The 5 R's.

Do you remember learning the 3 R's in elementary school? Reduce, reuse, recycle. Well, in my house we practice the 5 R's.

Refuse

Anytime possible, refuse anything that creates waste that cannot be recycled,  reused, or composted. Bring your own grocery bags,  avoid plastic containers,  don't use the toiletries at hotels,  ask guest to refrain bringing hostess gifts (tell them that their company is enough!).

Reduce
There may be times that you absolutely can not refuse. So try your best to reduce what you do accept.

Reuse
Use your "trash" in creative ways. Reuse jars for storage containers.

I make jewelry from plastic that comes into my home, or that I find.

 Above: Water bottles and other assorted plastics turned into beads to eventually look like this:

Recycle
If you cannot refuse something, and cannot reuse it, then recycle!

Rot
Compost! I love composting.  Seriously, I get excitement every time I make a trip out to my compost bin (yes, I know I'm strange). It's easy, and there are so many options!

We currently just compost our product scrap, our eggshells,  and our coffee grinds and filters.  However, there are so many types of compost bins that do so much more than that. I will hopefully be getting a meat composting system in the future.

My favorite thing about composting is how beneficial it is to my gardens. The better the garden, the closer we are to being a little more self sustainable, and being self sustained is just one step closer to being #zerowaste!