Eventually she and her family found a balance that worked. They would still buy toilet paper, but from a bulk supplier so it came wrapped in paper, not plastic. Her sons, 5 and 6 when she began, didn’t appear to mind, or even notice. At this point, she observed, they have spent far more time living with Zero Waste than without it, and it has come to seem perfectly normal. For their birthdays, instead of physical gifts, they receive experiences — one chose skydiving, another, bungee jumping. Four years ago, her younger son Leo assured her he would not buy paper towels when he grows up — "They’re such a waste of money," he said.