The Johnson family from California can show us how to save money by reducing household waste to almost zero. Relax, the lifestyle changes necessary to move towards zero waste are within reach of all of us, the secret is to get there one step at a time.
Only five (5) years ago this suburban household produced a wheelie-bin full of trash weekly, much like every other family. Determined to create less waste, they have made incremental lifestyle changes to the point where the family now produces only a handful of waste each year. That’s a massive reduction, and they share their methods in detail on their blog The Zero Waste Home.
Get Your R’s Right!
Put aside for a minute what you understand about the three R’s of sustainable living. The new mantra goes like this: Refuse-Reduce-Reuse, and Recycle only as a last resort.
The family explains that as well as creating far less waste for landfills to deal with, they spend less money than they did before. They estimate their savings to be 10-15% of their former household expenditure. This is achieved by simply purchasing less, which is made possible by the efficient use of household items.
If you could maintain the same lifestyle, would you consider making some changes to your household operations to save 10-15% on consumables? The good news is that according to the Johnson’s these changes not only save money, they actually improve your lifestyle. They experience less stress and have a happier outlook on life. They enjoy the challenge of creatively finding new ways to produce even less waste and run their household more efficiently.
Please enjoy this video of the Johnson family in action.
I think we can learn a lot from this determined approach and I applaud the efforts of the Johnson family. It takes courage to act against cultural norms, even when we’re advocating for lower impact, lower cost alternatives to the wasteful way most of us live.
How much trash do you produce, and would you be willing to change anything to reduce this and save money?
That was an inspiring video. I’m certain I wouldn’t want to live the way they’re living, but a few steps in that direction would be a good thing. I can completely relate to her describing the addicting nature of decluttering. I’ve experienced that first-hand. Thanks for sharing!
I like the feeling that decluttering gives too. Thankfully we get that feeling every 2-3 years courtesy of military orders
Taking a fresh look at recycling is new to me. Using this as a last resort does seem to make even more sense than using all that energy to create new containers and reprocess then endlessly.
Same here! That is extreme for me, but certainly can strive to reduce clutter.
Very inspiring indeed.
Refuse, reduce, reuse. I like this concept. Now, admittedly I couldn’t be anything close to as into things as some folks. However, at least on a small scale, having that mindset can save people money over time. Plus, less clutter can accumulate. I’m getting more and more into the idea of decluttering.
Decluttering can be applied many ways I think, From the files on our computer to the garage, games closet, or even unused furniture and books. I definitely think less clutter equals less stress.
Pretty cool. I can’t imagine doing that but they do make it look not so bad.
I want to know how much waste they created renovating their 1400 square foot home? It’s beautiful, they didn’t buy it that way!
Yeah, I’m sure that information is on a need to know basis!
People need to consume things, no arguments. They claim that using everything efficiently and aiming to throw nothing away is a better way to live.
I agree that we need to use less stuff. Just last week my wife got a free messenger bag and when she brought it home I was excited to get something for free. Then, when I thought about it… we already have two functional messenger bags and why would we need another one? I am sure there are other things that I don’t need. I will be working on reducing my clutter in 2012, that’s for sure.
It feels great having a clean out. More space to live in and think, plus you might be helping someone else with your generosity.
Great video. Amazing how they reuse so many items and produce their own cleaning products. Need to declutter too. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Buck. There are hundreds of ways to live more efficiently. Taking action is not always easy, even if it leads to an improved quality of life.
That was very interesting. We try to buy most of our produce from farmers market and always use reusable grocery bags.
My mother is very creative when it comes to reusing container form produce in the garden.
That was an inspiring video.
Sounds like you are doing more than most people Marissa. We try to use reusable grocery bags also, but I often forget to take them to the store. I need more discipline.
Great topic, especially the part about Refusing. That’s a good way to keep waste from even entering your home.
I don’t know what happened, but at some point last year the amount of trash we were putting out each week declined greatly. I think it is because we drastically reduced our food budget.
We also attempted recycling, but every time we put it out, the trash company refused to take it, even though we were following the guidelines. Rather than find out why, we gave up. Sad, I know. Maybe we should try this again.
Our trash collection is hit and miss sometimes. Last year I thought the truck missed our bin two weeks in a row. I called the city, and they came out immediately. Turns out the way I had put the trash in there was preventing it from coming out. There were air filters and pieces of wood that formed a mega birds nest. Anyway, far too much information but I thought I would share nonetheless.
I like how the first R is refuse… that’s a winner on a declutter and staying on budget level
Very inspiring video! I have also made it a point to declutter, now perhaps I can take it up a notch like this family 
Yes, that first R really solves the problem before it happens. Take it up a notch, I like the sound of that.
Well, I hope that they don’t reduce their home garbage the way some of the travelers along our road do. We live on a state highway and a lot of people driving by ‘de-clutter’ their cars – right onto our lawn! Disgusting. Why do people feel free to trash up our highways and byways (and my lawn).
Yes, I have to agree that that is disgusting. When we lived in Spain I noticed that there was less social inhibitions about litter. It was very normal for trash to be dropped everywhere, without a second thought. Sad.
Wow, that’s really impressive. I couldn’t believe that the only waste they had for four months was less than we do in a day. I don’t think I could do that much, but it would be nice to do better than we are.
This is definitely an extreme example. It seems challenging and somewhat contradictory to declutter while reusing everything. Maybe they have a large storage shed to keep everything that they may find a use for one day?
I’m not sure I could go to the extreme that they have, but I have dreams of starting a compost heap, and eliminating some of our trash that way.
It’s funny that you posted this. I’ve got a post coming up on Wednesday that takes a similar line, but without the nice video…
I think they are setting a great example. Why not try to live generating no waste. It is good for you and the planet. Plus it means you are making the most of your money too.
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