When you drive a car off the lot, its value depreciates; but its worth appreciates when you train and care for an animal. And remember, machines can't have babies, but animals can, making them a regenerative resource when managed humanely. This means that when you bring a working animal into your family, your family will have the potential to grow together. And if you don't have the space for horses and cattle, your children's guinea pigs and rabbits could always be used to trim and fertilize the lawn!

 We have to remember that renewable resources are the future of a sustainable society, but it's okay if we can't all transition today. Make small changes to move your home towards a more sustainable future, and eventually, you'll reach your goal.

Principle #6: Produce No Waste

We live in a throw-away society, consuming resources at a faster rate than can be produced by our planet in a year. Earth Overshoot Day, currently at July 29th, is the calculated point at which humanity consumes more resources than the planet can produce in an entire year.

Reducing our waste output is fundamental in making our homes and community more sustainable. The saying "reduce, rethink [reuse], recycle" would fall under the sixth principle and could be as simple as reusing food containers rather than immediately recycling. Reusing items that would end up in the waste stream is a great way to create needed home fixtures and cut down on waste going to the landfill.

Upcycling, or giving new life to something old, takes advantage of one of the more bountiful resource streams on the planet: the human waste stream. The process of upcycling gives us a new saying, "renew, repair, refuse," in which we renew what was old, repair what was broken, and refuse to buy unnecessary items or things overly wrapped in excessive packaging. By learning how to take care of our items and finding ways to renew or repair them, we can save money from buying new goods and produce less trash.

An example would be learning how to stitch torn clothes or repair your appliances. Some skills, like learning how to do a home energy audit, can even be shared with neighbors or generate a side income. Do you, or someone you know, have any skills at repairing anything? Could you fill a skilled role in your neighborhood?

Even our food systems can be better designed to prevent waste. Food waste is a significant problem in North America (stats for the US and Canada), with a large portion of our grocery bill being thrown in the trash. Every vegetable thrown in the garbage, not a compost bin, is full of nutrients, leaving your property instead of going into your soil. Even meat and dairy can be composted at home but require a different method known as Bokashi composting, which uses fermentation.