Is a Zero Waste Life Right for You?

What a strange question to discuss in a blog that talks about all things zero waste. But just as this blog isn’t only about being zero waste, neither is sustainability. This question is of course therefore, worth asking. We talk a lot here about making decisions that are right for us, and not necessarily what’s popular at the moment. Zero waste, and the varying levels of it, are no exception to this consideration.

Like any decision in life, there exist many considerations that need to be made in order to declare whether or not a specific change is right for us. Sometimes those considerations will allow zero waste changes to take a front seat, and other times it means that it will take a back seat.🚙

You still have to live life

We live in a society not catered towards living a zero waste life, it actually caters to the opposite. It’s much much easier to choose single-use disposable items, especially when those items come at no cost to us, or at least that we are aware of. Because of this, going zero waste requires 💪🏽energy...especially up front. And we only have so much energy in a day.

At LastObject we are proud to bring objects to you that make it even just a little easier to make the switch to certain zero waste products. That being said, we wouldn’t want you to choose going zero waste over other more important essentials that need attention in your life. We can’t truly be sustainable if our ❤️health and other important parts of our lives aren’t taken care of.

If there are certain problems in life that we need to solve, and those problems can’t afford to give energy to other things like going zero waste, then it’s okay for zero waste to take a back seat!  👍🏽

How we are choosing to treat our bodies, our lives, and those around us, is far more 🔗connected to how we treat the planet than we may think. They may actually be one in the same. Because of this, improving our personal lives and taking care of ourselves can do far more for the planet, especially in the long term, than we may think. 

Some other sustainable changes may take priority

Zero waste isn’t the only way to become more sustainable, there are countless other ways.🥑 And some of those changes may even be easier for us to make. Additionally or otherwise, there may exist more meaningful or impactful changes to make that are more suited for us personally. Our footprints are all different, both in size and in the makeup of them. 

Because of this, there are certain changes that we feel we should make more immediately than others think they should make. When we are trying to build momentum for changes in our lives, it’s very important that we start with the more meaningful things. Doing things because others told us will be much more difficult than if we arrived there on our own.

Maybe we already create minimal waste (good job!), and while we may still be able to reduce our waste even further, it might be a wiser use of our ⏳time to focus on other areas of our lives for now. 

When is zero waste right?

There are many of us out there however, that have a lot going on in our lives, but we can’t stand to not make a change for the environment and zero waste is a great option for us. Because we may create a lot of waste, or it just feels like the right (or fun) thing to do.

We may be already making other sustainable changes in our lives, but zero waste seems like it would compliment these changes rather nicely, and it feels pretty 🧠natural as well!

Point is, we probably know whether or not zero waste is right for us.

Eventually zero waste may take more of a priority, and at some point in our lives it should. Reducing our waste is a rather essential piece to our sustainable journeys, both in the physical footprint as well as the impact that zero waste has on our mindset.

But is it right for you?

The question that spurred this entire blog post, and is yet to be answered. That’s how a lot of these posts go. Not because we are avoiding the answer, but because we 🤷🏽‍♀️don’t know the answer. Only you do. What we can do is provide the considerations necessary to make a more clear decision. We probably already know what’s best for us, but we simply need help justifying it.

Beyond deciding whether or not any zero waste is right for us, we can further decide what level of zero waste is right for us. If you feel that some zero waste changes are right for you, then you can always just take it slow by switching to a reusable water bottle, or a tissue pack!

The world isn’t so ◼️◻️black and white, and we don’t have to either be all in or all out. Some zero waste changes may be right for us, and others may not. So keep that in mind too.

Luckily, these considerations can be applied to really any change we are hoping to make in our lives. Sustainable or otherwise. So, take everything with a slight 🥨grain of salt, because at the end of the day only you can know what’s best for your life.

Enjoy the ride and all of the inner workings that exist within this beautiful life and sustainable journey. 💚