Happy belated Earth Day, fellow Earthlings! Zero-Waste Living is probably a term you have heard before. To many this term seems like a daunting, time-consuming and very expensive task to take on. This isn’t necessarily true. Sometimes making better consumer choices can in turn save you money, while simultaneously helping the environment. I am not writing this post to talk you into going full blown zero-waste. I want you to become aware of your purchases and better ways we can live being more sustainable

As a designer, I am always thinking about product and how they affect the space, the person in the space and the environment. Sustainable design is very important to me. I have decided that it was time to bring that sustainability into my own home. It has been my goal to be a more conscious consumer for quite some time, however I have not made the commitment to do so. I am making this Earth Day the marking of my commitment to be a better person to the Earth in which I live. My goal is to cut out unnecessary waste that is harmful to the Earth. I know it isn’t realistic to be zero-waste in the blink of an eye, but I do want to be more conscious about what I am buying. I am hoping while doing this, I will become accustomed to making more sustainable decisions in my day-to-day life.

Here are my top Sustainable buys in honor of Earth Day
1.       Bamboo Toothbrush
A toothbrush product that is used daily and is recommended to be replaced every 3 months. Purchasing bamboo toothbrushes over plastic toothbrushes is a great alternative. Bamboo is biodegradable and breaks down much easier than plastics. This bamboo tooth brush has soft, charcoal bristles to help whiten your teeth as well!

2.       Reusable Produce Bags
I typically try to avoid the plastic produce bags when grocery shopping. I find that they are not needed for most fresh produce (i.e. avocados, apples, zucchinis, bananas etc). You can place these items directly into your cart and skip the plastic! Items like brussel sprouts, green beans, spinach produce bags are needed. This is why I wanted to buy reusable produce bags as the plastic bags typically just get thrown out right away.. What a waste!

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3.       Beeswax wrap – I am a sucker for plastic wrap and tinfoil. I use this stuff all of the time as it is all too easy and convenient. However, it is not convenient that it isn’t biodegradable. I am opting to try out beeswax wrap. Beeswax wrap is much more eco-friendly than the other options so it is a step in the right direction! This is a great buy because it is a natural substance so it is biodegradable and it is reusable so you can get more than just a single use out of it. Which I feel can save you money in the long run. 

4.       Shampoo Bar – I have been using shampoo bars from Lush Cosmetics. They are truly awesome! It is such a great alternative to your standard shampoos. Most shampoos have tons of chemicals in them that in many countries are banned. With these shampoo bars, there are fewer chemicals. Shampoo bars are great for traveling and reduce plastic waste as they are typically sold naked, without the plastic packaging. I store mine in a metal tin from Lush Cosmetics.

You have to start somewhere in order to become a more eco-friendly consumer. I don't expect myself to turn completely zero waste in a day. These four products are a great starting point. With these products you aren't eliminating anything from your lives or changing your lifestyle. I feel that with these products you aren't losing the convenience that we as humans tend to gravitate towards. These still are very convenient products. In fact, some of these products to be much better than the alternatives I used to use. 

I hope this inspires you all to start thinking more sustainably!

Happy Earth Day!!

Now that we are getting settled into the New Year, it is time to ​refresh and ​re-energize our homes.  De-cluttering is crucial for our well-being.  Life can be chaotic and messy, but our home is one place where it shouldn't be.  A home should be a place to relax and re-energize -- a sanctuary.  By taking the time to de-clutter and organize, we are freeing up time & space in our lives for more important things. 

That is exactly why I want to start 2018 off getting organized!  Join me by following these simple steps to a clutter-free home. 

1. Focus on one thing at a time. Dedicate one week to a room or area in your home. This will allow you to really dive in and focus on the main problem areas in your home. We want to get down to the nitty gritty and make sure that we get super organized. If you try and do everything at once or in one day, this leaves you bored or overwhelmed halfway through and more likely to call it a quits before finishing. Make sure you are carving out enough time each day/week to finish what you have started. Here is my breakdown over the next month

Week 1 > Living Room
Week 2 > Bedroom
Week 3 > Bathroom & Hallway closets
​Week 4 > Kitchen
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2. Does this add value to my life? This is the question you need to ask yourself as you go through each item. If the object adds value and makes you happy, keep it. I know this is much easier said than done. You need to be honest with yourself. Not everything you have still adds true value to your life today. You cannot justify everything. 

A quick list of items that are no longer adding value:
-Old clothes - No I will not wear these clothes from highschool that are still sitting in my closet.
-Old Make-up: Gross! If it is past its recommended life, let it go. Same goes for cosmetics.
-Items you claim you will use in the future. If you haven't used it in months or years, it is the future and guess what... you don't need it!
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3. Separate everything into categories. As you are sorting through each item, create keep, donate, and toss(recycle) piles. After sifting through everything in the area you are working on, go back through your keep pile a second or third time. Once you get into the groove of letting things go, it becomes a lot easier! You may be likely to let some more things go that you "thought" were adding value after coming back to it. Sometimes its nice to do this after a break so that you have a fresh mind when going through your items one more time.

TIP: Recycle and donate what you can. We want to keep as much of the stuff we are letting go out of the trash! Many retailers have a program for recycling clothes that are no longer useful. I.e. they have holes, stains or rips in them. This keeps textiles from going to the landfill and they are able to be reused and created into something new!
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4. Find a proper home for everything. Pay attention to where your things tend to fall. You want to create a home that is convenient for its use, but makes the most sense. For example, if you tend to leave shoes by your front door rather than putting them away in your bedroom closet, that means that your bedroom closet probably isn't the best home for your shoes. Find a place near your front door that works. Put a shoe rack in your entryway closet for shoes you wear most often. 

Make sure everything gets its proper home. Stay away from junk drawers or bins that collect random items. This one is my biggest weakness. I have so many bins and baskets that are just full of random stuff I do not know what to do with. Half the time I forget I have any of the items in those bins or I can never remember where to find them. There is a better way to organize these items. If it is necessary to have bins throughout your home, make sure like items are placed in the same bins. Do not let them get to the point of overflowing and looking like a pile of junk.

TIP: Utilize wall space. Having lived in a tiny studio apartment for 2 years, I leaned quickly how essential this is. Vertical space is your best friend. It allows you to keep things in the area where they are useful without getting in the way. I recently put up barn wood shelves in my bathroom to eliminate the clutter that ends up all over my super tiny counter.
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5. Break your habits. Theres a reason why your home continues to get cluttered and messy.  Take some time to reflect on why your home continues to become unorganized.  This means paying more attention to the things you buy and bring into your home. We are all guilty of impulse buys from time to time, but is important to stop buying things that we do not need. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but a month down the line it probably will end up in one of your junk bins and you will forget it ever existed. Be more conscious about the purchases you make! One bad habit I have is throwing things wherever I am. My dining table collects papers. I always through my bags, coat and shoes down immediately when I walk in my door. I need to work on getting in a habit to putting things in their designated home. 

Remember that organizing is an ongoing process! The best way to achieve maximum organization is to span it out over time and to continue doing it even when you have completed the big clean sweep. Now that you have a home that is refreshed, you can enjoy the serenity vibes of a chaos free home!

Organizing should not be depressing or stressful. This process should be a relief as you purge things that no longer serve a purpose in your life. What are some useful tips you use to de-clutter your home? How do you organize those pesky junk drawers? I'd love to hear from you as I embark on my organization journey over the next month.