Every time you throw out something which can be used, it's tantamount to throwing away your money. While yes it might not appear there are ways you can save some money if you find some way to use whatever it is you want to throw out. Many things can be recycled, reused or re-purposed. Before you throw out anything ask yourself if there's some other way you can use it. If there is then keep it. Do you guys always aim for zero waste?
Sometime ago, me and husband had a talk about wastage. Our food normally have leftovers that we do not give to our dogs since they have food of their own. What we thought about was buying a piglet to feed the leftover food but that wouldn't sit well with the neighbors. So now my husband is the one budgeting the volume of food to be bought from the market. I know it is difficult but he is managing it so well.
Zero waste would obviously be ideal, as even recycling isn't what everyone assumes. I don't like contributing to the mess our planet is in (and under), but obviously with the way we're set up now, it's almost impossible. I do reuse everything I can.. I've gotten really good at it over the years and if I don't want to reuse or can't, I donate. I donate a lot more now than ever, because I also like to own very little, so I would rather get it out of the house than have it take up space.
I do aim for zero waste where possible. Sometimes you do just have to throw things away but I try not to if there is some way I can make use of something. I like to repurpose whatever I can so that it only gets thrown away when I really have no more use for it. Food scraps get given to my dogs where possible, if I can't use them myself that is. I also compost things like lemons or orange peel. I add egg shells into this as well. Garden scraps also go into the compost where possible instead of in the bin. Old clothes get repurposed into rugs or blankets. Even old socks I give to my dogs to play with before I completely get rid of them. I keep old shoes that aren't suitable for going out in to use in the garden. I use cans or boxes for storage as well so I'm throwing away as little of those as well.
Well, some things just have to be thrown away or you will end up a hoarder. Even if you can possibly re purpose something, some items we will never use again or get around to doing "that project" we know we could do. I have this little glass do dad that has a corner broken,,,and I can't even remember to buy super glue to fix it so...the idea of saving everything for something is not very practical. However, it is good to try not to throw away so much.
I try to recycle everything I can so that it is not going in the trash. This has cut down on the amount of garbage I have each week. A surprising amount actually. What I cannot reuse, I will sell or find someone to give it to especially clothing. Anything I cannot get rid of those ways I will put to the curb and people will pick it up before the trash goes.
I try and not be too clingy to my items because I'm very disorganized and have a potential to become a hoarder so I try my best to throw out items as much as I can. That said, I just try and be more careful and also I try to find some uses for my old items for others like I would donate clothes and furniture instead of just throwing them away outright. There are junk divers in our area too so I'm sure many of my goods do find a home if they are still usable enough before they reach the city dump even if I just throw them away, but I do try and give them to charities instead so I can be assured more that they will still get used.
