Ep. 55: Use What You Have — A Simple Way to Reduce Waste

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (00:00.652)
When we talk about waste, we usually talk about what something is made out of or what happens to it at the end of its life. But what about everything that happens in the middle? Welcome to Sustainable in the Suburbs, a podcast for the eco-curious who want to live a greener life and are looking for a place to start. I’m your host, Sarah Robertson Barnes, a soccer mom with a station wagon and a passion for sustainable living. Each week, I’ll bring you practical tips and honest conversations to help you waste less.

Save money and make small doable shifts that actually fit your real life. Because sustainable living doesn’t have to be perfect to matter, and you don’t have to do it all to make a difference. Hello and welcome back to Sustainable in the Suburbs, the podcast where we start where we are, use what we have, and live a little greener, one small shift at a time. My name is Sarah, and I’m happy to be chatting with you today. If this is your first time listening, hello.

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Head on over to sustainableinthsuburbs.com. Lately, I’ve been feeling like sustainable living has been turned into another form of consumption. We see all of the reusable products and low-ways swaps and natural materials and eco-friendly versions of things we use every day. And it feels like the first step to living more sustainably is replacing everything we own with a better version. A reusable this.

Or an all natural that, something that is made out of glass or bamboo or recycled plastic or organic cotton. And some of those products are really great and very useful. I have them. Sometimes we really do need to add something new. Things wear out or break. They no longer fit our needs. And choosing a higher quality, better replacement just makes sense. But marketing has turned sustainable living into a shopping list.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (02:18.456)
Everything has a quote more sustainable version. And we’re at the point where reusables feel subject to the same trends as fast fashion. Remember that Stanley Cup craze or all the different tote bag releases from Trader Joe’s? It can start to feel like we need to replace everything and keep up with the trends, which is the opposite of the entire point, because we cannot buy our way into living more sustainably. For most of us, we can probably get started without buying.

Anything at all. Most of our homes already contain an enormous amount of useful stuff. The problem is often that we forget what we have, or we can’t find it when we need it. We’ve save it for later, or we bring something new into the house before we’ve used up what’s already there. And that’s why I have four packages of naan in the freezer right now. Because it is the food in the fridge that needs to be eaten, and everything that’s under the bathroom sink and all of the cleaning supplies.

And the closet full of clothes that we don’t wear, and the stuff in the basement, the things that we’re saving for special occasions, and if you’re like me, the pile of unused notebooks. We spend so much time thinking about what we need to buy next, and very little time thinking about how well we’re using what has already made its way into our homes. Because using things up and caring for them and repairing them and sharing them and making them last are some of the easiest.

and most practical sustainable options we have. Most of us already own enough to begin living more sustainably. The work is noticing what we have and using it more fully and becoming more deliberate about what we buy next.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (04:03.642)
When we talk about waste in general, we are usually talking about what happens at the end. So how we throw out food or how we donate clothes. What should we do with this broken thing? Can this be recycled? Does it have to go on the garbage? but waste begins before something reaches the bin. It starts much earlier than that. It can start when we bring home more than we can realistically eat or store or use or maintain or remember where it is.

Or we buy something that we already own because we can’t find it. Classic. We buy food with no real plan for it. We buy something because it seems useful in the moment. And then it becomes one more thing that’s taking up space in our house. Every item we bring into our homes asks something of us. It takes resources to make it and our money to buy it and space to store it and time and energy to care for it and eventually repair it or pass it along or recycle it or donate it or dispose of it.

And most people are not intentionally overconsuming. We are tired and busy and stressed and trying to solve a problem quickly and make our daily lives easier. And a lot of those purchases do make sense in the moment. But then we end up with a ton of stuff that we now need to organize. So we go buy more stuff to organize it. Buying containers can make us feel like we’re dealing with the clutter. But if we have not actually dealt with what we’re trying to organize.

The containers just become more stuff. If we have less stuff, it means less stuff to organize. Otherwise, we’re just buying more things to hold all the things that we already had. And so this is what comes up with sustainable products too. It’s very easy to look at beautiful matching set of glass pantry containers and decide that our mismatched food storage containers are the problem. They’re fine. If you really want a matching set, you can start building one slowly.

Using what you already have, but you might not notice or think about in that way. So over time, we have saved a ridiculous number of farm boy pickle jars, just a plain glass jar with black lids, but now they make up most of our pantry storage. And they look very pretty. We were already buying the pickles, and instead of recycling the jars, we just kept using them. So none of this really means that we shouldn’t bring anything new into our homes.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (06:22.105)
It just means that waste reduction is not about figuring out what to do with something later, but being more realistic about what we bring home in the first place.

When we are trying to purchase things more consciously, we put a lot of focus on the buying decision, which makes sense. We care about what something is made out of and who made it and where it comes from, what company made it, some combination of all of those. And once something is already made and purchased and living in our home, a lot of the environmental impact has already happened. The resources have been extracted, the item was made and packaged and transported and purchased and sitting somewhere in our house.

We typically don’t think about its environmental impact again until it’s time to dispose of it. But what about all that time in between? How do we get as much value and use from it as we can? Because the longest and most valuable part of an item’s life is right here in our homes. This is where we decide whether something gets used or just sits in a cupboard or a drawer or a bin in the basement or the garage while we buy something else.

And once you show an interest in sustainability, green marketing starts serving you an endless stream of products designed to make what you already own feel inadequate or not sustainable enough. And I think this is where some social media versions of sustainable living can get a little strange. It’s often presented as that all glass and bamboo and stainless steel and beige aesthetic. Everything is matchy matchy and Pinterest worthy, but that’s not real life.

It’s okay for things to look used. It’s okay for them to be repaired and looked repaired or be mismatched or scratched or dented or even kind of ugly. Using what you have may or may not be cute. And it’s time that we normalize that. Real life is not shiny or new. It has scratches and dents and maybe a little duct tape on it here and there. And that doesn’t make something less sustainable. In a lot of cases, it’s the reason.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (08:29.741)
It’s sustainable. It has been valued and stayed in use. And I think it’s time that we make a big shift from an automated mindset of acquiring to appreciating. Instead of always looking for the better version or the green version or the version that matches, we can start paying attention to what is already here and asking how we can use it well. And that could be as simple and easy as.

Eating what’s already in the fridge before planning your next grocery store trip. It can also mean using things that we worked to grow or make, the herbs in the garden, the leftovers that we had great intentions for, or the frozen zucchini that’s now approaching its first birthday in the bottom of the freezer. It can mean replacing a button or learning some basic mending techniques, wearing the fancy things in our daily lives, eating off the nice dishes on a weekday.

using the good towels, burning that candle, and actually writing in one of those notebooks. At some point saving useful things so carefully that they will never fulfill their purpose also becomes wasteful. And let me call myself out a little bit here. I used to joke that buying yarn and knitting were two different hobbies. And I bought a lot of pretty yarn because it was pretty, not because I had a project in mind, but when my storage area became

Quite stuffed, something shifted. I didn’t want to make a secondary storage area. And so I challenged myself to knit from my stash before buying new yarn, which I’ve now been doing since 2020. I had a lot of yarn, and it has made me be much more intentional about choosing and starting projects and made me pick up some whips too. Because continually buying supplies for

A future version of ourselves is still buying things that we may never use. And at a certain point, you either have to make the thing or release yourself from the fantasy that you are about to become someone who has unlimited knitting time, as it were. That is my dream, but sadly not my reality. Using what we have allows the resources we’ve already invested in to actually matter. And it teaches us something useful too.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (10:50.344)
We start to see what we actually use and what we reach for and what we enjoy, what actually works in our lives, and what we probably do not need more of. And that makes the next decision easier.

One of the simplest ways to use what you already have is to shop your own house first before you shop anywhere else. Before buying something, take a few minutes and look around and see whether you already own that exact thing, something that would do the same job, something that could be repaired and work again, or something that’s being used somewhere else that could be reassigned. Because so often the thing that we need is already there. It’s just in the wrong room, or at the back of a cupboard, or

Packed away with seasonal things, buried in the garage. Or if you’re like me, it’s sitting in plain sight, but it’s no longer registering because we are so used to seeing it. This is where we can ask ourselves a few simple questions that can help. Do I already own this? Do I have something that would work well enough? Is there something that I actually need to use up or finish first? Can I fix this broken thing? Can I borrow it from somebody else?

And do I actually need this? Or am I trying to solve some boredom or frustration or clutter by buying something new? And the the last one is a big one because buying something often feels like action. It feels like we’re solving a problem. And sometimes we are. And sometimes we’re just adding a new problem. Now, believe me, I know that going through what you already own is kind of the worst. but it’s also quite eye-opening.

It really forces you to see how much stuff you already have. And this is an important exercise in building up your conscious consumption muscle when considering new purchases. Shopping your home doesn’t mean forcing yourself to use something that doesn’t work. It doesn’t mean keeping everything forever just in case, or never buying something that would genuinely improve your daily life. Sometimes, like we just have stuff that’s broken or impractical or not right for the job.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (13:05.948)
The point is just to look first. It may not give you the same little dopamine hit as buying something new, but it does build creativity and resourcefulness and a much clearer sense of what you actually need. And the more often you do it, you will start to see your home differently, not as a place that’s always unfinished and needs something else, but a place that already holds most of what you need.

So yeah, using what you already have doesn’t mean never buying anything again. You can still buy things. We live in a society where we still need to buy things. We need to buy food and clothing and personal care and household items and stuff, so on. Things wear out or they break, especially if you are intentionally using them to the end of their life or you have kids. Some things no longer fit.

your body or their bodies or your home or the way your family actually lives right now. The point is not to avoid purchasing altogether. That’s not realistic or possible, really. The point is to start purchasing differently. And once you start paying attention to what you already have, and then you make a conscious effort to shop your home first, you learn a lot. You notice what gets used all the time and what wears out all the time, like every single sock my kids wear.

And what sits untouched, what you keep buying over and over, such as socks, and what constantly annoys you because it doesn’t actually work very well. Also, socks. That information matters. It means the next time you need something, you’re not just buying what looks good online or what’s on sale or what’s convenient. You have a much clearer sense of what actually serves your household. And this is where slowing down before purchase.

Becomes really useful and important. Like maybe you wait seven days before ordering something online and see then whether you still need it. Or you look locally first or secondhand or whether you can borrow it. Maybe you hit the jackpot and realize that you already own something that will work. And maybe after all of that, you come to the conclusion that yes, this is something that I genuinely need and will use. That is still conscious consumption.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (15:30.992)
It’s not about buying nothing. It’s about becoming more intentional in what we bring into our lives and how we use it and how we plan to care for it and then what happens to it once we’re finished with it. And I think that using what we have actually makes that easier because it gives us real information instead of imagined information. So the progression is fairly simple. Notice what’s already there. Pay attention to what’s working and what’s not.

Use it until it’s no longer usable and then let that guide what comes in next.

So now what? A lot of this comes down to making what we already own easier to see and then easier to use. So most of us are not going to remember everything that’s in the freezer and under the sink and in our closets or in the bins in the basement. And if we can’t see it, there’s a very good chance that we’re going to forget about it. So here are a few small habits that can help. Number one, create a use first area.

Put things that need to be used somewhere highly visible. And the best place to start doing this is in your kitchen. So in the fridge, make a specific eat first area that is for leftovers or produce that has already been cut or needs to be eaten soon. You can write it on a small whiteboard on the fridge or chalkboard in your kitchen. We actually write directly on the lid of our deep freezer with a dry erase marker of what’s in

The milk crates that we have organizing all the stuff, because otherwise it just became a wasteland in there and so much food and money got wasted. So keeping an eye on food that needs to be eaten before you go shopping again saves you so much money and is so good for the planet. Number two, keep a pause list. So instead of immediately adding to cart when we think, I gotta get that, just write it down somewhere first. So I have a to buy list on my phone.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (17:30.33)
And I just write things down so I can reference them later if I end up still needing the thing. And I just looked at it again while writing this episode and I have no idea why some of that stuff is on there. So I think maybe I might be at the point where just writing it down is enough for the impulse to pass. Building that muscle is working. So while you’re building your muscle, just pick one day a week where you look at your list and then order it or shop for what you still need. And again, as for the shopping part, just

Do you have to get it from Amazon or similar? Or can you find it locally or secondhand? Or can you borrow it from someone? And sometimes the answer is still yes, I need to buy the thing new. But now it’s a different kind of yes. Number three, check before replacing. So before you replace something, look around first. Again, this is how I ended up with multiple packages of non in the freezer because I didn’t check. So check the freezer or the pantry or the fridge.

Or your closet or the basement, wherever that category of thing tends to collect in your home. You may already have a backup or something that can be repaired. You may have bought the exact same thing six months ago and put it somewhere where you’ll definitely remember, which is also something that I’m very familiar with. Which leads us to number four. Make one category visible. So don’t walk away from this episode and think you have to inventory your entire home. That sounds

Terrible. Just pick one category instead. So I recommend what’s in the freezer or what’s underneath your bathroom sink or your kitchen sink. Just bring everything together, see what you actually have, inventory that, and then make a plan to use it up before buying more. You will be surprised at how much you actually have and how long it takes to use it up. Number five, repair things quickly.

Small repairs have a way of adding up and becoming permanent abandonment. So a loose button or small tear or hole or a wobbly handle on something. Something that needs one tiny fix can sit for months because we keep thinking we’ll just get to it later. And then once something enters the repair pile, there’s a very real chance that it’s never coming back out. So have one place for simple repairs and then just deal with one thing at a time. I have a little basket that I keep beside the couch.

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (19:54.942)
That I can work on while I’m watching baseball. And it is mostly socks. Just take the 10 minutes and fix it before it becomes a bigger problem you have to deal with later. And like my Nana used to say, a stitch in time saves nine. Number six, borrow the things you rarely use. Ownership is not always the answer. We don’t all need to own everything. If you need something once a year or for one project or one specific occasion, just ask around first.

Like a tent or extra dishes for a party, something a ladder, something like that. Friends, neighbors, family, your library may have a jewel library or a library of things in your buy nothing group. A lot of the things that we need occasionally are already sitting unused in someone else’s house. And for more on this, go back and listen to episode twenty-three on borrowing before you buy, and I will link that for you in the show notes.

And last but not least, number seven, use the good stuff now. Use your fancy china for a weeknight dinner, just for fun. Wear the nice dress, burn that expensive candle and write in that notebook. Using what you already have also means allowing yourself to enjoy it. So many of us have things that we save for later or for a special occasion. And then years go by and it’s still just sitting there, untouched.

and waiting for a life that we are apparently not living in. And that special occasion is today.

So none of these habits are especially complicated, and we’re not adding another task to our lives. We’re simply noticing the value that everything is probably already around us and letting the things in our homes actually live their lives with us. There’s something really freeing about stepping out of the constant cycle of needing, buying, replacing, and moving on to the next thing. It gives us a chance to slow down and

Sarah Robertson-Barnes (21:58.078)
Notice that what we already have is enough. So your one small shift this week is to take stock of what is under your bathroom sink. Pull everything out, see what’s already open and what needs to be used up and what you have duplicates of. Then choose one product to finish before you replace it or try something new. And if you’d like more help on thinking through what’s actually worth swapping in the bathroom, you can check out episode 47.

For my recommendations, and I’ll link that in the show notes for you too. So for more practical ideas for reducing waste and living a little more intentionally, you can also join my newsletter at sustainable in the suburbs dot com slash newsletter. So that’s all for today, my friends. Thank you for listening. Until next time, start where you are, use what you have, and live a little greener.

Thanks for tuning in to Sustainable in the Suburbs. Every small step adds up, and I’m so glad we’re doing this together. If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. You can find me at sustainableintheburbs.com or at Sarah Robertson Barnes on all the things. Until next time, start where you are, use what you have, and live a little greener. This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio.

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