I was born in the '90s and grew up in an era where everything was single use and made for convenience.

Disposable nappies had become readily available, snacks came from a packet, supermarkets started wrapping vegetables in plastic, and as my mum worked full time with three little kids, that convenience was necessary.

But since becoming a parent, and after interviewing families living a zero-waste lifestyle, I've been inspired to make some changes in our household.

I want to go from filling my wheelie bin with rubbish each fortnight to making more conscious choices.

I live on a small property in Queensland's Lockyer Valley, where you can buy fruit and vege on the side of the road every few kilometres and where we kill our own meat.

I am a working mum with a very busy one-year-old, two dogs, three horses and about 30 cows.

For me it's not about setting unrealistic targets or putting unnecessary pressure on myself — just doing what I can, when I can, to reduce what I contribute to landfill.

I suspect it won't be easy so, rather than trying to make this change alone, I enlisted the help of Kate Irwin to get me started.

Elly's husband and daughter enjoying the farm after last rain. ( ABC Life: Elly Bradfield )

Kate lives in Brisbane and describes herself as a mum, a midwife, rookie gardener and a zero-waste wannabe.

She has been on the zero-waste bandwagon for years and shares her experiences on social media, inspiring other families to do the same.

Kate helped me identify some things I can do to take the first steps on my zero-waste journey. Here you'll read about:

Six first steps to reduce our household waste

1. Do a bin audit

This is to help me identify the biggest areas of waste, so from there we can figure out where to focus. Food packaging is definitely our main bin filler.

2. Start a compost

Almost half of what the average Australian throws in their general waste bin could be composted. My new compost would probably not impress a good gardener (or a worm) but it's there ready to take our food scraps out of the landfill process.

3. Buy less plastic at the supermarket

Kate tells me she takes her own bags, jars and containers so I plan to do the same. These don't need to be fancy stainless steel or glass containers, use what you have — like old olive or pickle jars.

4. Eat more fresh food

Fruit and vegetables come with their own natural packaging that you can eat or compost.

5. Keep your reusable items handy

Reusable coffee cups, reusable drink bottles and reusable shopping bags are great but you have to remember them.

"We have a 'reusable station' at our front door," Kate says, and recommends I do the same. Because we live a drive from any shops, my solution is to store it all in my car.

6. Invest in cloth nappies

Some councils run free cloth nappy programs which offer samples and incentives, including rebates towards cloth nappy purchases.

If there's nothing in place where you live, you can let your council know it's something you want.

"If you didn't want to swap to cloth nappies just using cloth wipes will save a heap of waste and a lot of money as well," Kate says.

With those pro tips I put my plan into action and kept track of my first week.

My first week of trying to live zero-waste

Wednesday: Bin day and the first day off in my working week

I decided to get ahead for the week by getting organised in the kitchen.

I made bread, crackers, dark chocolate choc chip cookies, "secret veggie sauce" which I use to flavour everything, shepherd's pie and cannelloni.

I'm exhausted just writing that sentence. But it set me up for a week where I didn't have to think about snacks and I've made a good start on our meals for the week.

Total waste: a few plastic food wrappers from nuts, seeds, oats etc, which I'll take to the REDcycle bin at a supermarket, some baking paper, a label removed from a jar (I'll reuse the jar) and some plastic from our mince.

I haven't worked out an alternative to plastic bags for freezing meat. This is my rubbish from day one. ( ABC Life: Elly Bradfield )

Thursday: The big one

My baby turns one today.

Our baby got a sandpit for their present. ( ABC Life: Elly Bradfield )

We (well, my husband) did our zero-waste best by making her a sandpit as a present. We bought beach sand from the local quarry, some fittings from the hardware store and used leftover posts to build the sandpit.

As for toys — my husband's mum had saved all his. So, we were set.

Total waste: a sticker I peeled off an envelope — envelope was stashed for re-using. I'm not sure I even use envelopes anymore, but maybe.

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Friday: Swimming lessons

Family fun day at the beach. ( ABC Life: Elly Bradfield )

This is our hangout and have fun day.

We use reusable swimming nappies and we were lucky enough to score some togs, along with lots of second-hand clothes, when my nieces grew out of them.

I was given old plastic bags that sheets came in that I use to contain wet togs, etc.

I am a rookie gardener, but have managed to grow a good crop of eggplants so we have been loving ratatouille. We had it with lamb chops from our farm.

We haven't figured out a way to store home-killed meat that doesn't involve plastic bags.

Today I had to throw out my empty mascara. I have no good ideas about reducing waste from makeup, other than stop wearing it.

I work as a video journalist and I'm sometimes on telly so that's not an option, but I have cut back what I wear and how much. Some brands are better than others, I also think more about products I do use and what's in them.

Today's total waste: plastic and bones from meat, aforementioned mascara tube.

Saturday: Grocery shop

I hate shopping for groceries. Always have. Thankfully now we only have to do it every two to three weeks. We just grab things like milk in between.

We do have a bulk food store about 45 minutes from our house, but we're on a tight budget with part-time work so this isn't an option for us. Most things at that shop are double the price of buying the plastic packs.

Our shop was mostly staples — flour, oats, nuts, seeds, milk, a few veggies, some pork which was super cheap, and a tonne of vinegar for cleaning.

Elly's dog chewed up their dog bed, creating a dilemma. ( ABC Life: Elly Bradfield )

Unexpected waste: when your dog chews a perfectly good pillow she's had as a bed for months. We replaced this pillow with some old work jeans of my husband that were too ratty to send to charity.

Today's total waste: said dog cushion

Sunday: Work day one

Well this is awkward, I still use coffee pods. (I have a baby that doesn't sleep. I need good coffee, OK.)

But seriously, I have been looking out for a second-hand coffee machine that won't send us looking for a bank loan. We'll get there.

I do a really quick market shop before work. We usually go Saturdays and make it a family outing.

We are also super lucky that there's a lot of road-side stalls around where we live and other cool services that deliver a box of market fresh fruit and veggies in season with minimal packaging when we have other commitments.

My husband made lamb casserole using neck chops, so waste is a few bones and plastic bag from lamb.

Today's total waste: coffee pods, meat bones and plastic, torch battery which had gone flat. I have since discovered that you can recycle batteries. According to Planet Ark many batteries contain toxic metals making them hazardous waste and others contain valuable materials that can be reused. Most regional centres and cities have battery disposal points at certain businesses.

Monday: Work day two

My husband still buys yoghurt for his lunches. I make my own but it's too tart for his taste.

Also some stickers used to label frozen breast milk for day care.

That's it. Leftovers get us through.

Today's total waste: yoghurt lid, label.

Tuesday: The finish line is near

We are using up our current supply of disposable razors, as we do more research into reusable options.

Today our neighbour gave us a big (plastic) bag of avocadoes and lemons he grew. Payment for this produce includes good chats, help with fencing and cattle work when required.

Avocados and lemons from Elly's neighbour ( ABC Life: Elly Bradfield )

We usually store the bags and return to him so he can use them again.

Today's total waste: razor, meat plastic.

My takeaways, a few months on

Being conscious of our waste in the first few weeks took up a lot of my brain space and made my busy head hurt at times but it is getting easier.

I'm always washing — cloth nappies, wipes, hankies, cloths and an absurd amount of baby clothes.

It does all take time, which I often use as an excuse, but I decided to put limits on my social media use and magically had the time to reduced my waste.

I do worry that I am filling the house with things I might use one day — going from a thrower-outer to a hoarder isn't really what I was hoping for.

But I have to admit, it's kind of addictive and helped me be more mindful, present and happy.

This quote from Zero Waste chef Anne Marie Bonneau kind of sums up how I feel about my personal contribution to a zero-waste world.

"We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly," she says.

If everyone just did a few things that they could manage in their household, it would be such a great start.