I have started to live minimalism and more responsible for our environment about a year ago. However, it is not real to live ZERO waste of course. I would like to name it how to live more ecological and how to leave here the smallest environmental footprint.

I just got landed with a zero waste lifestyle. Since I remember I have been loving nature and we recycled waste a bit at home. My grandmother has got hens, so I got in touch with some kind of composting too. That’s all to me before ME.
But once. It was Co-founder of Institute of Circular Economy in Bratislava Ivana Maleš talk which left strong feelings inside of me. She writes a blog about zero waste living too. So my zero waste journey has started somewhere here, and it slowly and inconspicuously drags in also my boyfriend.

CHANGE BY CHANGE

Therefore we switched from plastic bags to reusable bags, we bring food containers everywhere and hand in hand with these little steps we are moving forward to minimalism, slow fashion and eating nourishing food from local produce. Did I mention a worm compost farm? Let’s start step by step.

MINIMALISM

Minimalism. We did not find it. It found us. More often than we like we found ourselves in situations, we were looking for something, sorting, cleaning. And we found out that we were living in the middle of plenty stuff we were not using. Or worst we did not know we own. The verdict was obvious. Out!
Firstly, relocation to Australia helped us enormously because we arrived with minimum things. Even though our first year here looked like a never-ending move, we tried really hard to not make our stuff larger.

Secondly, we settled down into a small apartment (30 square meters) for a long-term period. Keeping in mind that sooner or later we will move away again. So it did not make sense to fulfil this place with a lot of things. Besides this all, we realized that we fell in love with minimalism. Certainly, it is much easier to find anything you need. Less mess = bigger freedom = less riddance.

OUR NEW LIFESTYLE IN PRACTICE

A SLEEPING CORNER

What we bought was a bed and everything related. The cheapest one of course and surprisingly very comfy. You can sleep there, but also make a mess from a dinner lazy evenings. Our favourite tweaks – lights work on little solar panels. We saw anything works on solar energy in Australia ☺

A KITCHEN

We bought two plates, two glasses, two wine glasses, two cups, a pot, and a spoon. Everything else gave us our friend who had a surplus. Almost everything else we found on the street. Yes, on the road.

STREET SHOPPING

There are regular council pickups of old furniture, books, whatever in Sydney. It means that you can get rid of anything you do not want or need anymore. You just put it out on the street on Sunday and dustman will pick it up on Monday. The aim is to avoid dumping. What more, anyone can take what will suit him. We arrange our whole apartment like this.

A LIBRARY

It takes us a few Sunday’s walks, and now we have a small library with approximately 40 books half of them brand new in value around 30 AUD. My weakness is a mint lamp also from the street.

Our future plan is that when we move again, we take all books to small libraries in the neighborhood for people to borrow. Maybe we will create one in a community garden in Bondi ☺

IT WAS MY BOSS WHO DONATED MY BOYFRIEND WITH A GUITAR

My boss from a café where I was working is a passionate collector of guitars. One day he came to me that he was thinking about all my weirdness ala reduce, reuse, recycle and made a conclusion that he does not need so many guitars and he would love to give one to my boyfriend. He wanted to make someone happy and make something useful in zero waste area. Believe it or not, he did it ☺

A DINING ROOM

A dining room is a funny story too. It was my boss’s father who gave us a table and two chairs he had left from his café from the past. He knew that we just moved into an apartment, so he asked me if we had any furniture. We had a bed and yoga mats like a couch 😀 I had to promise I will send him a picture of our new dining room 😀 Or a corner?

A BALCONY

Once upon a time, there were women walking home, and when she was almost there, she spots a pile of furniture for council pick up. There were a retro armchair and a folding table. If you knew her, you would not be surprised by the fact that she picked up all her strength and took both an armchair and a table. A day after her boyfriend arrived home holding a wooden chair in his hands. So each one from the happy couple brought a piece to place her and his ass. And they lived happily ever after 😀

UNBELIEVABLE

These council pickups happen every two weeks in our area, every two weeks!!! I cannot believe how many things people buy and throw out, very often brand new in original packaging.

In case minimalism sounds useful to you and you will decide to make a fresh air in your wardrobes and homes don’t forget to think about every single piece of stuff before you throw it to landfill. Maybe you will realize that there is someone who needs it and will be happy to have it. You won’t believe how many people could actually need just that one piece you don’t like anymore. Or merely find someone who doesn’t have enough money to buy it. It will be a big good what you make by a little act 😉

Tu sum up, we are not living in such adverse conditions in Australia that we couldn’t buy all this stuff by ourselves, but for what? A landfill will be smaller thanks to us. And we can spend our money on anything more beautiful, like travelling or surfing.