North Bay Woman

your head, it pushes you to attain that goal." The journey to pare down began in earnest. Johnson began to blog about what she was doing. The blog gathered interest. The interest began to snowball; Johnson turned her blog into a book in April 2013. It became a bestseller. She began to take public speaking engagements around the world. Hundreds, then thousands of people, began following Johnson, seeking her advice on how they too could simplify and open up their lives. "It's not overnight that you can let go of your stuff," Johnson says. "It takes some self reflection." Where Johnson perhaps stirs the most controversy, at least among women, is in her approach to what she wears. She says her entire wardrobe consists of 15 pieces of clothing, all of them purchased second-hand from thrift or consignment stores, all designed to be multi-functional. "With this wardrobe I have, I can create more than 50 looks," says Johnson, a willowy, fashion-conscious woman with silky shoulder-length hair and a penchant for black and white pieces, and blue jeans. She loves that each member of the family has just enough wardrobe to fit in carry-on luggage bags. "We can go away for a week, a month, go on our vacations. We can take it all, when we travel." According to Kimberly Scheibly, director of compliance and customer relations for Marin Sanitary Service for eight years, Johnson is, "Amazing. We have spoken on the same panels at conferences. I'm impressed with how she has actually been able to live this, and get her extended family to buy in also. It's easy for an individual to make this decision. But she really seems to have been able to involve everyone around her. I'd like to hear what her kids think. They seem happy." While Johnson's attention to minute detail of zero waste seems daunting — certainly to me — I also found it fascinating as well as inspiring. The more I thought about what she is doing, the more it began to seem like, well, fun. "It is fun. It becomes like a game," Johnson says. "At first you see it as a drag. The term 'zero waste' seems so extreme. But it is so interesting, all the different ways you discover to live greener, and create less waste." "I'm not here to tell anyone how to live their lives — I want to put that across," she says. "I am here to talk about our experience, our lifestyle. I'm not here to dictate. "I was worried that when I simplified my life, what I would be afraid of losing. The only thing I was afraid of losing turned out to be family pictures. Anything else is replaceable. Human contacts are not. This lifestyle reinforces experience and human relations. To my family, that's what makes life richer." n "It's not overnight that you can let go of your stuff. It takes some self reflection." Zero Waste tips continued on page 64> Waste-busters Bea and Scott Johnson and their Chihuahua Zizou at home in Mill Valley. – Photo by Stephanie Rausser; Johnson's books have been translated into 20 languages. – Photos above: Zero Waste Home – Bea Johnson

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