Zero-waste home tips from Sunset magazine

Sunsetmagazinezerowastetips

Found an overview of some zero-waste living tips on Sunset Magazine's site. The household they profiled consumes less, and aims to generate no non-recyclable, no non-compostable garbage. This page has an overview video with links to more detailed videos for specific parts of the home (kitchen, laundry, closet, etc.):
http://www.sunset.com/home/zero-waste-home-tour-video-00418000073279/

I wish I could say that I'll do all these things in the foreseeable future, but there are some vices/practices that will take a while to give up. But, here are some tips worth noting:

  • bring jars/containers to the grocery store, and buy fish, meat, grains, pasta, etc. in bulk, or from the fishmonger/butcher...and obviously don't buy pre-packaged produce or prepared foods (i've been wanting to bring containers to the grocery store & farmer's market...so i won't be the first to get quizzical looks for doing that)
  • maintain a very minimal wardrobe
  • make your own cleaning products if possible (the woman profiled makes a simple baking soda mix for brushing teeth, but noted that she wasn't able to create an effective laundry detergent, so she buys her detergent in cardboard boxes)
  • use washable towels/rags (no paper towels in their house)
  • maintain a minimal cosmetics regimen
  • compostable toothbrushes
  • old-fashioned safety razor for her husband requires less frequent blade replacements