Loud Life

Fengshui (pronounced fungshway) is an ancient Chinese art of placement that is thousands of years old.

And although many Westerners have now heard of fengshui, most of them are still confused about how to implement it in their homes.

This article contains 85 easy fengshui tips to enhance prosperity and happiness in your life.

Ready? Roll your sleeves up and let’s get to work!

Feng Shui Basics

Does All This Stuff Really Work?

Fengshui works even if you don’t understand or believe it. But the results will take less time and be more successful if you approach Fengshui with an open mind.

Despite metaphysical aspects of fengshui, much of it is just common sense.

For example, if you enter a dark foyer, you feel uncomfortable and your first response would be to turn a light on. By doing that, you've implemented a Fengshui “cure” to correct an unpleasant situation.

If you sit at your desk with your back to the door, you’d feel uncomfortable and distracted knowing that someone could come up behind and startle you, so you position your desk so that you can see the door when sitting at it. This, too, follows Fengshui principles.

The goal of fengshui is to create harmony and balance in your environment. This involves positioning furniture in comfortable arrangements, eliminating clutter, establishing convenient traffic patterns through your home, and other sensible ways to make life easier.

Our homes mirror our internal state. Your home can reveal a lot about you. If, for example, an area in your home is cluttered, you’re probably experiencing blockage or confusion in the part of your life that corresponds to the cluttered area. A cluttered desk might indicate a troubled career.

CH’I

Ch’i (pronounced chee) is the vital energy that animates all life. When ch’i is gently flowing through your environment, it creates prosperity and abundance in different areas of your life.

Fengshui works on removing obstructions in your home that are interfering with the proper circulation of ch’i in a way that nurtures our lives and brings us health, wealth, and happiness.

YIN AND YANG

In Chinese philosophy, there are two fundamental energies that are omnipresent, existing in everything: yin (feminine) and yang (masculine).

The goal is to create balance so that neither force dominates.

Yin is considered to be receptive and inward-oriented. It’s restful. The yin force is present in darkness, silence, water, curved shapes, and cool colors.

Yang is assertive and outward-directed. It’s stimulating. The yang force is present in light, noise, fire, sharp lines, and warm colors.

By combining the two energies in your home, you create a balanced, harmonious environment. But in some cases, you may want to emphasize one of the two energies.

For example, you might choose to create more yin energy in your bedroom to create a peaceful, restful space. So you add more soft, curved furniture, install low-level lighting and paint the room blue or green.

The Five Elements

Chinese philosophy holds that the world is composed of five elements—fire, earth, water, wood, and metal. By incorporating these five elements into your environment, you can bring balance into your life.

Each element produces a specific effect. Fire stimulates, earth stabilizes, water softens and blends, wood expands, metal strengthens and concentrates. But too much of one element can have a negative effect. Too much fire in a room can create tension and instability; too much metal can cause rigidity.

If you notice a dominance of one element around your home, you can counteract its influence by adding other elements.

In some cases, you might want to adjust the elements in your home in a way that will bring the conditions you desire. For example, add metal objects in your study to help you concentrate, water (aquarium, for example) to your living room to help you relax.

Types of Feng Shui Cures

The following is a list of different types of cures:

1. Unblocking Cures

They promote clarity and eliminate obstacles.

These cures include cleaning, eliminating clutter, repairing, and furniture arranging.

2. Activating Cures

They stimulate energy and redirect the flow of ch’i.

These cures include moving objects such as wind chimes, mobiles, fans, or electronic equipment – including phones, computers, stoves, TVs, etc. Even physically walking through the rooms can stir up energy and encourage movement in different areas of your life.

3. Stabilizing Cures

When energy moves too quickly, it can produce sudden changes and instability. These cures slow down or concentrate ch’i so it’ll nourish different areas of your life properly.

These cures include heavy statuary, rocks, large pieces of furniture, and square shapes.

4. Augmenting Cures

They promote growth and increase.

These cures include live plants, wooden furniture, and mirrors.

How To Get Positive Energy At Home? (Feng Shui)

Fengshui links each room of your home with an area of your life, depending on the room’s primary purpose. For example, your bedroom is associated with love and relationships. The study, where you work, corresponds to your career.

Below are some Feng Shui adjustments and cures that you can apply to each area of your home.

#1. Front Entrance

This is where Ch’i enters from and nourishes your home. A large, easily accessible front door will allow more ch’i into your home than one that is small and difficult to find.

This is why it’s important to make the entrance to your home as appealing as possible - including your sidewalk, porch, yard, front steps, etc.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Front Entrance

1- Clear away clutter and obstacles that obstruct access to your front door.

2- Put higher wattage light bulbs near your front door to make your entrance clearly visible.

3- Keep your front entrance in a good state. Fix broken doorbells and make sure your door opens easily.

4- Put out a welcome mat. This simple gesture will make your front door feel more welcoming for guests, but also for ch’i to enter.

5- Hang a wind chime between you and the street or a noisy neighbor. Wind chimes send unpleasant vibes away from your home.

Related: How to Get Rid of Clutter One Room at a Time The Eco-Friendly Way?

#2. Entryway

The area just inside the front door is as important as your front entrance. It allows ch’i energy to flow into the rest of your house.

If you enter the house and encounter the wall, you’ll feel blocked, and this is how ch’i responds, too. To adjust the situation, a picture with a distant view could expand the area.

Also, make sure your foyer or front hallway is well-lit and cheerful.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Entryway

6- Install adequate lighting.

7- Use a warm color like yellow or orange to paint your entrance area.

8- Eliminate clutter and organize your front hall closet, if you have one.

9- Keep stairs, doors, and other architectural features in good condition.

10- Place a circular glass bowl or jar near your front door where you can put your keys, sunglasses and other items. Symbolically, circles represent harmony and glass improves communication between the inhabitants of the home.

11- Hang a circular mirror in your entrance area.

12- Hang a photo that signifies friendship to the right of your front door.

#3. Living Room

Make sure that ch’i is going to flow smoothly into your living room and that the pathway into your living room is unobstructed by clutter, furniture, or other barriers.

Living rooms are usually where you entertain guests and socialize with other people. Therefore, this room is connected with your social life. The condition of your living room reflects the quality of your social life. The more cheerful and comfortable your living room is, the more positive your social life becomes.

But your living room is also important for your well-being since you spend a good amount of time there. So keep this area clean and decorate it attractively.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Living Room

13- Arrange furniture so that, when seated, no one’s back is to the room’s main entrance.

14- Don’t position furniture so near the room’s entrance that it blocks passage into the room.

15- Arrange seatings in a way that enables people to communicate easily with one another, without having to shout or lean forward to converse.

16- Provide a variety of lighting sources, for a different activity like reading, watching a movie, etc.

17- Place three throw pillows on your sofa. The number three symbolizes activity and change.

18- Place a live plant in your living room. Plants symbolize growth, life, and well-being.

#4. The Kitchen

Kitchen is the area that provides nourishment for you and your loved ones. In Feng Shui, the kitchen is connected with prosperity and money. A clean, efficient kitchen, where everything works properly, suggests a comfortable financial situation.

Fengshui considers the stove the focal point of the kitchen. It’s where food is prepared and money is generated.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Kitchen

19- The best position for the stove is that which allows the cook to interact with other people and his back is not to the kitchen’s entrance. But if it’s not possible, try not to cram the stove into a corner in a way that will make the cook feel constrained.

20- Hang a mirror above your stove. By reflecting your stove, you’re doubling its wealth-generating capabilities.

21- Hang a mirror beside your stove. If your stove is positioned in a corner and you feel cramped while cooking. A mirror will create the illusion of more space.

22- Use your stove regularly, even to just make tea, to generate wealth.

23- Keep the passageways through your kitchen clear to allow ch’i to flow smoothly.

24- Declutter and organize cabinets and pantry to improve efficiency and reduce confusion or discord.

25- Make sure all appliances are working properly.

26- Keep your kitchen neat and clean (especially your stove) to prevent health risks and financial decay.

27- Fix a leaky kitchen faucet. A dripping faucet in the kitchen can cause money to slowly leak away.

28- Place living plants in your kitchen to increase your prosperity. For best results, choose a plant with round leaves.

29- Install adequate lighting. Brighter lights stimulate positive ch’i and prosperity.

30- Replace a burned-out light bulb in your kitchen. Broken or nonfunctioning objects can diminish the positive effects of ch’i and interfere with your ability to attract wealth.

31- Illuminate dark corners in your kitchen. Hang a light-catcher from the ceiling in a shadowy corner to reflect light into the darkness.

32- Install a ceiling fan or place a portable fan in your kitchen. It’ll stimulate ch’i in order to promote activity in financial areas.

33- Place a small water fountain in your kitchen. Water promotes growth and reduces stress and helps you relax, so you digest your food better.

34- Place a wooden container on your kitchen counter. Wood cures encourage growth. An open bowl or container suggests that you are open to receiving abundance.

35- Empty the kitchen trash every day. This practice keeps germs from lingering in your kitchen but also clears away what you don’t need or want.

Related: How to Start a Zero Waste Life? (A Beginner's Guide to Trash-Free Home)

#5. Dining Room

The dining room is where we nourish ourselves and interact socially. In this sense, dining rooms can combine the qualities of the kitchen and the living room. In Feng Shui, the dining room condition indicates the quality of your finances and social life.

A cluttered dining room can suggest confusion or stress in both areas of your life. If you don’t have a dining room in your house it doesn’t mean that you have no friends or money. But you can still apply the following tips to where you eat meals.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Dining Room

36- Avoid arguments during meals.

37- Don’t watch TV or check your phone during meals—focus on interacting with your fellow diners or enjoy the moment if you’re eating by yourself.

38- Clear away the clutter.

39- Repair broken furniture.

40- Hang a picture of a landscape with a distant view in your dining room. This is especially beneficial if your dining room is small doesn’t have a window. It opens up the enclosed space and expands your financial opportunities.

41- Hang a rectangular mirror in your dining room. The mirror expands the room—and your money-making ability. For best results, place a rectangular mirror as this shape symbolizes growth.

42- Position the chair of a person who wants to increase his income so that he faces the entrance to the room when seated.

43- Place four chairs around your kitchen or dining table. The number four symbolizes stability, this will help you to stabilize your finances and save money.

44- Use a yellow tablecloth on your kitchen or dining table. Yellow represents gold as well as the sun’s life-giving rays.

#6. Bedroom

The bedroom is the place where intimate, private activities like sleeping, dressing, making love happen. The more comfortable your bedroom is, the better your love life gets.

Broken or worn furnishings and clutter can signify breaks in communication, confusion, or a relationship that has withered.

The bedroom is also linked with health. It’s where we rest at the end of the day and rejuvenate ourselves.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Bedroom

45- Avoid keeping or using screens (phones, computers, or TV) in the bedroom. They can create mental clutter and bring influences from the outside world.

46- Position the bed so you have a clear view of the door when you’re in bed, but not too close to the door that you may feel you don’t have enough privacy.

47- Don’t place your bed directly under a window where drafts can cause illness.

48- Move your bed if it shares the same wall as a toilet.

49- Don’t store things under your bed.

50- Eliminate clutter and clear passageways through your bedroom.

51- Keep closet doors closed to prevent personal matters from becoming public knowledge.

52- Install dimmer switches on lamps so you can adjust lighting for different activities or moods.

53- Illuminate dark corners in your bedroom. Dark corners sap positive energy. Position a lamp so that it illuminates a dark corner of your bedroom.

54- Place two pink or red throw pillows on your bed. The number two and the colors red/pink are cures to attract romance.

55- Hang a picture of a romantic couple in your bedroom to help focus your intention on enhancing your love life.

56- Choose rectangular, wooden frames for pictures. The wood element helps to promote growth in an existing relationship or attract new love into your life.

57- Hang a picture of two swans in your bedroom. Swans mate for life. Therefore, it’s a good image to improve your love life.

58- Remove photos of people other than you or your romantic partner. Pictures of other people distract your energy away from your romantic partner.

59- Put red or pink silk sheets on your bed. Silk appeals to your sense and is conducive to romance. Red and pink stimulate loving feelings.

60- Put on a small amount of perfume before going to bed. Jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, musk, or patchouli are scents that are linked with love and passion.

61- Put a live plant in your bedroom to stimulate growth in romantic areas. For best results, choose a plant with pink or red flowers or one with rounded leaves.

62- Install a ceiling fan or place a portable fan in your bedroom. Fans stir up ch’i and keep your love life from growing stale.

63- Hang a circular mirror in your bedroom. Circle shapes promote harmony, and mirrors open up new possibilities.

#7. Bathroom

The bathroom is where personal cleansing takes place and where wastes are flushed away. But it’s also where ch’i can be flushed out of your home. This is why you need to minimize opportunities for ch’i to flow out of your house taking prosperity along with it.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Bathroom

64- Fix faucets and showerheads that drip or toilet that runs. They’re wasteful but they can also cause your money to leak away, too.

65- Close toilet lids and shower curtains to cover any visible drains that can suck ch’i.

66- If a bathroom is next to your work area, hang a small mirror on the outside of the bathroom door. This deflects the positive ch’i that’s generated in your work area away from the bathroom and prevents it from going down the drain.

67- The presence of water creates strong yin energy. Balance it with bright lighting to add more yang energy.

68- Keep your bathroom clean, neat, and well-organized.

69- Set a live plant on the tank of your toilet. The plant draws ch’i away from the toilet, keeping it from being flushed away.

70- Hang an attractive picture on the wall above the toilet.

#8. Study/Home Office

Working from home has become increasingly common in recent years. In feng shui, a study or work area in your home is associated with finances and career.

If your work area is cluttered, you may have trouble attracting new opportunities or money.

Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Study/Workspace

71- Position your desk so you can easily see the entrance to your work area when seated. If your back is to the door, you may feel uncomfortable and have difficulty concentrating because someone might come up from behind and startle you.

72- Put a live plant in your work area. Plants promote growth and encourage career success and financial growth. For best results, pot the plant in a shiny golden, silver, or copper container.

73- Install adequate lighting. Brighter lights stimulate positive ch’i and prosperity.

74- Replace a burned-out light bulb in your office or work area. Damaged or non-functioning objects in your work area can cause financial obstacles.

75- Illuminate dark corners in your office or work area. Darkness saps positive ch’i and diminishes its power to produce wealth.

76- Combine the colors red, yellow, white, black, and green in your work area. These colors correspond to the five elements. Combining them establishes balance and can help you improve your earning capability.

77- Clear the passageways to and through your work area to your ability to generate wealth is enhanced.

78- Place a paper money bill on your desk and put a stone or ceramic paperweight on it. This cure is especially beneficial for people who struggle to save money. The weight symbolically keeps money from disappearing so quickly.

79- Frame paper money and display it prominently in your office or workspace. This obvious symbol of wealth will help you attract money. For best results, choose a golden-colored frame.

80- Move your desk if it shares a wall with the toilet. This prevents money from going down the drain.

81- Hang a wooden wind chime in the window of your workspace. The wind chime’s movement activates stagnant ch’i and stimulates your money-making potential.

82- Display awards, trophies, et cetera in your office or workspace. These reminders of your past achievements enhance your self-confidence and help you become even more successful.

83- Empty the wastebasket each day. Don’t let clutter and waste accumulate where you are working to generate money.

84- Eliminate clutter to make room for money and new opportunities.

85- Clean up your digital files. Make room for new money-making opportunities.

Personal Chi: Work On Yourself, Too

Make sure your personal chi is balanced and positive by taking care of yourself —emotionally and physically. You may consider trying the following:

1. Aromatherapy
2. Color therapies using different colors
3. Light therapy by spending time outdoors
4. Massage & chiropractic treatment
5. Exercise and Yoga
6. Meditation and visualization
7. Positive affirmations
8. Breathwork

Like This Post? Please Consider Sharing It On Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

References

• Portions of this article were adapted from the book 10-Minute Feng Shui: Hundreds of Easy Tips and Techniques for Prosperity, Health, and Happiness, © 2002 by Skye Alexander. All rights reserved.

We drag the garbage can to the curb at night,

And by the morning, we wake up and find that all the trash disappeared, as if by magic.

The trash is out of sight, but does that mean it should be out of our minds?

After all, our trash doesn’t just evaporate because the garbageman whisked them off.

Waste ends up in our landfills, contaminating our environment and leaching toxic into our air, soil, and water.

Many people share the misconception that Zero Waste involves extensive recycling when on the contrary, Zero waste views recycling as a last resort solution.

Today you’re going to learn how to live a richer life while generating less waste through the Zero Waste lifestyle.

Let’s get started!

Benefits of The Zero Waste Lifestyle

Most people share the erroneous belief that Zero Waste is time-consuming and expensive which cannot be farther from the truth.

Financial

Zero Waste makes financial sense because it:

• Reduces consumption of products.

• Reduces storage, maintenance, and repair costs.

• Eliminates purchasing disposables which saves so much money over time.

• Encourages buying in bulk which is generally cheaper.

• Advocates selling or renting unused item for a profit.

Health

Zero Waste lifestyle improves the overall health of your family through:

• Discouraging buying plastic packaging and products which reduces risks of plastic leaching into our food such as BPA.

• Using natural remedies and cleaning products, which reduces exposure to chemicals.

• Advocating minimalism, which reduces dust accumulation and accompanying allergies.

• Advocating outdoor activities, which provides cleaner air, vitamin D, and an increase in physical activity.

• Encouraging buying whole foods by limiting the consumption of highly processed ones.

Time

Zero Waste lifestyle saves your time by spending less time buying, transporting, unpackaging, storing, cleaning, maintaining, etc.

How to Live Zero Waste On A Budget?

The 5 R s of the Zero Waste Lifestyle

A zero waste lifestyle isn’t just about using eco-friendly alternatives, but rather decluttering more and recycling less.

It offers practical solutions to living richer and healthier by following a simple system of:

1. Refusing what you don’t need.

2. Reducing what you do need.

3. Reusing what you consume.

4. Recycling what you cannot refuse.

5. Rotting (composting) the rest.

Keep in mind that the goal isn’t achieving absolute Zero Waste life, considering the manufacturing practices in place. Zero Waste is an idealistic goal to help you generate as little waste as possible.

Step 1: Refuse (What You Do Not Need)

Having a Zero Waste home begins with your behavior outside the home.

Consumption doesn’t only occur through shopping. It’s also the junk mail you receive, the goody bag you leave with every conference, the flyers given everywhere…

Consumption is both, direct and indirect – the things you need, and the things you don’t and didn’t ask for.

The first R (refuse) addresses the indirect type. It stops needless waste from getting into our homes in the first place.

There are many things you don’t need that you can refuse.

The following is some of them worth considering:

• Single-use plastics: such as disposable plastic bags, straws, bottles, cups, lids, flatware.
• Freebies: such as food samples, goody bags from conferences and events, hotel room toiletries.
• Junk mail.
• Unsustainable practices: such as accepting business cards we will never consult, buying excessive packaging.

Step 2: Reduce (What You Do Need And Cannot Refuse)

Reducing is the best immediate way to the environmental crisis. Reducing also allows us to favor experiences over stuff. Not to mention that it saves you so much money by questioning the need and use of several purchases.

Less means less to worry about, plan, clean, store, repair, or dispose of later.

The following are some practical ways to implement the reducing strategy in your home:

1. Evaluate past purchases.

• Assess the true need and use for everything in your home.

• Consider letting go of things you always thought you have to have.

• Choose repairable/quality over disposable/quantity.

• Donate or sell previous purchases.

2. Curb current and future consumption in amount and in size.

• Restrain your shopping activities.

• Reduce packaging by buying in bulk instead.

• Reduce your car usage by biking or walking instead.

• Downsize your home if you can.

• Buy less quantities or in concentrated form.

3. Decrease activities that lead to consumption.

Reduce your media exposure (TV, magazines) and leisure shopping. Not only will you start using less, but you’ll also find satisfaction with what you already have.

Refusing is a pretty clear strategy to reduce waste. You simply have to say no. Reducing, on the other hand, is an individual affair. You need to assess your own needs given the realities of your family life and financial situation. If you’re living in a rural or semi-rural area, reducing car usage can be difficult (carpooling and combining your trips can help reduce car usage).

Step 3: Reuse (What You Consume And Cannot Refuse or Reduce)

Many people believe that recycling is a form of reusing a product. But while recycling is about reprocessing a product and giving it a new form, reusing, on other hand, is about using the product in its original form several times to maximize its usage.

Reusing is reserved for things that cannot be refused or reduced, which means that you won’t have to find uses for lots of things.

For example, a plastic grocery bag can be reused as a packaging alternative to bubble wrap, but since they can be easily refused, a zero waste home doesn’t need to find uses for them.

1. Use more reusables for packaging and wasteful single-use products:

• Bring reusable shopping bags to the store.

• Swap disposables for reusables/refillable/rechargeable/repairable and durable such as using cloth hand towels instead of paper ones, safety razor instead of plastic ones, etc.

2. Alleviate resource depletion.

• Share items that you don’t use frequently like lawnmowers through borrowing, loaning, trading, renting peer to peer, etc.

• Start buying used through thrift stores, garage sales, antiques markets, Craiglist, eBay, Amazon, etc.

3. Extend the useful life of necessities.

• Repair broken items.

• Rethink the use of some item such as using mugs as penholders.

• Reuse shipping boxes and single-side printed paper before recycling them.

Step 4: Recycle (What You Cannot Refuse, Reduce, or Reuse)

Zero Waste home isn’t about recycling, it’s more about reducing waste through refusing what we don’t need, reducing what we need, and reusing before recycling.

Recycling is still a better option than sending an item to the landfill. And even though it’s a form of disposal, it provides a guide for making better purchases best on the awareness of what recycles best.

This is why it’s essential to choose products that are made of materials with high postconsumer content, are compatible with your community’s recycling policy, and are likely to be recycled over and over like steel, glass, and paper.

Step 5: Rot (Compost) The Rest

Rotting or composting is the process of recycling organic materials, allowing them to decompose over time and return their nutrients to the soil. The outcome of what we put in our compost is rich soil or what gardeners refer to as “black gold”.

Choosing a compost type is a personal choice but there are certain things to take into consideration like:

Location. You can use your yard to set up a compost system, but if you live in an apartment, your choices will be narrowed down.

Food consumption. Most composting devices accept fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells but some can also process meat, dairy, and bones, which can be really convenient for nonvegan Zero Waste homes.

1. Kitchen and Grocery Shopping

Having a Zero Waste kitchen isn’t as hard as you might think. All you need is to set a system in place and maintain it.

Decluttering

Take everything out of your cupboards and only put back items that survive the following questions:

1. Is it in working condition? Is it expired?

If it’s not, repair it now, sell it, donate it, or discard it once and for all, and for expired food, compost it.

2. Do I use it regularly?

If you haven’t used it in months, you probably don’t need it. Donate or sell kitchen items you don’t use.

3. Is it a duplicate?

Set a maximum number or device space limitations for stuff and discard the rest.

4. Does it put my family’s health in danger?

Teflon (nonstick), aluminum, and plastic can be dangerous to your health.

5. Do I keep it out of guilt?

If it’s a gift that you never intended to purchase and don’t really need, let it go.

6. Could another item achieve the same task?

A bottle can act as a rolling pin and a knife can do the same job as a salad cutter.

7. Is it reusable?

If not can someone make use of it? Don’t be afraid of letting go, focus instead on the benefits that will come from living with less.

There will always be the dreading of “what-if I regret things”. But trust that letting go of things is a small sacrifice in order to gain control of your kitchen.

Kitchen items that usually don’t survive the questions above are the following: Food processor (hand-chopping can be faster and save time cleaning) microwave, can opener, rolling pin, loose cutting boards, cake pans, placemats, decorative items.

Grocery and Errands Lists

Shopping lists aren’t just time savers, they also help reduce grocery trips and impulse purchases.

A great way to use shopping lists is to keep two lists: one for groceries, and one for errands. Clip them near your pantry so that every time you notice that you’re running out of something, you can write it on the list.

Use single-side printed paper and fill it from the bottom up so you can tear off the bottom and bring it to the store.

Cell phones can be a good paperless alternative, but not as convenient for on-a-whim jotting.

Shopping In Bulk

Bulk shopping allows you to refill containers and buy as much or little as needed.

To reduce packaging waste when shopping in bulk, you’ll need the following:

• Totes.
• Cloth bags. Use it to stock up on dry bulk like beans, cereal, cookies, etc. at home transfer your dry goods into airtight containers like canning jars.
• Mesh bags that will allow the cashier to easily read produce codes.
• Glass jars. Have them weighted at the customer service counter and make note or permanently mark the tare on them. Then use them for wet bulk such as peanut butter, honey, pickles, olive, etc.
• Bottles. Use them to fill with liquids, such as olive oil, vinegar, etc.
• Pillow case for bread.
• Washable crayon.
• Your grocery list.

Consider growing your own food. The food you grow at home will always be package-free.

Kitchen

 1- Swap paper towels for reusable rags.

2- Shop vegetables and eggs from the farmer’s market and take with you the egg’s carton and your basket or a reusable bag.

3- Reuse the single-printed papers to write down your shopping list.

4- Reuse vegetables and fruits cleaning water to water your plants.

5- Use baking soda and white vinegar to clean the kitchen (oven, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher…).

6- For the food that can be frozen, cook much of it and save it in the freezer for later.

7- When buying food, don’t buy more of it just because it’s on promotion. Only buy what you really need and in the quantity that you really need. Write a list before you go shopping and stick to it.

8- Grow your own herbs. If you have a little garden, make it useful and plant some vegetables you eat constantly. Even if you don’t have a garden, you still can grow them in pots.

2. Bathroom, Toiletries, and Wellness

Be wary about the “Dirty Dozen” chemicals.

According to the D avid Suzuki Foundation’s “Dirty Dozen,” the chemicals to be most wary about are:

1. BHA and BHT
2. Coal tar dyes
3. DEA-related ingredients
4. Dibutyl phthalate
5. Form aldehyde-releasing preservatives
6. Parabens
7. Parfum (a.k.a. fragrance)
8. PEG compounds
9. Petrolatum
10. Siloxanes
11. Sodium Laureth Sulfate
12. Triclosan

Decluttering

Although decluttering is a very personal matter, the following items could be eliminated:

• Bathrobes
• Bathroom decor
• Candles
• Deodorizing spray
• Duplicate combs, brushes, tweezers, and scissors
• Expired medications
• Extra cosmetic bags
• Extra hair ties and accessories
• Freestanding storage
• “Party” makeup color palettes
• Hand towels
• Q -tips
• Samples
• Trash cans!

Composting

Depending on the type of composter at your disposal, the following hygiene items could be composted:

• Bamboo or wooden toothbrushes
• 100 percent cotton swabs
• 100 percent cotton balls
• 100 percent cotton facial pads
• 100 percent cotton gauze
• Facial tissue
• Hair from a brush or electrical shaver
• Loofahs
• Sea sponges
• Nail clippings
• Silk floss
• Tampons (including the cardboard applicator)
• Toilet paper

Zero Waste Toiletries

The following are examples of zero waste alternatives for your toiletries:

Skin soap bars. It’s a great zero waste alternative if you can find it loose or in recyclable paper. You can use it to wash your hands, face, body, and shaving.

Bulk liquid. Liquid soap can also be bought in bulk.

Alum stone. it’s easy to use as a deodorant. You simply wet the stone, apply it, and dry it after use.

No-poo. Instead of using shampoo, you can rinse your hair, sprinkle baking soda on your scalp, massage it, then rinse with apple cider vinegar for shine, and rinse again with water.

Solid bars shampoo and bulk liquid shampoo.

Straight-edge razor. It requires regular sharpening, but it’s a great zero waste alternative.

Baking soda as toothpaste. In theory, toothpaste isn’t necessary to effectively clean your teeth. The act of brushing alone is what matters. But baking soda can be a great alternative to toothpaste.

Reusable feminine products. Consider switching from tampons and disposable pads to a reusable menstrual cup or reusable pads that can be washed and sterilized.

Home Remedies

Home remedies aren’t just zero waste but they can also be effective for occasional bruises, cuts, sniffs, and stubs.

Allergies: Consume honey daily.

Bruises: Apply half an onion on the area for fifteen minutes.

Sore throats: Gargle saltwater.

Eczema: Apply olive oil.

Foot odors: Spray apple cider vinegar on your feet and sprinkle baking soda in your shoes.

Insect bites: Apply white vinegar to the bites.

Menstrual cramps: Drink chamomile or yarrow tea and apply a warm pad on the belly.

Nausea: Consume ginger candied or in the form of a tea.

Bathroom

1- Use baking soda as a deodorant

2- Refill your bottles with bulk shampoo.

3- Buy package-free solid soap.

4- Swap your regular plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.

5- Start using safety razors instead of plastic ones.

6- Start including natural remedies in your skincare routine.

3. Bedroom and Wardrobe

Simplify

Common bedroom activities usually include sleeping, reading, and getting dressed. So anything that doesn’t facilitate these activities can be discarded.

The following are some ideas to simplify your bedroom:

TVs, Computers, and other work equipment are best kept in the living room or your study.

Bulky nightstands tend to accumulate clutter and things we don’t use anymore (old magazines, unloved beauty products, expired medicine, etc) limiting your storing space discourages pileups.

Chairs and valet stands invite clutter and collect dirty clothes. By removing them, dirty and smelly clothes will go straight into the laundry bin or back in the closet.

Valances tend to accumulate allergy-causing dust. Consider taking them down and repurposing the fabric into something more useful.

Purely decorative pillows can take so much time to be moved for sleep, put back, cleaned, occasionally repaired, etc.

Simplifying your bedroom with help provide better air quality and make it easier to clean and straighten up every morning.

Wardrobe

Zero Waste lifestyle is about consuming intelligently. Versatility is key to make the most of your wardrobe. It starts by carefully selecting items that can be worn in many different ways.

The following are some tips to help you select versatile pieces that can be worn to any event or season:

Pick basics in neutral shades. Depending on your complexion, select colors that mix well with inter pieces like black, gray, navy, nude colors, etc.

Pick fabrics that are neither too formal nor too casual.

Favor fitted and medium fit pieces that can be layered or worn alone.

Look for multi-functionality in bags. For example, a removable strap can turn a daytime purse into a nighttime clutch.

Repurpose it. Hide a home with a pin or a flower or color it.

Closet

1- The rule is: Anything you didn’t wear for a year and a half you’re not going to wear it ever, so donate it.

2- Keep your closet minimal.

3- Shop as few times as you can per year to avoid compulsive buys.

4- Buy second-hand clothes.

5- Bring a reusable bag for your purchases.

6- Use the worn-out clothes as rags.

7- Learn few sewing tricks. Repair your clothes or make something useful out of them instead of throwing them.

4. Housekeeping and Maintenance

The Magic of Vinegar

Vinegar can be an alternative for many cleaning, laundry, pest, and gardening products.

Here are some common vinegar uses:

Bathroom cleaner. Vinegar can dissolve soap scum and hard water stains. It also shines counters, floors, sinks, showers, and mirrors.

Kitchen cleaner. Use vinegar to disinfect cutting boards, clean the sink, counter, refrigerator, oven, coffeemaker, etc.

Laundry booster. Adding vinegar to your rinse cycle helps prevent the buildup of yellowing, softens the fabric, boosts its color, and reduces static cling.

Color set. If a garment bleeds and fades when washed, let it soak in vinegar before laundering.

Eraser. Remove pen, pencil, or crayon marks from walls using a cloth dipped in vinegar.

 Weedkiller. Kill weeds by spraying vinegar onto them.

Cleaning

1- Start using natural cleaning alternatives such as baking soda, white vinegar, Castile soap, borax… 

2- Buy dishwasher and laundry detergent in bulk.

3- Open the windows instead of using an air freshener and let houseplants absorb toxins.

4- Do the laundry as few times as you can.

5. Workspace

A Paperless World

With the advancing of technology, our society is going more and more paperless. E-books are replacing books, tablets are replacing schoolbooks, etc.

Below are some ideas to help you go paperless:

•   Collect single-side printed paper for reuse.

•       Cancel magazine and newspaper subscriptions and start viewing them online instead.

•       Email invitations or greeting cards rather than printing them.

•       Make online billing and banking a common practice.

•       Print on both sides (duplex printing).

•       Repurpose junk mail envelopes and make sure to cross out any barcode.

•       Turn down business cards. Enter relevant info directly into a smartphone, instead.

•       Visit the local library to read business magazines and books. 

General tips

1- If you have a habit of coffee, make it at home. If you want to drink it at work, make it at home and take it with you in a flask.

2- Sign up for free customer rewards program, but don’t buy just to collect points. Let it be a long-term investment.

3- Turn off the TV. It not only consumes energy but your time too. Instead of spending time in front of the TV, do something you love.

4- Use the nearby park to jog and do your exercises, instead of going to the gym. It not only saves you money but also having some fresh air can reduce your stress considerably.

5- Cut down your expenses. Remove luxuries from your budget. Buy what you can from thrift and buy exactly what you need.

6- Consume less. When it comes to saving electricity and water, it might not seem that consuming less of them will pay off or make any difference at least in the short term. But it actually makes a difference, it’s a way to train yourself to live as a minimalist.

7- Use cheaper transportation. Walk when you can and use carpool. When using your car to shop, start with the furthest destination for maximum fuel efficiency.

Your turn…

We love hearing from you. Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Like This Post? Please Consider Sharing It On Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Resources

Portions of this article were adapted from the book Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste, © 2013 by Bea Johnson. All rights reserved.