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Zero Waste DIY Deodorant with 4 ingredients. Stored in reused containers.

Why zero waste isn’t always Instagram-pretty

Posted on March 18, 2019July 8, 2022

Today I’d like to clarify something. Search online for zero waste lifestyle and you see pictures of mostly reusables. Pretty reusables, a closet full of perfectly matching jars, an amazing looking reusable cup or a beautiful set of lunchboxes. I love those pictures, but today I want to tell you that this isn’t always reality. Here’s why zero waste isn’t always Instagram-pretty.

Instagram

Let’s be honest, Instagram and other media are always used to show off how good things are. Photo’s look good, feeds look good, everything mostly looks good. That’s not just zero waste, that’s all subjects social media. To me it makes sense, of course you would like to show the best version of you. The best version of your life. I do this too, everybody does this. But sometimes we tend to forget that. Instagram isn’t everything, and it surely doesn’t give a realistic view all the time.

Zero waste on social media

And so, that’s the case with zero waste too. Bloggers show their beautiful little trash jars, which can be intimidating. We show the beautiful pantries with, all matchy and perfect jars. We show mostly wins, usually because we have been in this proces for a long time. Therefore, we are prepared and we have come a long way. We have learned things already. So, this makes that it can all look awfully beautiful sometimes. Because, zero waste can be beautiful. If you have all the perfect-looking items (like a maison jar, a lunch box, utensils, cloth bags, napkins and I could go on), to me zero waste can seem like a high-standard lifestyle. Like you need to be rich to live zero waste. Like you need to buy all these things to even start reducing your trash.

Zero waste in real life

What I really want to emphasize here is that it does not have to be pretty. You can start today, you don’t need all these flashy items. Zero waste is about using what is already there, is stead of buying all these new things just for it to look pretty. And the reason I am telling you this is because I had that feeling in the beginning too.

I remember myself buying RVS straws because I figured I needed that in my new lifestyle. I did not think about whether I really needed it (I never used straws before that at my home), but I just thought I needed it since everybody who reduced their trash needed it. Same goes with lunch boxes. I have people asking me: ‘Why do you have a plastic lunchbox when you try to live a plasticfree life?’. It’s a logical question of course. But why would I throw away the box I already have and then buy a pretty stainless steel one. That is the complete opposite of zero waste, since you throw something in landfill which is still perfectly fine.

New stuff

Also, the production of new stuff causes a lot of pollution too. That’s why I bought a plastic secondhand bottle. Try to use what you have. Same goes for a pantry. Why throw all of the glasses you still have away so you can buy fancy new ones which look better, that’s missing the whole point. Need handkerchiefs? Cut them out of some old fabric you still have. And of course that is personal, since everybody has a different home and so different stuff. But that is what makes it so much fun too! Why all look the same way? So no, zero waste isn’t always Instagram worthy. I have a thrifted plastic bottle, an old lunch box and two thrifted plastic bins for my composting system, so what?

Is zero waste ugly?

So, zero waste isn’t always Instagram-pretty. But that does not mean it has to be ugly. Handmade handkerchiefs or cloth bags from old fabric can be beautiful. At thrift shops you can find these beautiful jars for this pantry you want when one of the current ones breaks. You can use your oldest bag you love but never use for buying zero waste produce at the farmers market. The point is: it does not have to be new. Zero waste is definitely not about buying new stuff. It’s about making use of what you have.

Did you think zero waste always has to be Instagram-pretty too?

Yours sincerely,
Romee 

9 thoughts on “Why zero waste isn’t always Instagram-pretty”

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  2. Linda - Zaailingen says:
    March 21, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    Amen! Ik hoorde laatst nog iemand zeggen dat ze haar Dopper weg wilde doen omdat die van plastic is en RVS beter zou zijn. Maar waarom zou je in hemelsnaam een goed functionerende waterfles vervangen? Ik heb ook allemaal lelijke plastic bakjes in huis, maar die werken nog uitstekend om kliekjes in te bewaren dus die gebruik ik mooi totdat ze uit elkaar vallen.

    Reply
    1. Romee Hoeksma says:
      March 23, 2019 at 11:22 am

      Ja, same here! Vind het beeld dat soms gecreëerd wordt echt jammer, maar goed, de meeste mensen snappen het zero waste concept wel hoop ik!

      Reply
  3. SJ says:
    April 11, 2019 at 2:52 pm

    Love this!

    Reply
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ABOUT ME

 

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

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Ik gebruik al jaren een bamboe tandenborstel, die van Humble Brush 🎋. Naast dat hun product duurzaam is, doen ze ook wat moois met de winst. Dat maakt een product nou echt eco-positief! Je leest meer over poetsen met bamboe op mijn blog, via de link in mijn bio. Vandaag op de blog: iets waarbij de relatie met eco-positief leven wat indirect is: diëten. Januari is dé maand waarin veel mensen weer aan het diëten slaan en daarom leek het me goed om deze post nog net op de valreep in januari te delen. De blog van vandaag gaat slechts over één van de vele nadelen van diëten: het leidt ons af van wat echt belangrijk is 🧐. Weten waarom ik dat denk? Lees dan nu het artikel via de link in mijn bio. Ik ga dit jaar weer de challenge aan om de winter door te komen zonder de warming aan te zetten. Hiervoor ging mijn essential, een warmwaterkruik 💦, kapot. In deze reel laat ik je zien hoe ik een ‘nieuwe’ tweedehands kruik kocht. Vandaag te lezen op whenateengoesgreen.com: een inspirerende documentary over Greta Thunberg: I am Greta. Een documentaire over hoop, maar vooral over doorzettingsvermogen 🔥. Lees het nu via de link in mijn bio. Meer vegan producten in de schappen, yay! Gisteren probeerde ik voor het eerst de vegan lentil tikki masala saus van Patak’s 🧑🏼‍🍳. Zie in deze reel wat ik ervan vond. Vandaag verscheen er een nieuw artikel op mijn blog over: 5 dingen die ik niet koop. Want we denken vaak dat we dingen écht nodig hebben, maar vaak is dat niet zo 🧠. Check het artikel via de link in miijn bio. Vorige week verscheen er een artikel op mijn blog over alles wat ik nieuw kocht in 2022. Dat is een groot deel van mijn negatieve impact. Deze week was het tijd om te kijken naar de andere kant van de medaille. Vandaag lees je op mijn blog een artikel over al mijn positive impact in 2022 🌞. Je vind de link naar het artikel in de link in mijn bio. Afgelopen week verscheen er op mijn blog een artikel over alles wat ik nieuw heb gekocht in 2022. Eén ding op de lijst waren deze onderbroeken (een stuk of 20). En nu denk je misschien: waarom zou je in één keer zoveel onderbroeken kopen? Op 31 december, nog net op de valreep in 2022, kwam er een video online op mijn Youtube-kanaal over voedselcoöperaties. Ik denk namelijk dat voedselcoöperaties ons voedselsysteem democratischer en eerlijker kunnen maken 🥦.

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  • The last secondhand clothing inspiration of 2022
  • Dieting distracts us
  • Documentary: I am Greta
  • 5 things I don’t buy
  • My positive impact in 2022

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