Sometimes it can seem that everywhere you turn someone wants you to buy something.

And it can be very tempting not to give in and buy it because most of us feel like we might actually need it.

But the truth is we probably don’t, outside of the basic necessities of food, shelter, and water.

So, what is there to do when you’re got caught up in the cycle of “stuff”?

Luckily, there are many ways to be less wasteful, but here are five to help us all start out and keep our homes and our planet from being overrun.

Buy second hand

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Speaking of garage sales, instead of going out and buying something new when you need something for around the house or maybe the kids to need new clothes, shop second hand.

You can go to garage sales, thrift stores, and now, thanks to technology, there are online forums and Facebook pages that also sell nice items second-hand.

Just like the garage sale, you are re-purposing things instead of just throwing them away and filling the world with more trash, which is really good and helps you to live more sustainably.

Care about who you buy from

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There are certain companies that care about waste too, and it’s a good idea to buy from them versus others who don’t necessarily do that.

Do a little research to see who you are really buying from and how they treat this planet.

There are companies like BioLogiQ who use recycled materials to build and create other sustainable materials.

You may see which companies help you to recycle or even incentivize when you do so.

Have a garage sale

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If you are looking around your house, storage shed, or garage and thinking, “I don’t even know where half of this stuff came from let alone the last time I used it?” It’s probably time for a garage sale.

A garage sale is a great opportunity to give a second life to items you don’t use anymore and receive a little profit from them.

And when it is all over the items you didn’t sell you can donate and wa-lah! So much less clutter and waste.

Buy less and less plastic

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Plastic can be so easy, especially when you have kids who like to touch everything and who aren’t very gentle with things either.

But the hard part about plastic is after you ‘re done with it and throw it away, when it gets to the dump it ends up sitting there and just adding to all the other trash that is there.

If there is a way for you to use less plastic or to make sure you recycle the plastic you are done with, you can help lessen the waste and help keep things like the ocean cleaner.

Donate your time

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One great way to keep yourself from being tempted to buy more and more is to use the free time on your hands to volunteer somewhere and help.

Helping others can make you more grateful for the things you already have as well as give your time to others or causes that may sorely need it.

The post 5 Ways to Be Less Wasteful appeared first on InstantELLA.

So, why learn to sew?

Sewing offers many benefits beyond just being able to make your own clothes. Take a look!

Repairs

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Okay, so this kind of falls in line with making your own clothes. But being able to repair your own clothes is a huge benefit to learning to sew. You don’t have to throw your favorite pair of jeans out because the pocket started ripping. You don’t even have to mail them to your grandma to fix because you’ll be able to do it yourself!

A button pops off your shirt? Easy! Just grab some thread and a needle and sew that sucker back on.

Hand-eye Coordination

Learning to sew is like learning to write or learning to play a sport. Whether you sew with a needle in hand or with a machine, you need good hand-eye coordination to get a job done right. And the more you practice, the better you get at it! So learning to sew can help you increase your hand-eye coordination which you can use across many different hobbies.

Environmental Effects

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If you really want to go green, then learn to sew. You’ll be able to repair your own clothes, as mentioned, and not have to throw them out. You can even upcycle your old clothes or clothes from thrift stores to fit you just the way you want them or turn them into something completely new! You could turn old t-shirts into a quilt, old towels into wash clothes, and torn jeans into a purse or skirt. The possibilities for recycling are endless and you’ll reduce your carbon footprint on your journey to learn to sew.

Social Impacts

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If you start sewing often and really enjoy it, you can take it a step further and join different sewing groups in your community. Or you can take classes in your community to improve your skills. You’ll meet new people who can help you along the way and probably even make a few new friends. Win-win!

Self-Esteem

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Our self-esteem is always improved when we feel like we are good at something. Learning to sew and doing it well, or even just finishing a project that you are proud of gives a great boost to your self-esteem. Developing talents and feeling productive always makes people feel better about themselves.

Therapy

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Sewing can be very therapeutic and stress-relieving for many people, especially if you get into a good rhythm with it. It calms the mind and body and helps you to relax and feel happier. Sometimes just doing something outside of yourself and focusing on the task at hand (like a sewing project) is all that is required for some much-needed stress relief.

Always Something New

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With sewing, like with most talents, there is always something new to learn – whether it’s a new project that you want to try or a new technique that you’ve been working on. You’ll never get bored because you can always try something new when you’ve mastered a technique or project type, continually improving and refining your skills.

Make Money

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If you feel that you are becoming a master seamstress and would love to make some money from it, try selling the things you make in the Facebook marketplace or on Etsy. Or if you don’t want to make your own things to sell but would love to do this for your job, look for a place like www.dwinc.org that does industrial sewing.

As you can see, learning to sew can do wonders for your emotional well-being and can become a lifetime skill that you can utilize whenever you need it.

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