Who is Bea Johnson? It turns . Hailed as 'The Priestess of Waste-Free Living' by the New York Times and generally regarded as the pioneer of mainstream zero-waste lifestyles, #1 on our list of top 10 zero-waste influencers is none other than Bea Johnson. Once we bring these things into our home they add to our clutter and then they become our trash problem. In a sense the zero waste lifestyle opens up a new type of abundance.Yes, what you discover, although it aims at eliminating as much trash from your household as possible, is that it translates into a simpler life. ", On what zero-waste means for her family's budget, "We've found that we're saving 40 percent on our overall budget. Favor wax paper, cardboard, or aluminum if you failed to bring your own container. 93 following. The focus is on our consumption habits and the role they play in the destruction of this planet we all share. Somehow it's connected all the dots for me. . Do not use on pearls. Does it put my familys health in danger? We use a bar of soap. I had taken zero waste into unsustainable grounds. Consider replacing paper napkins with cloth ones, rip up old t-shirts and sheets and make rags instead of using paper towels, or use extra fabric to make masks. , a pint-sized container she uses to fit her familys yearly garbage, and for developing, , a method she published in Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying your Life by Reducing your Waste (Scribner, 2013). [13][3][14] In 2009, she started to write a blog about her family's lifestyle sharing her ideas and first hand experience. The streaks will disappear when you dry the shoe.). So for the people that are looking to get started I would say the first thing that they can do is to learn to say no. The bathroom is probably the second-biggest source of recurring waste in the home, but here, too, it can easily be avoided with decluttering, implementing reusables, and deploying collection receptacles. It's up to everyone to figure out what their strengths are in bringing about change and making solutions available to their people. [27][28] Although some bloggers and professional literary critics pointed to some immanent radicalism about the zero waste movement,[29] the book generally received positive reviews. If so, how often? This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Buying is also hoarding. We keep two shopping lists: one for groceries, one for errands. [3][13], Johnson's family began to follow a minimalist lifestyle in 2006, after a move forced them to downsize. Wet the stone, apply it, and dry it after use. And it's important to also ask your friends and family to give you the gift of experiences. Bea has over 100 jars for all of her house's produce | Photo by Igor Podgorny. Bea Johnson, a French American woman living in California, decided to apply it to her household of 4. Since 2008,. Every time you buy packaging, for example, every time you shop at a regular supermarket and you buy your food in packaging, it's a way for you to invest your money in an unsustainable world for your children. The most important aspect of entertaining in a waste-free manner is to. So he kept saying it was my machine, but then we changed a repair company, and then that guy came once and we haven't had a problem since. Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home, and her family of four only produce enough waste in a year to fill a jar. The third "R" is to "reuse." We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. Follow. Eraser sponge (also known as Magic Eraser): Remove pen, pencil, or crayon marks from walls using a cloth or toothbrush dipped in straight vinegar. Pillowcase: Or a large bread bag made from an old sheet. It seems to be equally about being grateful for the things that you do have rather than sort of being stingy or going without. The Zero Waste Home. We tested out vegan wax wrap, a reusable alternative to plastic wrap. You can do that by, for example, swapping paper towels for rags, or instead of tissues use handkerchiefs but also buy your food unpackaged. What are some of the simplest things that they can do today that will have the biggest impact?The first thing I would tell them is that the zero waste lifestyle is the complete opposite of what they think it is. When I started looking for zero waste solutions somehow what had been taught to me as a child came rushing back into my head. Johnson decided to move towards being zero waste in 2008, after moving to an apartment with her family, downsizing, and realising how much better life was when it was simpler. To facilitate your transition to a zero waste lifestyle. To remove salt marks, use the Basic Mix cleaner (1 cup water, 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar, citrus peels in vinegar for smell). For example if someone is sick and they look at the causes of most diseases they often find that going zero waste is the solution that solves some of the problems that they're experiencing. I think it was initially from the New York times?[Laughs]. Her work has inspired millions of people to adopt zero waste lifestyles, open unpackaged shops, conceive reusable products, and launch organizations, but also large corporations to offer alternatives to single-use. We have swapped plastic sandwich bags for kitchen towels, which I already had on hand. Note: this method works only when you are ready to drink one gallon of beer at once; it will start to lose its carbonation overnight. [Zero Waste Home] is powerful."-- "Natural Child World magazine" "The Bible for the Zero Waste pursuer."-- "BookRiot" "The Holy Grail for anyone wanting to adopt this change in lifestyle."-- "New Straits Times" "There was a time when nobody knew what 'zero waste' meant, but since Bea Johnson published her seminal book, the phrase has become mainstream."-- "TreeHugger" "Waste not, want not isn . I also wanted to let our friends and family know what zero waste was about because, again, people did not know what the zero waste lifestyle was; the term was not associated with a lifestyle. But there are very simple sentences that will help you do that. Insect repellent: Spray where you do not want ants to come into your house (windowsills or door thresholds, for example). Johnson said. Look for items in your home that are disposable that you can replace with items that can be reused again and again. A less aggressive way is to set aside a day (maybe two, depending on the speed of your decision making) to take. Compare that to the average American who, according the Environmental Protection Agency, produces four and a half pounds of trash per day. ", "There are some items that we've simply realized we didn't need. Meat: lamb keftas, beef bourguignon, cherry duck, Veggies: recipes not containing starch or meat, Desserts: chocolate mousse, lemon souffl, Cookies/Sweet Snacks: biscotti, butter cookies, candied pecans, Wild/Foraging: manzanita cider, thistle pesto, Menus: a set of three to four well-coordinated recipes around a themeMoroccan dinner or summer brunch. I wish I had something like that where we live. We don't even have a bulk shop like Source. Peter O'Dowd produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Kathleen McKenna. ", "Reclaimed and reinvented': Barbie dolls sport recycled fashion in virtual benefit auction", "Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson: Summary & Notes", "Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson Book Review", "Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life Book Review", "MANDATORY READING: Review of ZERO WASTE HOME: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE BY REDUCING YOUR WASTE by Bea Johnson", "10 Easy Ways to Become a Zero-Waste Household", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bea_Johnson&oldid=1095922938, Environmentalist, author, motivational speaker. All Rights Reserved. The fact that this lifestyle has brought you a very profound sense of being alive and happy. I think it's up to us to see where we can be part of this change. Why do you think it's so hard for us to say no these days? It's just that I adopted a simpler lifestyle in our household. Bathroom cleaner: Use the Basic Mix to dissolve soap scum and hard-water stains and simultaneously shine counters, floors, sinks, showers, mirrors, and fixtures. Rot: Compost your Easter eggshells and your pumpkin tureen. Refuse: Reject Halloween trinkets when trick-or-treating; pick consumables instead. To remove tea or coffee stains from ceramic cups, soak in vinegar for a few hours, then scrub stubborn stains with baking soda. "We give the gift of experiences instead of things. Keep your money where it belongs: in your pocket and out of the landfill! We only have a health food store with a bulk section and we've learnt to make do with what's available in that section. I was the one bringing the totes and jars to the grocery store, and I realized that zero waste is more what you do outside the house. As of 2022, Bea Johnson's net worth is $100,000 - $1M. She is a French-born, Marin County resident who wrote a popular book entitled Zero Waste Home that launched a worldwide zero waste movement. Recycle: Appoint separate containers tailored to your recycling needs. The leaders of this zero-waste lifestyle movement are young millennial women like Lauren Singer of Trash is for Tossers, Celia Ristow of Litterless, and Kellogg. In her book, "Zero Waste Home," Johnson shares her strategies for creating a zero-waste home. About 10 years ago, Bea Johnson decided to make a major change in the way she lived her life. She currently lives in a 188 sq.ft trailer, travellingfull time across the US and Canada with her husband, her chihuahua and her famous, Find Beas product recommendations inthe, Find, add and rate bulk locations near you and throughout the world using her. RELATED: Coronavirus impact: As people stay home, Earth becomes wilder and cleaner. The criticism was normal though, it was out of not knowing what the zero waste lifestyle meant. You're just one family. Copyright 2023 KGO-TV. If they learn to say no they'll be amazed at how much stuff they can stop from coming in to their home. For gold, simply cover with vinegar for one hour and rinse. Insect bites: Apply white vinegar to the bites. She's a French Native now living in California with her family. She is best known for waste free living by reducing her family's annual trash down to a pint and for authoring the book Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste. What should you consider when expecting company? Pack light. Aldo Leopold, in his book A Sand County Almanac" TP: find 100% recycled, unbleached TP, individually wrapped in paper. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better: they now have more time together, they've cut their annual spending by a remarkable forty percent, and they are healthier than . "We only buy really what needs to be replaced, and if that breaks, then we get it repaired. It's not a shampoo bar of soap. The simple answer is this: send nothing to the landfill. Quick mop: No need for disposable floor wipes; simply spray a microfiber mop with the Basic Mix and mop. You're just living with exactly what you need and it opens up room then for a richer, as you say, and fuller life, in a way.Every time you consume it's taking you away from living your dreams. Available for: Read online, read in our mobile apps for iPhone/Android and send in PDF/EPUB/MOBI to Amazon Kindle. Cover until bubbling stops and flush with boiling water. Pet repellent: Spray vinegar where you do not want your dog or cat to chew, scratch, or urinate. According to NASA research, the ten most effective plants are: bamboo palm, Chinese evergreen, English ivy, gerbera daisy, Janet Craig, marginata, mass cane/corn plant, Mother-in-Laws tongue, pot mum, peace lily, Warneckii. Bea's assertion that Zero Waste saves time and money is based on her own experience; comparing household spending from the year before their experiment began with a Zero Waste year, the Johnsons . We also use these glasses to serve cold soups and appetizers and to hold a variety of things, from loose salt to toothbrushes. to adopt zero waste lifestyles, open unpackaged shops, conceive reusable products, and launch organizations, but also large corporations to offer alternatives to single-use. Reuse: Adopt reusable cleaning rags, and make repairs with a borrowed tool. When its full, I can ship the contents to TerraCycle to be upcycled. Toothache: Gargle a chamomile tea or apply ice to the area. DETAILS BELOW Bea Johnson (born July 2, 1974) is famous for being blogger. Johnson's website zerowastehome.com has a "bulk finder" feature to help you find other locations that are still selling bulk goods. While the French do tend to waste far less than Americans in general, when Bea moved to the USA from France she bought into the American Dream-she shopped without reason, merely as a leisure activity; drove a SUV, lived in a huge house and truly believed that bigger was better. Reduce: Streamline your holiday decor; embrace edible decorating. As a default, you can spray the Basic Mix onto windows, mirrors, and glass surfaces, then polish with cloth rags. Storm timeline: Here's how much more rain is expected, Another freight train derails in Ohio, prompting shelter-in-place, At least 13 people are dead as severe storms sweep across US. With a blog turned bestselling book and talks throughout the world, Bea Johnson and her family have debunked those misconceptions and inspired a global movement. The parents are the ones that are consuming and buying the brands, and buy whatever the kids are asking [for]. Is it difficult being zero waste whilst you're traveling and moving around?No, actually. We will be referring to bulk from now on as unpackaged goods of any type, including but not limited to groceries. The vinegar smell will subside, leaving a fresh scent. Peter O'Dowd Twitter Senior Editor, Here & NowPeter ODowd has a hand in most parts of Here & Now producing and overseeing segments, reporting stories and occasionally filling in as host. I have twelve because we can sit ten people at our table and I need a couple of extras for serving. Every time you buy something that is unnecessary or you buy something that is disposable it's a way for you to throw your money away. Paper packaging can be recycled or composted much more easily than plastic. Zero waste is not a term that we had been using. Lacerations: Use honey to heal small cuts. RELATED: Want to save the environment? As a kid, I grew up in a very simple way in the south of France. About thirty, based on the maximum amount of guests that we can host at our house. Don't look at them in the eyes when you present your jar at the meat counter for the first time. To clean the oven, generously spray with vinegar, then sprinkle with baking soda and let sit overnight, scrape with a spatula, and wipe clean. Zero Waste Home is written by a woman who lives in Northern California with her husband and two teenage boys. It wasn't always this way. View Zerowastehome.com; 2018 Zero Waste Home. In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Then place a bowl of vinegar in the room to absorb persistent odors (e.g., in a newly painted room to remove paint odors, in a car to remove vomit stench, or in a kitchen to remove smoke odors). At the age of 18, she moved to California as an au pair and met her future husband Scott Johnson. It's not a special bar of soap. Reusable coffee filters are also available for those using coffee machines. It's just a generic type bar of soap that we use to wash our hair, our faces, our bodies, and my husband and the kids also use it to shave. Bea Johnson is a California-based French native, a guru of the Zero Waste lifestyle movement. But some other people might have been drawn to it for health reasons. Each family member uses a monogrammed ring to identify and reuse his napkin between washes, Tea bags: A tea strainer. What are some of your some of your pro tips for someone that has never ever heard about the zero waste lifestyle, apart from obviously going on your blog and buying your book? If you go to a fast-food restaurant, it's a way for you to invest your money in those businesses. In theory, toothpaste is not necessary to effectively brush your teeth. Ba Johnson is a US-based environmental activist, author and motivational speaker. Does it truly save time, as promised? The second thing I would encourage people to do is to go to through their home and let go of the things their not truly using or needing. Zero waste juga soal menjauhi single use plastic atau plastik yang hanya digunakan sekali. Eventually, though, as we worked on shattering the misconceptions, the typical criticisms just went away. At the heart of this movement it's seems to be more about minimalism and voluntary simplicity than, like, predominately eliminating waste.Well not for everyone, people will start for lots of different reasons. Stay at home and make your own coffee!" So for me, for example, making toothpaste for a family of four was not going to be sustainable and was not going to be something I could see myself doing in the long run. I chose medium size for versatility (they work for both cocktails and dinners) and patterned to hide the hard-to-clean grease stains. The fifth "R" is for rot, which means composting. Coffee filters: A coffee press. For up-to-date information, please consult my book: Zero Waste Home. Criticism will come to you no matter what you do. Bulk is not limited to health food stores: CSAs (community supported agriculture), farmers markets, and specialty vendors can be a great source of package-free products, when their sustainable efforts are consistent. Recycle: Make your camping stoves butane can recyclable by puncturing it when completely empty. Odor neutralizer: Instead of covering up an unpleasant smell with toxic fragrances, address the source and air the space out. It's also a way for you to invest your money in that system and also save money for what matters to you, for all those activities, for all those moments. Two other zero waste bloggers, Bea Johnson from Zero Waste Home and Lauren Singe from Trash Is for Tossers, always look so fashionable, and both practice minimal living and have a capsule wardrobe. She currently lives in a 188 sq.ft trailer, travellingfull time across the US and Canada with her husband, her chihuahua and her famous 15-piece wardrobe. But for illustrative purposes, I will list the kitchen items (I will cover the pantry later) we have chosen to keep in order to live a comfortable (rather than a wastefully lavish) life: Dishes: Twelve dinner plates, twelve small plates, twelve cups, and twelve bowls. When Bea Johnson and her family decided to move out of their house in the suburbs in 2006, they would have never imagined the journey they were about to embark on. The more you refuse the less you have to reduce. Once you remove the blindfold, literally you're like, oh my gosh, what was I thinking before! [12] She grew up in Provence. Explore the summary for Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson. She currently resides in France. "But you know when we first exposed our lifestyle to mainstream, we just got hammered with criticism because people did not know what zero waste meant. Recycle: Make crafts out of compostable or landfill materials. Thank you! You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. Reuse: Bring your own shampoo and conditioner when staying in a hotel. Bea Johnson wears makeup. We have a small container to collect cork corks, for taking to my grocery store, which upcycles them. She is a Grand Prize winner of The Green Awards and the founder of Bulk Finder, a web-based app which points to thousands of bulk locations worldwide. Refuse: Be proactive in rejecting the pizza stacker, the restaurant straw, and the airline earphones. It took us about two years to find a balance and to find solutions that we could stick to in the long run. Basically this lifestyle is about collecting moments not things. Reduce the distance traveled. It's a way for you to also waste your money. Cooking: Three sizes of pans, three sizes of pots, one stockpot, three lids, a teakettle (all stainless), Preparing and serving: Three bowls and one platter, Baking: Two pie dishes, one large casserole dish, one loaf pan, two baking sheets, Utensils: Stainless ladle, spoon, spatula, tongs, and whisk, and one wooden spatula, Cutting: One paring knife, one chef knife, one serrated knife, one pair of scissors, and one cutting board, Accessories: Stainless colander, sieve, grater, steamer, funnel, one set of measuring spoons, a measuring cup, a scale, a bottle opener, a pepper grinder, two pot holders, two trivets. To view a wonderful animated video on production and consumption patterns: To find out more about collaborative consumption. Extend useful life of necessities through: repairing, rethinking, returning, rescuing. It's an idea that Bea Johnson, a native of France, has popularized in a book, speeches and on her website Zero Waste Home. So the first rule of the zero waste lifestyle is to learn to say no. So yes, when we travel we always travel with a cloth bag to buy our food on the go. Ive clipped them together and attached a pencil. So if we learn to say no on the spot we can stop the demand and we can stop these things from becoming trash. You are free: But are these really being used? Zero waste is like a game in many instances and you have to find a way around the problems that you come across. [22][23], Her movement has been also described as "too rigid for ordinary people and sometimes "unrealistic", especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Our family has replaced paper towels with microfiber cloths, and we never run out. We live in a linear economy where products are designed for the dustbin. The first Chapter "The 5Rs and the Benefits of the Zero Waste Lifestyle explains the core principles of her zero waste philosophy. Some call Johnson the "Mother of the Zero Waste Lifestyle" which she says is about more than just cutting trash. Wood renewer: Mix equal parts vinegar and oil, and rub in the direction of the grain to remove water rings and scratches. It's actually the parents that complicate those needs. She's been reducing the amount she posts and routing everyone to her book for years. Reduce: Stick to minimal furnishings and a small, versatile wardrobe. I know that there are some zero wasters out there that will be going around with a whole kit of reusables, they bring their own flatware and their own plates but then they go and buy food from a fast food restaurant where things are disposable and I don't agree with that. No need for trash liners since the wet items that usually make them necessary are compostable. So at the end of the day, the zero-waste lifestyle does not encourage you to recycle more, but less by preventing waste from coming into your home in the first place. Today, instead of storing many versions of a staple, we have dedicated one specific jar and adopted a system of rotation. Your submission has been received! She began to. We bought quality ware from a local ceramic studio. Castile soap is wonderful, and apart from dishwasher and laundry detergents, it can satisfy all your soap needs in the house!