I’m writing this post for the overwhelmed zero waste newbie. It’s tough dealing with zero waste overwhelm. You probably don’t know exactly where to start or how best to begin to actually do it. The mountain of clutter, information, and potentially guilt feel insurmountable.
I’m a recovering hoarder. I come from a long line of hoarders; my mom keeps every single bowl, every lonely sock, and she kept all my baby clothes and shoes with the hopes of seeing her grandchildren wear it one day. I kept every single notebook, starting 1st grade and by the time I moved away from home, I could hardly close the door on my wardrobe. Full to the brim, yet having nothing to wear. All my shelves were full of souvenirs, notes, books, and remnants of childhood. I didn’t want to leave my mom with my room (but really a storage room) in her own home, just enabling my buy-use-store habits when she could have been using the space for something better. I’m glad to say that my mom was able to convert my old room into a hobby room/guest room, plus she now has some extra space for her stuff.
The reasons for my family’s clutter-full habits are varied, from just plain being taught not to be wasteful, not being taught or being unable to manage our consumerism better, feeling too guilty to say goodbye to items of emotional value, or wanting our stuff to go to good use somewhere, all capped off by my grandparents raising children after WW2 when resources were really scarce. Such lack and scarcity is something hard to erase from your memory, and the emotional legacy of that is really f* heavy. Like fighting with my parents every single time I wanted to donate or get rid of sth. heavy. Any attempt at decluttering or reducing consumption was met with massive anxiety from all sides, including me.
It’s normal you feel overwhelmed, it’s like learning a whole new way of existing in the world, different from what you were taught and it’s different from the current mainstream society. We aren’t taught to be zero-waste, or save, or take good care of our things. We are encouraged to spend more, have more, do more at every strep. When we turn our phones on, go on the subway, have a walk in the city, it’s ad porn everywhere. Plus, there are many choices, options, and voices in this space already. I get it. Until you start actually paying attention to all the products we buy, you don’t notice how plastic-addicted we are. We are told it’s fast, cheap, cleaner. The actual cost of plastic is hidden from us, like meat factories or the fact we were all exporting our trash to China until 2 years ago. And when you start looking for that info, it’s like opening a flood gate. Anxiety starts creeping in. Worry. Overload. Deer in headlights. Standstill.
What reduces overwhelm? Simple small actions. Stop listening to all the voices out there, and do something simple. Today. Do now and deal with your emotions later. Journaling is great to get all the tangles out, or if it’s easier for you, talk it out with someone. You can leave a comment here or write to me directly at natasha@zerowastethings. It will be me answering. I also have a FB page. It’s easier to do zero waste in a community.
Lesser known zero waste tips
You will most likely not see this suggested on any other zero waste blog, but if you are overwhelmed by going zero waste, you have to reduce the input of information. For heavens sake, get yourself an AD BLOCKER. They are free. I use uBlock on Chrome. You won’t believe how much space will free up and nothing will flash in your face constantly. It takes 1 min to set up. Stop reading, install it, then come back for 3 actionable steps you can do TODAY.
There is no perfect way to do zero waste. Sustainability has many angles and moving parts. As a rule of thumb, it’s more environmentally friendly to use up what you will use, donate or toss what you aren’t using and then start buying local and zero waste when you can. We all do what we can and practice being OK with the rest.
I might do a write-up on how I dealt with the guilt and anxiety in more detail, if there will be enough people interested, but for now… I want to keep it simple. Actionable.
3 actionable steps that will cut your zero waste overwhelm
3 simple things you can do that will have a big impact on your piece of mind and your zero waste lifestyle:
1. Swap for Ecoegg
Swap your laundry detergent and softener for EcoEgg. It’s one product that will save 2 plastic bottles per month, it replaces detergent and softener. There is no microplastic, no nasties, and the product works for 90% of their clients.
I just finished writing a full review with stain swatches for the laundry egg, but beware of not overloading yourself with more info (the short review is: is works and it’s comparable to organic detergents).
2. Swap for soap
Swap your shower gel for bar soap. I like the luscious triple-milled, glycerin bar soap or any of the more luscious varieties, but anything gentler will do. They still sell them in every grocery or drug store, you probably never noticed. Dove makes bar soap sold in paper boxes. It’s the simplest no-fuss, guaranteed to work well swap.
I have a full post on soap bars, when you are ready for it.
3. Swap for a shampoo bar
Swap your shampoo for Lamazuna bar soap (or Lush). Lamazuna has 3 options, dry, normal, and oily hair. It’s a good shampoo. I’ve tried several and it’s my favorite. If you are overwhelmed now, save trying no-poo or clay washes for later, if you want to give them a try. Make it simple and easy. Do a direct swap at the beginning of your zero waste journey that will not send your scalp and hair to a 2-4 week purging period. Lamazuna behaves more like a regular shampoo, no nasties, clean beauty brands, made in a garden here in France.
I’ve reviewed Lamazuna before and I have several more of their products in the light up. As a preview scoop-I like most of their zero waste products.
Those are the 3 things you can do today. Use up what you have at home, try to recycle the containers, and move on. Next… Start reading everything else on my zero waste blog. Just joking 🙂 You do not need more information when you are too overwhelmed. Just order the 3 things from the list today and start using them when your current products run out. Take one first step today and give yourself a mental and emotional break. Come back to it after the overwhelm settles and you start feeling good about your initial swaps. Living a zero-waste lifestyle requires a lot of trial and error, customization, and just seeing how a product or system works for you. That is why I review products, including the ones I don’t like. I buy the products myself, as I need them and write an honest review.
If you are a complete beginner start with my zero waste essentials guide. It’s tailored to newbies, swapping out items that make the biggest impact and I explain the why and how to do it so you will have maximum success.
Recap for stopping overwhelm when going zero waste
- keep it simple and actionable
- do the 3 zero waste swaps mentioned
- reduce the amount of information
- stop ads from influencing your emotions and behavior
- stick to easy direct swaps to start
- remember what you are feeling is OK and normal
- connect with zero-waste groups
*Links above are affiliate. Opinions are mine.
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