Zero Waste Denverite: Introduction
Let me take a quick moment to introduce myself. I recently moved to Denver with my husband and my husky from Philadelphia. In addition to completely uprooting our life, in seek of a better work-life-balance and to enjoy the things we love most — winter sports — I made another overhaul to our lives as we started our Zero Waste Journey. For us, this was definitely a “me” decision, but I will say, that my husband has been so supportive, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. While this lifestyle has taken on new life since our move to Denver, looking back on it — it just makes sense for me.
Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA my parents also enforced a low-key way of living. What do I mean by that… it wasn’t zero waste, but it was eco-conscious and it was definitely thrifty — and these two go hand-in-hand. I grew up composting, had a vegetable and fruit garden, recycled everything possible, usually bought things used, and had to re-use something until it was unusable. Learning these principles from an early age has played into who I am now, as a Zero-Waste Denverite.
Labels are such a funny thing — I have toyed with what “label” I fall into. For a while I was going with “minimalist” because I just like few-belongings, I like things simple. Over the past several years I have also gotten very into organizing — seeking inspiration from Marie Kondo and The Home Edit. Then I contemplated, maybe I am “thrifty” since I love to shop at Goodwill and I, still, will reuse anything until its last life. I also thought, well, maybe I’m a DIY-er, because, I would rather make things than buy them — you should see my house during the fall! Now, here we are, with another label — Zero Waster.
However, this time is different. For the first time, in a long time, I am really passionate about something. I want to get involved in this. I want to promote the zero waste lifestyle to anyone who will listen and I spend so much time thinking about it — its my newest challenge. While I can’t yet articulate the benefits of zero waste, saying that I am now carbon neutral, or not, I do know, that the amount of trash my family and I are producing is significantly less, and somedays it really is zero waste.
Join me on this journey as I learn how to be the best version of a Zero Waste Denverite and as we tackle any challenge in our path.
