Sustainable Living- Where To Start
Sustainable living is defined as a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the earths natural resources along with one’s personal resources. In the past, whenever I had thought of trying to be more environmentally conscious, I would think of a long list of things that I would need to change, which would overwhelm me and make me give up before I even started. This was until last year when I decided to start doing things my way and take small steps towards living a more sustainable life.
What sparked this change was when I realised that we as humans have directly impacted climate change, depletion of natural resources, global warming and so much more. It occurred to me that if we don’t start to take care of our environment, all of the basic natural sources that we are dependent on for survival will no longer be there. Our overall wellbeing is dependent on so many different factors that are all dependent on our environment. My approach to sustainable living is reminding myself that it is not about perfection but about consistency and that every little bit makes a difference.
So I’m going to keep this list short and simple, and give you a little intro into how you can take those first steps. My advice to anyone starting out would be to pick one to two things from this list and start small. Once you get the hang of things every couple of weeks, start adding on something else and just like that you will build habits that will not only impact the environment but your quality of life too.
Consume Mindfully. It’s two simple words to remember when it comes to food, products and resources. Start to become more mindful in what you use, how much you use and how you manage waste. It’s always helpful to ask yourself how much do you really need. Once you are able to identify that, then things start to fall into place. For example, one of the first things I started to notice was how much food or lefts overs we as a family used to throw away. Now we have a rule, whatever is left over gets used the next day either in a meal, a packed lunch or put in a charity fridge located in our neighbourhood. This way we not only control how much we cook, but we are not forced to bin gone off food that could have fed someone. Consuming mindfully can be a powerful habit when implemented into your life, its that five second rule of pausing and asking yourself if you really need something.
Reduce the amount of single use plastic. A simple thing such as carrying a reusable water bottle and coffee cup with you makes a world of a difference. Taking your reusable tote bags with you when you go to the grocery store, opting not to drink from plastic straws, and limiting take out packaging / plastic cutlery are some simple yet effective ways to cut down on single use plastic. One thing to remember is that it’s ok if you don’t commit to these changes 100% , sometimes you will slip up or unwillingly use plastic but it’s all about making small changes and being as consistent as you possibly can.
Start swapping your regular products for non toxic products. The best way to navigate this change is to choose things that you use the most of. In my case it was self care/ skin care products and so that is where I started. Switching out my deodorant, shower gels, toners and some everyday make up products for clean ones. This first step then further made me think of things that directly impacted my health and that was the starting point I needed in order to start swapping out other daily use essential products that contained harmful chemicals.
Conserve electricity and water. This one is possibly the simplest change to make and requires just a little bit of thought. Once you get into the habit of switching the lights off, not leaving the water tap running, switching to energy conserving appliances and bulbs, it just becomes part of your daily routine. These positive habits also have a domino effect and make you start questioning how you can impact energy and wanter consumption on more than just a personal level.
Buy better quality things that last longer. If I had to choose one thing that truly changed my life, it would be this point on the list. I was somebody that would think quantity instead of quality just for the better bargain. This was the case until we moved house last year and I was faced with all of my purchases over the years that still had tags, were not used and duplicated. Since then, I have made it a point to not only think twice before buying things but also invest my money on products, clothes and appliances that will last me. Adapting the consuming mindfully mindset is what has helped me think twice about making purchases.
Make it a family affair. Get the whole family involved, talk about it, help them pick a starting point, gift them reusable products and the list just goes on. One thing that I love doing is family activities that revolve around sustainable living; things like cooking our meals together instead of going out, going for walks, outdoor activities, spring cleaning and passing on our pre loved items. It’s always fun when you get to make such impactful changes with the ones you love, knowing that these things will make your lives better.
Never stop learning and educating yourself on issues related to the environment. There is so much information out there readily available to us on how we can get involved, how we can make a difference and more importantly how we can make a change. It is extremely important to know the impact that even our subconscious habits have on the environment. I found that the more I learned (from verified sources), the more involved and committed I became on doing my part to care our environment, our home.
