My minimalist wardrobe

At the beginning of my minimalist, zero waste journey clothes, shoes and accessories were a difficult area for me to reduce. I suffered from bulging drawers and not enough hangers. Once loved items stayed packed away for sentimental reasons. Extra purses, bags and shoes piled up. Never worn scarves and hats tumbled from shelves. Each special occasion was a chance to buy new things, only for them to be worn once and then stored away. I once had a whole section of my wardrobe for “special party dresses” that never ever got worn. The section was so big that I’d have to move them to get to my everyday clothes every day. But now…

… now it’s all gone.

And it’s been gone for years. I feel proud and lighter. I never worry about not having enough space for clothes. I have more than enough to wear every day. I rarely worry about what to wear. I can clearly see and remember what I have. Packing for trips is easy. Washing day is simpler.

Photo by Sarah Dorweiler Unsplash

How I reduced (and reused) my wardrobe

By now you know the punchline is Marie Kondo. And it’s true, I read the Marie Kondo book in 2015. And I tidied up my clothes, shoes and accessories. I held each item, I kept what filled me with joy and the rest I discarded. It was actually quite easy for me to let go using the Konmari method. It’s like I’d been waiting to do it for years but hadn’t known how. Once I did I was able to reduce everything – new clothes, old clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery. It all went.

My discarded items weren’t really discarded and many went on to have a variety of new lives. I sold the newer or good quality pieces at local consignment stores or on Poshmark. I gave some away to neighbours via my hyperlocal Buy Nothing group. Others went as donations to charities and some are being used as wash cloths and rags in my home.

How I retain a minimal wardrobe

Since my initial purging I’ve kept my closet pretty minimal. There’s lots of ways I do that.

Each time I go to my wardrobe and touch things I do the same Konmari method. I regularly find things that need to move on and I let them go.

I do not buy anything I haven’t wanted for, at least, a few weeks. And although I’m not on a strict “you can’t buy clothes” plan some years I have only brought a single item of clothing all year.

Likewise I don’t have a strict “one in, one out” policy but I certainly try to reuse and reduce before I add more.

Black, grey, black or blue denim, dark blue and, rarely, white are the only colours I allow in my wardrobe. This means that more of my clothes go with each other and I’m not buying new items to “go with” unusual items in my closet.

I do not window shop. I do not shop for fun. Basically, I never shop without a very specific item in mind. Think “I need x item for x purpose.” I usually know the colour (usually black) and the material I want (usually cotton). I’ve often researched the item online before and know exactly what I want before I buy online or head to the store.

I do not buy dry clean only clothes. And I avoid special fabrics. These tended to get left unwashed for weeks (or months) and so become useless wasted items in my closet.

I avoid all special occasion clothes or shoes. And buy only items that have multiple purposes.

I buy good quality brands and items that last longer and have a resale value. Doing this means I buy fewer things that last longer. It also means my items are way more likely to have a second or third life after I’ve decided I’m done with them. And this option to resell or regift means I’m more likely to remove them from my closet rather than keeping them around to avoid wasting them.

I’ve also worked hard to source ethical and, if at all, possible U.S. made products. This means my options are limited and helps me be very thoughtful about what I’m adding to my closet.

Zero waste principles

When going zero waste there are lots of new choices to be made. There are new ways of doing things that require new methods and new tools. Each new choice requires a decision. And often each new choice has many options and making decisions about what to do can be hard.

Many people will present their choices to you as the zero waste truth and the one way. For example you must have a bamboo tooth brush, a mason jar and a reusable public radio sponsored cotton tote.

My belief is that each individual needs to make their own choices based on their own circumstances. The most important thing about going zero waste to me is being thoughtful about your consumption and being thoughtful about your choices. Thinking about what is important to you and setting some principles will guide your decisions and make decisions easier.

Here are my current principles, in the order I apply them

  1. Use less (by refusing and reducing)
  2. Reuse and repair
  3. Choose something that will rot rather than be recycled
  4. Choose recyclable over non-recyclable
  5. Choose recycled over new
  6. Buy locally made
  7. Buy locally sourced. Walk
  8. Buy ethically made products
  9. Buy in bulk

How do you make zero waste choices?

20 ways that normal people can reduce plastic waste

I recently heard a podcast where the hosts were bemoaning the fact that the UK government were not treating global warming as a crisis and were not “telling citizens what to do”. I get it, if our governments don’t care, then how can we be expected to care. But I think it goes both ways, if I don’t care or demand change, how can I expect my government to care or make change on my behalf.

Let’s talk about plastic waste. Bans, fees and legislation can help reduce single use plastic waste. But it’s also something that you can reduce by yourself without much effort.

Over the last 5 years our household has strived to reduce our waste. In particular we have aimed at reducing single use plastic waste. It’s been a journey. Every few months we will try something else to reduce as much as we can. We’ve also reversed some changes or simply forgotten because life is full and we aren’t perfect. We are also still learning what “best” means as somethings aren’t as simple as they may seem.

After trial, error and persistence here are 20 changes our family of 3 has made to reduce our plastic footprint.

1. Bringing our own shopping or grocery bag to the store or supermarket

2. Carrying a reusable water bottle or drinks container wherever we go

3. Buying loose items in bulk over prepackaged items (pasta, oats, couscous, dried fruit, nuts, dried herbs, spices)

4. Bringing our own produce/ vegetable bags to the grocery store or supermarket

5. Using plastic free toilet paper

6. Buying milk in glass milk bottles and returning the bottles

7. Buying the most concentrated dish, dishwasher or laundry detergents so less packaging is needed

8. Replacing plastic drinking straws with metal (adults) or silicone (children) when needed

9. Reducing our shampoo and conditioner use. One of us uses no products at all, one uses only conditioner and one uses conditioner and occasionally shampoo

10. Refilling foaming soap containers with diluted castile soap as shower, hand wash and dish washing liquid

11. Making our own household cleaners stored in glass bottles and jars

12. Making simple stock cupboard items like peanut butter, salad dressing and pickles

13. Buying stock cupboard items in card, glass or paper over plastic (soy sauce, marmite, vinegar etc…)

14. Refusing single use plastic items such as cups, plates, cutlery or silverware

15. Joined our local buy nothing group to share and receive unwanted items and give plastic items a longer life

16. Using compostable diapers and compostable baby wipes

17. Using silicone covers, waxed cloth or glass jars over plastic wrap

18. Switching to tea leaves to avoid teabag plastic

19. Juicing fruit at home rather than juice brought in plastic from a store

20. Gifting experiences rather than physical gifts

This looks like a long list but we’ve done this slowly over 5 years. Not every day is a zero plastic day but it’s better than it used to be and it will continue to get better.

Zero waste on the road in Alaska

Back in August 2016 I tried to be zero waste for a month.

My first two weeks were documented at the time. My second two weeks were taken in Alaska as part of an RV-img vacation.

Here’s my waste from that trip.

It’s a lot more than I had hoped for. I had some excuses, some frustrations, some wins and some thoughts.

The excuses

Although I was only saving my waste I didn’t use all of these items on my own. Milk, bread, meat wrapping etc… were all co-consumed with my husband.

We were on vacation so we treated ourselves with snacks and beer that we may not normally have had.

We were traveling and didn’t have our own containers and were shopping at unfamiliar places.

The frustrations

A big part of my frustration with those two weeks in Alaska was the vigilance required to keep refusing. I received coffee in a paper cup, two plastic forks and condiments in plastic containers simply because I assumed (incorrectly) that eating in the restaurant / cafe meant I’d get non disposables.

The second frustration was with items that were refused but were received anyway. In one case after I looked around and saw soda in glasses I requested water with no straw and still a plastic cup and a plastic straw came to me.

There were also more cases of no non-waste options. For example, at least one restaurant told me that could not get me water from the tap and offered plastic bottled water only so that meal I ate without a drink.

I applaud Denali National Park and Kayak Adventures Worldwide for being environmental aware. But was still surprised to see in both cases their provided lunches contained lots of non recyclable packaging. I refused most of it and ate snacks I brought with me but I was expecting at least recyclable options given the messaging I’d previously seen from these organisations.

There are no dairy farms in Alaska so no really fresh milk. We went with the tetrapak stuff for cereal and tea etc… but I missed our reusable glass from Strauss.

The wins

We were able to find a public recycling site in Anchorage to recycle many things that would have just gone to waste.

When we collected our RV a kind person donated cooking gas, kitchen towels, dish washing liquid to us to use instead of throwing them out. Likewise we were also able to donate a book I read to the Salvation Army and gave a travel guide to a family when we returned our RV.

We both took our reusable drinks containers and reused as many plastic bags as we could. We even reused some plastic wrap that we received unexpectedly.

I was surprised and happy to see that many of the Fred Meyers’ stores had a decent selection of food in bulk.

And we were able to get local bread (no packaging at all!) and some local beer in bulk containers.

The future

There are still many easy wins and low hanging fruit for all of us. It was surprising for me to see just how easy it is to use many many plastic bags, cups and cutlery each week when not at home. It’s not great now but it means there’s tons loads of opportunities for many more people to embrace easy wins like reusable bags, reusable cups, no plastic cutlery, no plastic straws and local bread.

Plastic Free July 2019

It’s plastic free July soon and my way of doing a little extra this year is to share some long overdue posts about what we do, and have done over the last 4 years, to get closer to zero waste.

I’ve found that over the years people sharing their tips, how-tos and ideas on how to go zero waste, plastic free and minimalisM have been the most helpful to inspire us and help us reduce more and more. My upcoming posts aim to do the same thing. Stay tuned.

I’m a Thankful for… September 30th 2016

My thank yous from one day awhile ago. 

  • Beautiful birthday cards 
  • Minimal gifts
  • Kisses in bed
  • Hot shower
  • Tartine morning buns and ham croissants 
  • Stand up time changed 🙂
  • Riding my bike
  • Birthday messages from friends and family near and far
  • An autumn chill in the air
  • Getting on Bart without pushing 
  • A new Boniver album
  • Happy Birthday in stand up 
  • Working with a friend  
  • Honest feedback from customers 
  • A cup of tea
  • Handshake from a friend 
  • Lunch with a friend
  • Cupcakes
  • A hug from a colleague 
  • Chairman Bao
  • A cider
  • A chat with a friend
  • Silly gifs in Slack 
  • Not looking totally shitty in a selfie 
  • My Dad Wrote A Porno
  • Drinks after work
  • A glass of water 
  • Chats with I
  • Boozey chai
  • Bike ride home 

Autumn Days 

No I mustn’t forget.

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled
And the silk inside a chestnut shell.
Jetplanes meeting in the air to be refuelled.
All these thing I love so well

So I mustn’t forget
No, I mustn’t forget.
To say a great big
Thank You
I mustn’t forget

Clouds that look like familer face
And the winters moon with frosted rings.
Smell of bacon as I fasten up my laces
And the song the milkman sings

So I mustn’t forget
No, I mustn’t forget.
To say a great big
Thank You
I mustn’t forget

Whipped-up spray that is rainbow-scattered
And a swallow curving in the sky
Shoes so comfy though they’re worn out and they’re battered
And the taste of apple pie.

So I mustn’t forget
No, I mustn’t forget
To say a great big thank you
I mustn’t forget.

Scent of gardens when the rain’s been falling
And a minnow darting down a stream
Picked-up engine that’s been stuttering and stalling
And a win for my home team.

So I mustn’t forget
No, I mustn’t forget
To say a great big thank you
I mustn’t forget.

Thank you Estelle White 

First two weeks zero waste 

My zero waste month is up.

I haven’t been able to keep all the waste together because I travelled for two weeks in the middle so I’ll give my updates and reflections in batches. 

Here’s the first lot of waste. It’s the waste for about 11 days. It was collected at home. 

The lows

It looks way more than I thought it would. It’s nowhere near zero. 

The most frustrating things are the veggie packaging, receipts, the junk mail and a stupid plastic straw that arrived in a glass of water I asked for. I refused things as much as I could but it was surprising how much waste seemed pointless but just gets given to you. 

The highs

Although there was more waste than I’d hoped maybe it’s not too bad for two people? As I live and share meals with my husband many of our meals and therefore, associated waste were for two people and so if I consider only half of this to be mine I guess it’s not too bad. 

The vast majority of the waste is recyclable (in Oakland where we live) which is good as it means landfill waste is minimal. Also with the exception of the veggie packing most of the packaging was also paper based which I prefer over plastic waste. And even the veggie packets had an upside. I contacted the farm who provided me my CSA veggie box and asked if I could have mine without the plastic and they said that they’ll try to do that as much as they can. I haven’t had a box since then as we’ve been out of town but here’s hoping its plastic free. 

I also started to use Catalog Choice again to help me with the junk mail and contacted the newspapers that just appear at my house to try to get them stopped. Sadly over the last 3 weeks I’ve seen no changes but here’s hoping.  

I also switched to loose leaf tea for a lot of my cuppas to reduce the tea bag waste.   

And I thought twice before using paper or stickies as a todo list and just used my phone instead. 

I am also pleased that I resisted chips, individual snacks at work and individual yoghurt pots for a whole 11 days. No junk food waste in here from me! 

My Zero Waste month

Oh hello, you’re here. Guess what? I pledged to do a month zero waste. 


I have some experience trying to be zero waste as I have been working my way up to it for a while. I’d say that this year I have been lower waste. Lower waste meaning I have a water bottle, use cloth bags for veggies, we compost, we buy shampoo/conditioner/body wash in bulk, we buy some dry goods like rice, pasta, black beans in bulk and I make my toothpaste. 

Primarily I did the pledge because I wanted to take stock of where I am and see what other options there are for me to reduce more. 

My rules for zero waste month

1. Recycling is waste 

2. Purchased by me before the month starts is still waste 

3. Purchase by someone else before month start is not waste

4. Used solely by Ian is not my waste 

5. Food wasted is not ok (e.g. I’d rather eat something in packaging than let the food waste) 

My hopes for zero waste month 

  • One whole day of zero waste
  • Take reusable containers on holiday to reduce waste while traveling 
  • I have all I need. No non food purchase packaging
  • Get new ideas and alternatives for waste
  • Reduce junk mail
  • Refuse unnessecary packaging 
  • No packaged snacks
  • No plastic yoghurt pots 
  • No disposable coffee cups
  • No disposable plastic bottles
  • No plastic personal items such as toothpaste, shampoo, moisturiser etc…
  • No plastic bags or Ziplocks etc…
  • No plastic cleaning product packages 
  • No plastic packaging on toilet paper 
  • No plastic cutlery
  • No plastic straws 
  • No plastic milk bottles 

I’ll update what I learn and what I waste over the next few weeks.