 Hi there, I have 10 tips for you on how to live Zero Waste on a budget. My name is April Hepikassi and my journey to Zero Waste started about 5 years ago. I started living a Zero Waste lifestyle when my health took a dramatic downturn, which motivated me to look into natural treatments, to live a healthier and, in result, more sustainable life. Zero Waste is really about living more simply and within our means. It creates a great mindset for reducing expenses. Tip number one is for when you are looking to swap single use items with reusable alternatives. Shop your home for reusable items you already own instead of going out and buying new ones. When you replace single use items with reusable alternatives, you will also reduce the amount of money you spend because you are not continually needing to replace single use items. A great way to get started is to make a list of the single use items used in your home and come up with a reusable alternative. Putting priority on alternatives you already own. Some common reusable items I use are cloth napkins instead of paper napkins, reusable jars and containers with lids when buying bulk items at the store instead of taking the single use bag, reusable utensils, straw, chopsticks, shopping bag for when I go places that only offer options that are single use, and cloth rags instead of paper towels. Tip number two is to save recyclable items like glass jars, containers, paper, really anything that you would find useful in your home. For example, I use glass jars as a vase for flowers, a pencil holder for bulk shopping at the grocery store, or just in general for storage. That way I don't need to buy a vase or mason jars for buying bulk food. Remember that reuse comes before recycle in the five hours of zero waste and those five hours are refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. Tip number three is to use community sharing resources like the library or community groups that encourage giving and trading instead of buying and selling or simply borrowing from a friend. There are many ways to acquire items that don't involve money. Tip number four is to buy secondhand items instead of new as much as you can. Reuse items typically cost less money than buying something brand new. Hat and vintage homemade dress are some of my favorite secondhand items that I have found. If you're like me where you provide a meal at events for large groups of people often, look for used silverware at thrift stores instead of buying single use plastic utensils. It would have cost about $50 to buy this set of forks brand new at a department store. Instead I was able to find this set at a thrift store for only $6.50. Also I borrowed this set to family members or friends who are also hosting events that don't want to use the single use utensil. When you buy used you are supporting the secondhand market taking items out of the waste stream and giving new life to items. Each time an item is purchased you are voting with your money and supporting that business. So make sure to support businesses that align with your values. Tip number five is to embrace experiences over material things. In general when you switch to a mindset that reduces the material possessions in your life you have less of a desire to buy things. When you buy less you are putting less demand on the earth to supply resources to create these items. Find value in immersing yourself in experiences and especially in nature. Connect with family and friends, sit out in the sun, go for a swim in the nearby river, forge for wild edible foods. There are so many experiences you can indulge in that don't cost any money. Tip number six is to grow and forge your own food. Food can be a huge expense on a household. Seeds cost hardly any money compared to the amount of food you get from just one seed. There is also an abundance of wild food growing all around us. I can pick enough edible leaves from my yard to make a salad every day from spring to fall. This food is not packaged, processed or sprayed with chemicals and supports eating a whole food diet. Composts can be made right on the ground or with repurposed materials, making them very inexpensive. You can also join a community garden in your area. Tip number seven is to start composting. This dramatically reduces the amount of material that you would normally send to a landfill. These materials break down and create rich compost that can be added as nourishment in a garden and help you grow your own food. It can be as simple as a pile in your yard or a bin in your home. I have red wigglers in my home that I feed food scraps to. I have a bucket on my counter to collect all the compostable materials, like food scraps, peelings, hair, floor sweepings, and many cities have community drop off sites as well. Tip number eight is to repair items instead of buying a new one. Repairing extends the life of an item that could have otherwise been thrown away or recycled into something new. It also takes less resources from the earth because you are not putting demand on brand new items to be made. Tip number nine is to make your own items instead of buy them. When we make our own, we can repurpose items in our home that need new life, like turning a ripped sheet into a reusable bag, for example. Use what you have already to create what you need and then your waste and your expenses are reduced. Tip number ten is to reduce food waste. Food can cost a lot of money and when it spoils, it's like throwing your money away. One way I reduce food waste in my home is by meal planning, where I come up with meals for the week and write down the ingredients I need. I check my fridge, freezer and cupboards for the ingredients and make a list of the ones I still need. That way I'm not buying what I already have. I also plan a leftovers day and on that day, I move all the food that is about to spoil to the front of the fridge just like a store would do with their shell so that that food gets used first. I also do the pantry challenge where I have a lot of food left over for the week. This is where I use only what I have in my home to make meals. Sometimes I have to get pretty creative and I don't buy a certain food group until I'm out of it. I so hope you enjoyed my 10 tips to live zero waste on a budget and please share your tips in the comments below.