What is a minimal waste lifestyle? Why not a zero waste lifestyle? If you haven't heard about the famous term 'zero waste lifestyle' then you should look into some popular online figures like Bea Johson's Zero Waste Home and Laura Singer's Trash is for Tossers. There are of course critics about how can anyone possibly reduce their trash to fit into a small mason jar? Although zero waste is an awesome idea,  it is a difficult one to accomplish without making a lot of changes from food to shopping to the way you clean. Therefore, I am an advocate of a minimal waste lifestyle, which is one step removed from being zero waste and to be honest a more realistic reality because there will always be some type of trash produced if we plan to remain living in a modern society.

So, minimal waste is about not necessarily giving up on shopping or having to make every thing from toothpaste to ketchup yourself, but by encouraging alternatives and better decision making. We can talk about every aspect of how we can make better decisions in our life to reduce waste, but that would take a long time. So I propose a simple question that can get you started: "What is the impact?"

When we question our actions, and think mindfully about what we are doing then we can begin to start making better decisions to help reduce the waste in our lives. Food waste is one of my biggest pet peeves, and one that I'm struggling to improve. For me, whenever I purchase food I ask myself "Can I avoid creating waste from this purchase?" So it has led me to avoid buying items wrapped in plastic. Instead of buying meat sitting in plastic and styrofoam containers, we now go to the butcher and get a few pieces wrapped in butcher paper. Instead of eating so much meat, we buy loose vegetables or vegetables with recyclable containers. And instead of buying so much food that they spoil in the fridge we make sure to buy only enough for the week. Anything left over or scraps are tossed into the compost bin.

Intentionally living and not just carelessly consuming is definitely the step towards minimally waste living. Sometimes it requires sacrifices, but you may notice that over time these small changes will have a much bigger impact. Not only by improving your own carbon footprint and reducing climate change, but also by challenging society's belief that material goods and accumulation of wealth is what will make you happy. Because in the end all these material possessions will not bring you happiness, but weigh you down. Like the saying goes by Coco Chanel: