A zero waste day in pictures

Since I was whining about how boring zero waste can be, I decided to just show you what it looks like for me on a typical day. Except this wasn’t really all that typical — I worked from home instead of braving the roads.

Hey, it’s still snowing! Decide to work from home.

Make coffee. Repeat like 8 more times. 😉 Coffee cone, reusable filter, my beloved travel mug, and a jar of bulk beans. The red bowl is filled with used grounds I’ll compost later.

Breakfast = my beloved no bake energy bar. Tastes better than a store bought bar (even Abby agrees and she’s my granola bar fiend) and is made totally with bulk bin ingredients + my homemade zero waste apple butter.

Time to take the crock of compostables to the bucket by the front door. (See? I told you we had tamales for dinner on Wednesday.)

Huh. Wonder why I’m starting to feel claustrophobic?

Not gonna lie, worked in my yoga pants the first half of the day and took a shower on my lunch break. Safety razor, paper-wrapped soap (the plastic keeper thing I bought when we were newlyweds) and bulk shampoo. I’ve been buying unpackaged soap, but Eric wanted to try something different.

Lunch is a clean out the fridge kind of ordeal. The tortilla was wrapped, and so is the cheese. Homemade refried beans, lots of fresh veggies from the produce section and a side of homemade ranch dressing. Salsa in a jar. I’d rather buy our locally-made salsa, but it comes in plastic. The jar is a good reusable size, though.

Quittin’ time! Start making dinner. I keep forgetting to mention how bummed I am my Amish butter people added this sticker to what used to be just paper packaging.

Fridge clean out continues with panini (um, really just a fancy name for “toasted cheese sandwiches”) and sweet potato fries (my one new recipe for the week. They were awesome). Totally zero waste.

Decided to attempt cinnamon rolls with the new Artisan Bread recipe I’ve been keeping in the fridge recently. Spoiler alert: It makes really ugly rolls, but they’ll get eaten anyway. Used my homemade powdered sugar and bulk spices.

Run a load of dishes using detergent in a cardboard box.

Fill the sink to do the remaining dishes by hand. Bulk dish soap and a scrubby do the trick. And no, Bear should NOT be up there, but he climbs up my clothing, I’m not even kidding, so he can reach the counter. Brat. 

Finish cleaning the kitchen by spraying down the counters. Run out of cleaner. Make a new batch in the sink. Add Citrus Bliss essential oil. I think it smells like pine and orange. It’s not the worst.

Reading my book for the second time because that’s the Trisha way. It’s weird to think this book doesn’t really exist.

The end. I was trying to figure out how to capture working from home, but decided you don’t need to see my messy desk. Let’s just say that email is a godsend — I can get into all my files that way — and that I managed to crank out one full story, a draft of another, and start on a third. Weird to write with no distractions.

Next up: You gave me some great ideas, and I’m trying to decide which to tackle first. And I’m sorry, friends, but it will have to wait until Wednesday. Have some family commitments this weekend and won’t be able to write.


12 Responses to A zero waste day in pictures

  1. love this post. Live reality shows your ‘simple year’ in action.
    When I worked full-time and had the opportunity to work at home (per computer), I found I got much more done than usual because I stayed focused without all the office distractions.

  2. Enjoy your weekend! I enjoyed the pics — I’m into the day-to-day things.
    I have a question about your pictures — what kind of camera do you use? I have a basic camera (not an iphone, not a fancy camera) and my pictures don’t look as good inside, especially without full light. So you have something special, or do something? Thanks.

    • My big girl camera is a Nikon, but these are just taken with my iPod Touch. I like it for blog photos because it’s more portable and quicker to upload. The Nikon is mostly for work.

  3. Hi Trisha , your life isn’t boring to me. Wow those snow scenes are so beautiful. I live in Johannesburg South Africa and we have survived a really bad drought, floods and a few heat waves. It looks like the weather is finally on an even keel. I get encouraged hearing your struggles. It is really tough here as the only vaguely bulk shop is expensive and far. We are blessed with lovely fresh vege unwrapped and the Cheese shop and Butchers put up with the dotty old lady’s ideas. Sadly there isn’t a great deal done here apart from a face book group who is arranging for Bea Johnson to come out in May! As we say Sterkte (strength ) Enjoy your lovely snow and peace. Eleanor

    • Eleanor! I appreciate the kind sentiment. It’s interesting to hear about zero waste options in other parts of the world. I know I am really lucky here with my options, but I love that you are doing what you can. That’s all we can do. Awesome about Bea… That’s really cool. Peace to you as well!

    • I actually just used canola oil, but I think any oil would work. And no, no cooking sprays. Don’t like the container, plus I have allergy issues anyway. I was pleasantly surprised by the recipe — simple but super tasty!

    • We are surrounded on three sides by cherry and pear trees. It’s interesting living by orchards because you’re really in tune with the seasons. Spray is an issue, but cherries don’t get the treatment pears and apples do, which is what is closest to us. Our little slice is very peaceful. 🙂

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