Now THIS is de-cluttered...

[Hopefulmama]

http://www.sunset.com/home/natural-home/zero-waste-home-0111-00418000069984/ 

[K'sMama]

That is my dream!  My super sentimental husband would make that impossible though.

[Tumble Bumbles]

Although I found the space a bit cold (I'm not a fan of all white) this is my dream as well! I don't know as we will ever get to quite that point but we strive for it, or close to it. I think even if one doesn't have the desire to go that extreme, they can incorporate some of the ideas (such as mesh bags for produce, cloths instead of paper towels, and getting rid of clutter).

Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed this!

[freestylemama]

I think it's a little fake. Sure, there's no waste now, but how much was tossed to get to that point?  Everything looked new.  Why weren't they using old food jars instead of the matching jars in the pantry, you know? 

The concept is awesome, but it's too staged for my liking.  It also seems a little joyless.  I like art and books and things, and you can buy these things used and make art yourself. 

I'm not an eco-saint, but I think this seems more like a show house/project than a replicable way of living.  I'm a "both" "and" kind of gal though. 

[Chamomile Girl]

No BOOKS??   WTF is wrong with books?  And I think its pretty funny that they painted their 1400sq ft house as small.  I would love that much space.

How are they going to recycle that big screen TV when it goes?lol!

There is some good stuff (no pun intended) in there.  I like that she gets her bread in bulk from the bakers, but I wonder what she freezes it in that it doesn't get freezer burn?  Plus it helps that she has access to stores with very good bulk sections (Mill Valley has two Whole Foods and an independent crunchy grocery) as well as access to great seasonal local food.  But I too found her house to be too spartan.  And I thought it odd that they didn't have a garden.  It seems a garden would be perfect for their lifestyle.

[Momsteader]

And really....they are buying lots of things and just leaving the garbage at the store! Or they put the plastic strip back in the envelope and mail it to Netflix?  They're still making garbage--just transferring it to someone else to throw away!

Lots of great ideas, but I agree...it looks too sterile, model home-like and not lived in. 

[coyotemist]

It was fun to read and see their house, even though I can't imagine living like that!

And, hey, the link to environmental toothbrushes was worth it!

[lookatreestar]

one pair of pajamas??  it seems so sterile, not at all warm or inviting. 

[goinggreengirl]

Way too sterile for me. I prefer this house and lifestyle! Adding in using cloth instead of paper, buying bulk and recycling!

[Pariah]

I love minimalism and decluttering, but no books or photos? My family would look at me as if I sprouted another head if I suggested that.

[whoami]

I agree it does look a little staged. If I had to start all over, this is what I would aspire towards though. I admire anyone who can truly live as simply as they do. For now, I'm simply striving to love everything we own and have a place for each item. Stuff really does weigh us down and the more I let go of, the fresher I feel.

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by freestylemama 

I think it's a little fake. Sure, there's no waste now, but how much was tossed to get to that point?  Everything looked new.  Why weren't they using old food jars instead of the matching jars in the pantry, you know? 

The concept is awesome, but it's too staged for my liking.  It also seems a little joyless.  I like art and books and things, and you can buy these things used and make art yourself. 

I'm not an eco-saint, but I think this seems more like a show house/project than a replicable way of living.  I'm a "both" "and" kind of gal though. 

Yes! Way too uniform. And not really recycling. I mean, what is bad about reusing glass jars to store things in. Buying those matching jars causes waste in that it doesn't reuse what is already there.

And wow, it was WHITE! Was anyone else thinking of their little ones playing outside then coming in and, say touching walls, sitting on the couches, etc?
 

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl 

No BOOKS??   WTF is wrong with books?  And I think its pretty funny that they painted their 1400sq ft house as small.  I would love that much space.

How are they going to recycle that big screen TV when it goes?lol!

There is some good stuff (no pun intended) in there.  I like that she gets her bread in bulk from the bakers, but I wonder what she freezes it in that it doesn't get freezer burn?  Plus it helps that she has access to stores with very good bulk sections (Mill Valley has two Whole Foods and an independent crunchy grocery) as well as access to great seasonal local food.  But I too found her house to be too spartan.  And I thought it odd that they didn't have a garden.  It seems a garden would be perfect for their lifestyle.

I know!!! The thought of getting rid of my books...hyperventilating right now!!! And no art. Just plain blank walls. What's wrong with some color on the walls? Minimalism doesn't have to be sterile. Some personality needs to be injected in that house.

Originally Posted by lookatreestar 

one pair of pajamas??  it seems so sterile, not at all warm or inviting. 

Yep. And does no one get sick? The amount of clothes my ds has thrown up on or smeared mucus on when he's sick....and he doesn't have many clothes either! But one pair? How realistic is that? Isn't it more wasteful to wash one pair over and over again rather than have a few (like, say 3 pairs)?

Originally Posted by Pariah 

I love minimalism and decluttering, but no books or photos? My family would look at me as if I sprouted another head if I suggested that.

Lol, yep. Dh already thinks I'm crazy with the amount of stuff I get rid of and how I prefer things to look. He does love being able to find his stuff though. Somehow he hasn't made the connection between those two points. :)  And I love photos! I love putting them up and looking at other people's photos. Especially when there is a time element--like baby pics, toddler pics, child pics, teen pics, etc. <3

Ami

[philomom]

I'm with you guys... books and art make a home. And I find white walls to be too sterile or apartment -like. Yuck.

[Irishmommy]

She has more clothes than I do! And what about the environmental impact of importing their toothbrushes from the other side of the world? I think they are hypocrites actually.

And my kids would KILL me if I said no books except from the library.

[catscharm74]

I like the idea of this...I would have to add some color to the walls and I love my photos, which are ever changing as I love taking my own pictures and making my own art. I love the pantry. As I work in corporate, I have to have a bigger wardrobe but can downsize in other areas and I love my shoes and accessories too much. But I can live minimally and I have learned to enjoy what I love the most. I would be simple to clean and I like challenging myself to the reduction of anything, whether it be clutter, less packaging or driving less. : )

[zoebird]

i'm thinking the woolypockets for our kitchen wall, where i can then do herbs and lettuces and such in them. 

[Hopefulmama]

I was wondering what kind of feedback this would get. I have to say it seems way too sterile for the way we live-especially with little ones. I do like that she is very committed to a certain lifestyle. I thought the toothbrushes from around the world defeated the eco-purpose though. I was inspired by parts of it and turned off by other parts.

[Jane]

I think it's awesome for the adults to live that way, but it seem somehow unfair to the kids to limit them to some of the aspects of that lifestyle. 

[cyclamen]

I liked the weird garden-looking thing in the living room.  That was very pretty.

Her home is pretty.  Perhaps it is calming to be a kid in a house where you know where everything goes.  I can see how minimalism might be stressful to kids if it's done in a very rigid or controlling way, but at the same time, I strive to have a place for everything so that my daughter won't have to feel stressed by too many choices, or by not knowing what to do with something when she's done with it.  I think the balance is finding a way to not be ruled by your things, whether it's having too many or too few.  They seem to have a decent balance to me.  I could totally imagine living with that amount of stuff.  I mean, it's not that far off from how we already live.  (We're not zero waste by any means, but I hope we'll continue to reduce or sheddings over the years).  I love books but I try to own very few of them.  Some people don't read.  My DP owns like... six books, and he's totally happy just reading stuff on the internet.  And he's a pretty smart guy.

I think that billing it as "zero waste" is probably part of the strongly felt reactions.  I'm not sure there is really way to live "zero waste" except to go totally off the grid.

But to give her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps she had most of these things from before they decided to downsize, and perhaps she donated (rather than throwing away) most of the stuff that they removed from their home.  It seems to be a nice example of restraint, though not something I'd try to follow as a script.

[cyclamen]

And although the thing about netflix seemed pretty corny to me, everyone's got their battle.