To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
THOMAS EDISON
Minimalism is a wasteful lifestyle. It would not appear that way on the surface because the minimalist has so few things. That is what is seen. What is unseen is all of the items that the minimalist tossed out. If you want to see those things, you only have to look at the hoarder that refuses to throw anything away.
I don't care to be a hoarder, but I also don't care to be wasteful either. The easiest way to not be wasteful is to not buy the item in the first place. If you don't need it, then you shouldn't buy it. That rule alone eliminates a great deal of waste. But like it or not, things do have a tendency to clutter in your life. Here are some of those things.
1. Food.
You know the line. You shouldn't waste food because there are starving kids in China. I doubt anyone is starving in China these days, and I doubt that leftover pizza that hits the dumpster is going to make much difference. But people have a nasty habit of accumulating leftovers in the fridge as new food is prepared or bought. Wasting that food is stupid. Some finicky types will claim that they hate leftovers. It has to be fresh. Yet, most fast food or microwave food is a frozen leftover from some factory.
You should learn to eat the leftovers before accumulating more food. In addition, you should experiment with making a potluck soup. Many leftovers can be combined into a nice soup that never tastes the same way twice. You can toss in that baked potato or those beans you didn't finish. If you turn your nose up at this, know that many restaurants make appetizers like potato soup or potato skins from leftover baked potatoes.
2. Plastic grocery bags.
A plastic grocery bag should never leave your home empty. I use them as small trash bags especially in the bathroom. They are also great to carry in your lunchbox or your car for any trash you may accumulate. When you stop for gas, you just toss your grocery bag trash bag into the receptacle at the pump.
3. Junk mail.
The mailbox today resembles a receptacle for the Trash Delivery Service that we know as the United States Postal Service. But the waste of junk mail can be turned into a resource. The backs of many of these pitches are blank sheets of paper. I cut these up to use for scratch paper and note paper. You can use this paper to also leave notes for your wife each morning letting her know that she is still awesome. Other people with homesteads have taken to turning the accumulated junk mail into homemade fire logs for their stove or fireplace.
4. Condiments.
We rarely eat out. When we do, we always end up with condiment packages of ketchup, taco sauce, or what have you. These can be used in your lunchbox, or you can use these packets at your meal at home. I make sure to use the packets before I hit the bottle.
5. Coffee bags
If you drink a lot of coffee, I recommend keeping the leftover bag as an air freshener for the bathroom. We put the empty bag inside the waste basket which helps to cover some of the odors there. Then, it gets tossed out with the garbage.
6. Plastic peanut butter jars.
These jars make great containers for dried beans, grits, popcorn, and other items. You can also store buttons for sewing or screws and nails in your shop. You should never buy a dedicated container for these things when you already get them for free.
7. Christmas cards and birthday cards.
If you get Christmas cards or birthday cards, you can recycle these into homemade cards to send back out. Just cut out the pictures you like to paste into your own cards. You should never buy Christmas cards or birthday cards when you can make one yourself and is always appreciated by the ones who get them because you took the time to make them.
8. Cigar boxes.
If you have a relative or friend who smokes cigars or you smoke them yourself, those cigar boxes are handy to have. I use one for the junk mail scratch paper I already mentioned. Another one makes a nice jewelry box. Still another is used as a landing bin for my keys and wallet.
9. T-shirts and old socks.
When your T-shirts and socks get raggedy, you should cut them up into rags. An old sock is great on a Swiffer mop in place of those high dollar Swiffer sheets. Just wrap the old sock around the head and squirt cleaner on the floor.
10. Candle jars.
Women love those Glade air freshener candles and Yankee Candles. I love the glasses and jars they come in. Those Yankee Candle jars can find new life as candy or cookie jars. As for the Glade glass containers, they make good shot glasses or whiskey glasses for the drunk in your life.
11. Bubble wrap.
If you get stuff from Amazon or elsewhere, they cram bubble wrap in the boxes to keep your stuff from getting broken. You can use them again if you ship gifts to relatives and friends that you made at home, or you can place them on the outside or inside of your windows as extra insulation during the winter months to conserve on your heating bill or save you from having to toss another log on the fire.
12. Mentos gum containers.
These are great for holding raisins and nuts for your lunch pail.
Gentle Reader, you get the gist of what I am getting at. You can make much use of a lot of things that hit the garbage pail, so this is not an exhaustive list. Your typical minimalist will turn his nose up at turning your garbage into useful items. But once you get into the habit and mindset of not wasting things, you must now avoid the temptation to hoard things in anticipation of future needs. This is when the craziness starts. For instance, if you have a closet full of empty peanut butter jars, you can pare these down. A good strategy for keeping these recycled treasures from becoming a hoard is to have a treasure chest of these items. When that chest becomes full, you throw additional items away. This chest should be about the size of one trash bag. When you go beyond the size of one trash bag, you are on your way to becoming a hoarder.
A hoarder is someone who recognizes correctly that there is much treasure in trash but reasons incorrectly that throwing away trash is throwing away treasure. But an empty jar is worth nothing unless it can save you money. Once it is no longer a matter of saving money, then it is just trash.
Thank you for reading!
