More Plants Less Waste is a blog I started to bring others along my journey of minimalism, plants, and low waste. If someone mentioned any of these things to me even three years ago, I would have rolled my eyes and continued on. However, now I’m not only plant-obsessed (I still can’t believe I’m saying that) but I’ve found a huge positive impact on my life and mentality with minimalism and zero waste. I’m by no means an expert on any of these topics but that’s what makes this so personable and relatable. If I can make these lifestyle adjustments, then you DEFINITELY can!

My name is Tess Roberts and I’m a young mother of two beautiful children. Between a work-from-home job, this blog, my children, extracurricular activities, and everyday life, I find myself quite busy (as I’m sure most parents do). My hopes in sharing my experiences, steps, and growth in these areas are that it will help you to see how realistic these adjustments towards minimalism, plants, and low waste, can be.

Minimalism is a topic that quickly taught me it’s more than just a task of getting rid of stuff, it truly is a mentality and lifestyle. I suffer from anxiety, depression, and PTSD. This involves ups and downs as well as an extreme personality. I have always been an extremely organized individual and take perfectionism to an unhealthy level at times. Ironically, minimalism is what helped me find a good balance.

I started my minimalism journey, as most do, with decluttering. My family and I move frequently, and the less stuff to move the better! It definitely played into my over-organizing. I would go through my house room by room over the course of a month. Anything that was duplicate, I got rid of so there was only one, anything I hadn’t used in the last year, I got rid of, and anything that didn’t “spark joy,” as Marie Kondo would say, I got rid of (did you forget I said I was extreme)? Well, even though my house ended up greatly decluttered and organized, I still had a lot of anxiety and depression to face.

I started researching minimalism lifestyle, rather than minimalism in the sense of “decluttering quick fixes.” Quickly, I learned I had missed probably the most important part of minimalism. The mentality of it. It wasn’t just about getting rid of stuff but about prioritizing my life according to what really makes me happy. What and who am I giving my time and effort to? Then I realized, my priorities were all out of wack. I was living for everyone else or what I believed society required and expected. No wonder I was so anxious and depressed! This minimalistic lifestyle and mindset has given me a new outlook and a fresh take on my priorities.

Growing up I had absolutely no interest in plants of any kind and I’d run in the other direction. Then, in 2016 I was working at Sprouts Farmers Market and started to take notice of the plants in our Floral Department. After weeks of gazing, I decided I’ll try one out. Well, that quickly turned into five. I knew plants needed water and sunlight…however, I thought that meant direct sunlight and water every day. Quickly, I found out how wrong I was. I killed probably thirteen different plants over the course of a couple months. Talk about a ‘plant killer’ and over-loving!

Fast forward another year and I moved back to my hometown. My family suggested I really think about what I love and what I’m passionate about, so I’m not just working a job I’m ‘dealing with.’ A couple of days went by and I decided it was plants. However, I needed knowledge on how to care for plants properly. Returning to my family I said to them, “my passion is plants,” and there are really no words for the look on my dads face. He was definitely thinking something a bit more conventional. After talking to a few colleagues he suggested I try Green Thumbers. After applying and interviewing, I got hired! (Which blew my mind considering my only experience with plants was killing them).

In no time, Green Thumbers turned me from a plant killer to plant-obsessed. I gained an incredible amount of knowledge about indoor and tropical plants, as well as annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. I worked in the outdoor nursery, the indoor greenhouse, and eventually plant maintenance where I was able to drive to several business locations and care for their vast variety of indoor and tropical plants. After a year of vigorous learning through hands-on work, I’m now a proud plant owner of thirty different house plants!

It was a random start and a quick journey. Now, I want to help you learn where to start with plants. I’ll teach you which plants are actually hard to kill, which require the easiest plant care, and how plants really aren’t nearly as scary or fragile as we think they are. There’s a plant for every room, every lighting situation, and even plants with only once a month watering! I’d love to bring you aboard the plant-obsessed train with me.

The journey of low waste is a recent one for me. Raising my children is what originally sparked my interest in starting this journey as well as becoming aware of climate change. I wanted my children to have the right habits to help this planet, and not help aid in destroying it. However, I had to start with my own habits first. It seemed like such an overwhelming and daunting topic, I didn’t even know where to start. Everything I was reading was an all-or-nothing method. I just didn’t have the mental capacity or budget to handle something like that.

After some time away from over-researching and mental breakdowns, I came back with a fresh mentality. I was going to start this journey one step at a time. And I mean, one step at a time. It started with nothing other than using reusable bags in place of the plastic ones at the store. This might have been the hardest habit to break. What really seemed impossible was remembering to bring in those reusable bags! After some time and effort, it did start to become second nature. This blog will help to explain each small step I’ve taken and continue to take to reach a low waste lifestyle.

Minimalism, plants, and low waste can be realistically accomplished. It’s not an all-or-nothing lifestyle either. Take bits, pieces, and steps according to what fits best for your time, budget, and lifestyle. Small changes are what can make a lasting impact.