Today was trash day once again and I am very happy to report that our trash for one week fit easily into our new tiny trash can – even with the 75 photos [and other miscellaneous things] that I threw away for the Minimalism challenge! We had so little trash that we could go for months without needing a trash pickup. BUT we definitely need a weekly recycling pickup because our recycling can is filled to overflowing.

So now we have a new problem. We are recycling too much. It may be better than sending waste to a landfill, but it is still unnecessary waste. The key is still to REDUCE, then REUSE, and then recycle. The best way to reduce my waste is to not create it in the first place.

I have been purposefully choosing recycle-able containers over things that are not when I can’t find [or am not committed enough to buy] a waste free option. But I just need to get myself more strongly committed to the cause. Although, I will have to start with a recycling inventory because I don’t even know what fills that can each week. It doesn’t seem like much when I’m throwing it in the recycling basket – but then, come Wednesday, the can is entirely full.

For the next week, I’m going to pay closer attention to what we are recycling and see where I can make changes to reduce that too.

I guess I might as well start now…

[Side note: It would be SO NICE to not need a trash pickup at all because Brett and I are SO BAD at remembering to put the cans out! Embarrassing, but true!]

Oh I’m so excited to start analyzing our garbage…kidding.

Wish me luck!

Karis