Someone on a community group described her journey in zero waste as "swimming the other way" rather than going with the flow of what everyone else is doing, which was consuming massive amounts of chemicals and plastics. She instead was living life more green and with an emphasis on less waste.

My own journey to zero waste started from minimalism. And to be honest me and my husband we never really thought much about the way our lifestyle was influencing our environment.

It wasn't until I started watching documentaries about the topic that inspired me.

Also moving multiple times across the US, and having to pack and unpack everything we owned, really showed how much we were consuming.

Life was not simple and it made me unhappy, so we needed to make changes.

However making changes can be tough, especially when the majority of society isn't thinking about it. It's not to say they don't care, it's just so easy for people to stick to the normal flow of things, like using single use plastic items versus reusable items.

But, change can only happen if we think outside of the box.

For me, we started off by reducing our shopping, and then later on by meal planning, and composting, and eventually focusing on chemicals in our products and our consumption of plastic.

Eventually, we will find ways to multipurpose our household items, and find a balance with consuming things we like that are not yet plastic free to influencing others around us to do the same. Or at least think more consciously about how they are consuming.

Swimming up stream is not easy, but apart of our instinct is for survival, and if we want to survive the next generation in a healthy clean planet, we should just keep pushing against the tide until eventually we make it to the place we want to be.

You're in a bind and it's too late to cook at home, so you decide to go out and eat.  This happens to even the best of us once in awhile.

Rather than running to a fast food or fast casual restaurant to get your next meal, why not try a grocery store?

Yes, maybe it's not something that has ever crossed your mind. A grocery store....for eating out?

But yes, a grocery store is a simple place to grab our next meal.

Many places like Whole Foods, Sprouts or whatever local eatery is near you has some sort of dining area for people to get their next meal.

If you bring your Zero Waste Kit you should be able to eliminate a ton of unnecessary waste too.

• Opt for foods that are loose like fruits and veggies. 
• Usually water fountains are available so you can also fill your water bottles up too, drinking sodas and coffees aren't usually healthy, but water is always a safe bet. 
• Buy from the bulk isle and get your fill of nuts and dry fruits. 

There's no need to consume food that is heavily packaged, there should always be an alternative in your grocery stores to buy without waste. If there isn't now that's an advocacy project to work on!

P.S. You could also find other alternatives too like Ikea or your local cafe (but try to avoid packaging if you can).

Whole Foods in Brooklyn | Photo Credit http://www.brooklyneagle.com/

Today I was thinking about my zero waste habits, and thought about cleaning up my bag I take outside with me. We've been preparing for our move to San Francisco, so I wanted to make sure we had everything ready for our journey. Only 2 weeks left.

In my Zero Waste Kit I have some essential items, like water bottles, reusable sporks, cloth napkins, a collapsible container, and stainless steel straws. I also have a reusable bag, not include in the photo.

Attempting to go zero waste isn't too difficult as long as we're prepared.

Every step each individual takes to prevent waste will be a step towards a healthier planet.

What are you doing to reduce your waste? What is your Zero Waste Kit like?

Reusable versus disposable ♻️ Our reusable items we take for traveling in our attempts to reduce waste #zerowaste #reusuable #lesswaste #lessplastic

A photo posted by Dana Ng (@riceball1) on Nov 4, 2016 at 10:39am PDT

Sometimes we can become busy and overwhelm.

Work, life, family, society ... all these can become burdensome when we have to deal with managing all of these things with the limited time we have in a day.

24 hours never seems enough when you feel like you have a deadline.

But rushing through life and feeling stressed and upset about getting things done is all relative. People create limitations and restrictions in their lives when it comes to what they should focus on.

By focusing on things that matters we are able to get out of the rut, and begin to make progress.

When I first started working on minimalism, I was overwhelmed. There was just so much I could do, but haven't done yet, to reach the goal of living a life that wasn't cluttered by too many things, toxic people and unhealthy habits.

However, the way I found to really deal with my problems was to focus, and not just focus on what I hadn't accomplished, but to focus on what I could accomplish in the present.

The difference is that rather than viewing life from the problems first, I focus on positive actions. One of my approach to getting things done is to focus on what needs to be done versus how it makes me feel.

Emotions often cloud our judgement.

Feeling bad that I had to donate several bags of clothes, or toss away something barely used could easily absorb my entire day, but rather than allowing our feelings to become obstacles, instead we should build ladders to overcome these inhibitors in our lives.

When writing an application, oftentimes experts would talk about breaking down the problem into smaller solutions. Rather than attempting to get every feature on an application down in one go, instead by steady, modularizing the pieces of the whole, then the journey towards a finished project becomes less daunting and more doable.

Currently, I'm attempting to up my minimalist game, and focus on zero waste.

Making a life change can be huge. My husband is still adjusting to the changes, and after one tiff I realized that sometimes I may be ready to make changes, but others need time to adopt those changes too.

Slowly we have reduced our material consumption and became more conscious shoppers. Although I'm not a big fan of Leonard DiCaprio as an actor, I am glad that those with power and influence are making a stand against climate change.

Right now, as we experience the oddities of the weather from storms, earthquakes, extreme heat and cold, it is more important than ever to focus on things that matters. Electric -- sustainable and renewable energy sources are becoming more and more important as we attempt to find ways to clean up human's pollution.

But like the documentary Before the Flood indicates, we cannot just assume that industries and government are going to be the only ones that will make the changes.

We have to change our lifestyles.

Stop buying processed foods and consuming so much disposable goods.

We need to focus on our energy and water consumption. And go back to using natural, non-harmful chemicals.

So if more people begin to adopt the lifestyle of minimalism and zero waste, then it will become possible for this planet to be a healthy and better place to live in the present and in the future.