Zero-waste and minimalism mistakes that I made
In this autoethnography I often emphasise imperfection, ephemerality and discontinuity of my practice. Even though in general it is a path of growth, I have made and am making so many mistakes. I'm learning from them but this does not guarantee reaching perfection at some point in the future.
Before I stepped on the path of practising voluntary simplicity and zero-waste, on several occasions in my life I felt that I needed to free myself from possessions. When I was 16 or so, I gave away almost all my possessions apart from one outfit, my phone, computer, and some other objects. What I did stemmed from a strong inner desire for freedom and liberation from stuff. It was more intuitive and even spontaneous than well thought-out. Slowly, I welcomed more and more objects back into my life, which of course was wasteful. Many of the objects I acquired again were replacements for the ones I got rid of. And I realised that having only one outfit was not enough, especially considering my lifestyle at that time, or the climate where I lived. I repeated the same mistake again, and it was only in my early twenties when I began to have serious inner dialogues and constellate various fragments of philosophies and convictions to develop a consistent worldview. Practices and habits had to stem from that worldview to be genuinely sustainable.
At times, I did exactly what I criticise in my work. Taking part in consumption that is not mindful and intentional. There is no lack of "green" products on the market. And there is an assumption that any issue can be solved by buying something. At times, these were the issues I didn't even have in the first place. I gave away many objects but I also invited into my life the objects I later realised I did not need. I had metal straws, a heavy glass lunch box. To be fair, there are many objects that I did not invite into my life, such as beeswax wraps and uniform jars.
Even though I later realised how important embracing imperfection is, I tried to be perfect in the very beginning of my practice. I struggled to embrace the fact that some less sustainable objects were still useful and functional. It was also hard for me to acknowledge that some conventional options were simply better for me. For example, I went back to using a plastic razor (with replaceable heads) due to self-harm.
At times, I assumed that I could live without something too quickly, so I gave it away or disposed of it to later find out that this item was useful. I didn't take enough time to dive into a different mode of living or to develop better habits. For example, I disposed of some medicine before I found a better way to keep my skin in good condition.
In the very beginning of my journey, I was not writing my notes about my practice consistently. At that time, I did not see it as a research topic. I simply wanted my research on ecological microeconomics and my practice to align. I believe that if I wrote notes from the very beginning, I could identify my mistakes faster and see issues with my approach. This is not to say that I had to make it public earlier, but these notes could simply be a personal journal.
In the very beginning, I emphasised the ecological aspect of my practice. It's not so much a mistake or bad in itself, but I failed to see many other reasons for being on this path, and voice them, as clearly. Over time, I experienced so many benefits of this lifestyle for my mental health. I also began to see how important spiritual and aesthetic reasons were for me and could be for my fellow humans. I practise this mode of living to take part in changing our culture so we, humans, can live in harmony with nature. I have many conversations with fellow humans about my practice. At times, I use my autoethnography in teaching. At other times, someone asks me about some practice of mine or something that I use that looks interesting to them (e.g., a cotton pouch instead of a wallet). I've noticed that no one wants to destroy nature. But some believe that small-scale practices don't matter. Others believe it's too late to do anything about ecological degradation. Yet others do not want to sacrifice their wellbeing to "save the planet". Perhaps I can influence fellow humans' thinking in my teaching and via my academic work. But more generally, I believe that it's important to highlight many benefits of a voluntarily simple life, apart from the ecological reason.