you don’t have to drive anywhere!
By checking out or borrowing specialized tools you need for specific projects you save money and don’t have to waste space storing that tool! Which brings me to my next point…
If you’ve been reading my blog, you know clutter is not my jam. I love a clean surface–it’s visual peace of mind for me.
Like most people, I used to dream of a big house with a big library. It would be filled with the classics, textbooks from graduate school, and loads of biographies about strong female women (shout out to our new Madame Vice President!).
But that dream quickly went out the window the first time I moved across the country. It just did not make sense to lug all those pounds of books with me. Books that I hadn’t opened in years and if I was being honest with myself, would never re-read. So, I sold what I could and donated the rest. My whole library gone in a blink.
Fast forward to the present, I still have no desire for a library but that doesn’t mean I don’t love books. Borrowing books allows me to receive the joy and knowledge without the clutter.
Have you ever bought anything and then regretted it when you got home? It’s okay, it happens…unless you borrowed it! There are plenty of books I’ve read only part way through and stopped. Why? Because I realized that the book wasn’t what I thought it would be and instead of toughing my way through, I gave my permission to just stop. Normally, I’m not a quitter but finishing a book that I didn’t really like it just a waste of time.
Now, had I bought the book, instead of borrowed it, I would have been stuck in the thinking of “well, I need to get my money’s worth!” but since I borrowed the book, I don’t give a second thought to put it down.
Also, recently, I’ve been looking for some vegan recipes to try to have a less carbon intensive diet. I wanted to try this vegan “cheese” spread made from cashews. Only problem…I have no food processor. If you’ve seen My Minimalist Kitchen, you know, I have two plug in appliances: an electric kettle and a toaster.
So, I thought really hard before considering whether I even wanted a food processor in my house…for just one recipe. My friend mentioned she had a small one that she never uses, so I borrowed it to test out the recipe. “Luckily”, the recipe was crap. 😛 I gave the food processor back to my friend and have no desire to buy one. Had I not borrowed one to test out this recipe, I would have been stuck with a food processor that would have never been used!
Your tax dollars are supporting your local library, make sure you use it! But more than getting your money’s worth, the library is one of the centers of the community. The stronger these centers are the stronger our communities are.
By using the library, joining your local Buy Nothing group, or borrowing items from your neighbor, you’re supporting your community and strengthening your relationship with it. In studies of populations who live the longest, community has a huge impact on our happiness and health.
Everything that’s bought came from somewhere. Raw materials and water was used to manufacture products. Following the laws of supply and demand, if less stuff is bought, then less stuff is produced.
That’s less raw materials that are being mined, cut down, dug up, or grown. That’s less production and shipping which all together means less pollution. That’s less carbon dioxide and other gasses going into our atmosphere and less chemicals being discharged into our water ways.
Overall, when you choose to borrow things, you’re choosing to live lighter and the lighter we live, the better our ocean will be.
What do you think? The next time you need something, will you consider borrowing it?
For related and random posts, check out:
I live a generally plastic-free lifestyle but I’m not 100% plastic-free…yet. So, to see where the last 1% of my trash was coming from, I started keeping track of all of it. Here’s all my trash for 2020!
Whether it’s physically decluttering your house or clearing up your schedule, having less distractions can help you focus on what’s important. Here are 5 ways to start a year of less.