5 Tips to Live More Sustainably
I recently laid it on thick with the doom and gloom related to our planet and global change; while my last post may have been a little depressing, I hope it helped shed some light on our current global situation and why it is important that we take action. I know it might seem like an incredibly impossible feat to tackle climate change on your own. Some days I feel so overwhelmed and helpless in this fight, and it is difficult to keep going when you can't see the impacts of your efforts. However, it is important to remember that you absolutely are not in this alone. Large scale change requires large scale efforts, and even though some days you may feel like just a drop in the bucket, remember that each drop in that bucket adds up to a pretty huge wave.
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| Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, taken at a climate protest in Sydney, Australia |
So with that said, I wanted to share a few general tips to help on the journey to a more sustainable, Earth-friendly life. These tips are very broad, but I feel like these are the tips I remind myself of every time I'm questioning the impact of my contributions. I am always trying to improve how well I follow these tips, especially tip #1! In another post very soon I will share more specific advice/tips and some of the sustainable products and items from my home that I use and love, so keep a look out for that soon! In the meantime, I hope these tips help as you embark on a more sustainable life and as a warrior in this climate fight. Without further ado, here are my top 5 most important tips to remember when trying to live a more sustainable life!
Tip #1: Educate Yourself
First and foremost and arguably the most important tip on this list, is to educate yourself and continue to learn! I would say you are already on the right track just for clicking on this link and reading this post, so I applaud you! However, as I said before, this is something I am always personally working on and trying to improve. It is so important to stay up to date with new scientific studies in the climate world, political changes that impact climate legislation, new sustainable product developments, and tips and tricks from the experts.
There are so many different forms of media and sources that you can patronize in terms of climate change and sustainability. Be sure to use reputable, unbiased news sources and fact check any other media outlets you use. Everyone on the internet has an agenda, so it is important to identify solid sources from political ones and gather factual evidence. Here are a few of my favorite sources for everything climate-related, but don't be afraid to explore!
Instagram pages: @chicksforclimate , @insideclimatenews , @everythingclimatechange , @climatereality
Twitter pages: @ClimateSciWatch , @citizensclimate , @ClimateGroup , @ClimateCentral
Government agencies/websites: NOAA, Environmental Protection Agency, Global Change, NASA, National Science Foundation
There are A LOT more agencies I could list here, but these are some of the main ones.
Here is a great collection of environmental/climate related blogs to explore if you want more!
Tip #2: Make One Change at a Time
After reading articles, following climate change social media, and listening to podcasts, you might feel a sudden surge of motivation to make incredible change all at one. This is great! Ride that high as long as you can. I definitely felt fired up when I started doing this research in my free time and surrounding my digital space with climate related rhetoric. You may be feeling excitement, anguish, hopelessness, anger, motivation, or all of the above (which was the case for me). With these feelings come an overwhelming desire to start making changes right this second and overhaul your whole household. While it is absolutely amazing to have that mindset, you may end up experiencing what I call ~*Earth-saving burnout*~. This burnout may result in short-term changes that fail to become long-term habits, which is not the goal here!
What I recommend instead is to make small changes and make them one at a time. It may seem counterproductive to the cause, but making small changes slowly actually helps these adjustments to your routine become habit, and building new habits and making larger changes is what this climate fight is all about! Instead of spending $300 online buying new, more sustainable household supplies and overhauling your entire home system, try out one new thing. Perhaps make a schedule for yourself where you make one household adjustment a month and really commit to it. With this method, you have the time and energy to do your research on the best household switches for your family without jumping to quick decisions because you feel like time is running out. It is, but you will be much more successful by ensuring your changes are permanent!
For example, every few weeks I take stock of one new thing in our house that is wasteful or that produces a lot of trash and I research more sustainable alternatives. My most recent change was switching out all our hand soap bottles for package-free, locally made soap bars. It seems small, but I was so excited to make this switch! (I will share my favorite sustainable products in another post coming soon!) This method leads to a lot of reflection on your current habits and allows you to really look at your life and the little changes you can make without overwhelming yourself. So, focus on one thing at a time as you are making changes to your routines.
Tip #2.5: Don't Be Afraid to Try New Things if Something Doesn't Work!
Bonus tip alert! Along those same lines, I wanted to remind you that you have options! If you try a new sustainable habit and it seems difficult to maintain or just doesn't work for your family, that is perfectly okay! Most changes you'll be making to your home are not the only one and you should feel comfortable switching to a different product or process that does work.
I chose to overhaul all of our cleaning products from the same company and found that I didn't love the laundry detergent. It worked okay, so we used the rest of it, but I ended up doing some more research and finding another company that I now love! Don't feel like you are locked in to any new thing you try and be open to exploring different options or things you never would have considered before, you might find something you love!
All in all, be open to exploring new possibilities, products, and processes, but do your research (see tip #1) and don't try to commit to too many changes at once.
Tip #3: Shop Locally When and Where You Can
While many larger companies have started making positive changes and more sustainable choices, the reality of the situation is that most large companies just aren't. And if they are, a lot of them aren't doing it fast enough. Alternatively, I've noticed that small businesses and local businesses are much more open to using more sustainable practices, because it typically costs less to overhaul their whole organizational system.
I know this might not be possible for everyone, but shop local and small wherever you can. Find social media pages for local vendors, farms, producers, etc. and patronize their businesses! I live in a pretty big city and we have an amazing farmers market every single Saturday all year round. My husband and I go just about every Saturday to stock up on local produce, meats, flowers, and whatever we can find! We even found a great Italian food caterer there that makes the best home cooked food. We always take our tote bags and buy as much as we can there so we can avoid the big box stores as much as possible. My city also has several shops that sell plastic-free personal care items, like shampoo, soap, and even deodorant!
The fact of the matter is that we all need to feed our families, put clothes on our backs, clean ourselves, and so much more. You shouldn't sacrifice your personal comfortability when joining the climate fight, so try to find locals that can provide the goods and services you need without any extra inconveniences. You may end up spending a bit more on certain things, but in my opinion, the pay off is so worth it when you realize how big of a difference you are making to that small business and to the planet.
Tip #4: Don't Try to Be Perfect
A lot of us in this climate fight tend to have this "all or nothing" mentality, in the sense that something isn't worth doing if it's not worth doing perfectly. In some aspects of life, this saying stands true, but when it comes to fighting global change, even the smallest efforts and changes are contributing, which is more than we had yesterday. I know when I first started being aware of the unsustainable aspects of my life, I had this overwhelming urge to scrap everything. In my mind, what was the point of switching to plastic free laundry detergent when I was still using shampoo and conditioner from a plastic bottle? All or nothing! After spending a lot of time and money to overhaul my house all at once, I realized that this need for perfection is what leads to many people abandoning their more sustainable habits. What I had to figure out was that just my desire to make a change was the best thing I could do for this planet. You don't need to be perfect right away, because it is that desire to make a change and a difference that will keep you going and encourage you to make more and more changes as time progresses.
The great Vince Lombardi said "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." There is no way to live a perfectly sustainable life. Like it or not, we will never be 100% waste-free, emissions-free, or pollutant-free. However, by having the drive and the ambition to reach those goals, we might get close. By caring enough to want perfection, we may just make the changes we need. So, remember that perfection is unrealistic and unattainable, but don't let that stop you from trying to be the best version of sustainable as you can, one little piece at a time.
Tip #5: Share the Changes You Make
This is the tip I struggle with the most, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I always felt it was so cheesy to say that the best thing you can do for the planet is to talk to your friends and family about global change and the things they can do. I felt like if those people were interested, they would have put in the initiative to research and make those changes without me annoying them at family gatherings like a Jehovah's Witness at their front door.
While it can be awkward to have these conversations sometimes, especially with family members that might not be receptive to the idea that our planet is changing in a horrible way, it really is important to at least share the climate related changes you're making in your life. Even though you might assume that everyone knows about global change and more sustainable choice (like I did), that might not actually be the case! Unless people seek out that information, a lot of people will not come in contact with it. Simply sharing your journey to sustainability in a positive, casual way can be really fun and encourage those around you to start thinking about making those changes as well.
If you aren't sure how to have those conversations about climate change with family and friends, I really enjoyed the "How to Save a Planet" episode on this topic. Check it out here.
Thanks so much for reading along today. I hope these general tips were helpful as you embark on this long journey, climate warriors. If you have any tips to add to this list, send me a message and comment them below! Just remember that reading articles like this one are the first step to making a difference; having that desire to make a difference means you're already moving in the right direction.
Until next time!
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