Zero Waste Home Book Review

I reserved this book at the library for a long time and I don't even know how it came to my attention but with the end of the year fast approaching, it was one of the many things that I did to clean up my library account by getting all of my books off reserve and start reading them all.  This was one of the books that I picked up at the library.  The cover looked familiar but I looked on the blog and didn't see a review of the book.  I read the beginning and it seemed familiar but I thought maybe the author wrote another book and I reserved this one because I liked the first one.  Who knows but long story short, I am almost positive that I read this book before but it must have been before I started blogging and keeping a log of all the books that I have read.  I still read through the whole book because I figured that it would be a good refresher and I couldn't stop once I started.  Now I know and I have it on my blog so I won't go and read it for a third time but I hope that you enjoy it whether reading it for the first or the second time with me.

In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. 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 40 percent, and they are healthier than they’ve ever been.

This book shares essential how-to advice, secrets, and insights based on Bea’s experience. She demystifies the process of going Zero Waste with hundreds of easy tips for sustainable living that even the busiest people can integrate: from making your own mustard, to packing kids’ lunches without plastic, to canceling your junk mail, to enjoying the holidays without the guilt associated with overconsumption. Zero Waste Home is a stylish and relatable step-by-step guide that will give you the practical tools to help you improve your health, save money and time, and achieve a brighter future for your family—and the planet.

If you are interested in ways to save money and ways to be more ecologically friendly, this is an interesting read.  She shares ideas about renting out your house to pay for vacations for your family as well as composting, recycling and how to shop without waste.  There are a lot of ideas that seem that they are a far reach.  I do understand that planning ahead almost always saves money and the environment.  We use plastic containers to pack our lunches instead of plastic bags and when they get to the end of their lives, they are all recyclable.  I feel like that is a step in the right direction but she takes most of the ideas to another level like taking lunch in a glass jar because the plastic can't be recycled forever and eventually turns into waste.  I know that everyone has a limit on how far they will take their ecological ideals to make it into something realistic for their family life.  Most of the ideas she shares are past where my family will go but it is great to read about it and learn if there are any other ideas that you can use with your family.  I hope that you check it out and see if there are any other ways your family can save money and the planet.  I enjoyed the book (both times) and hope that you enjoy it too.