I’ve been meaning to write about a part of my life that I’ve hardly touched upon on this blog: My passion for nature, the environment, and trying to live sustainably and mindfully. To live simply, that others may simply live, as the saying goes.
The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized that small actions on my part are probably pretty useless in the grand scheme of things. What difference does it make if I carry a reusable water bottle or cutlery when giant corporations are recklessly spilling hazardous waste into pristine rivers or releasing toxic gases into the air? But it makes me feel good knowing I’m doing what I can.
What I do now:
- Carry a water bottle to cut back on single-use plastic water bottles.
- Use a travel mug if I am leaving the house and want to bring coffee or tea.
- Pack a lunch when I have to go out for the day or work in the office to eliminate the need to go out/spend money/use disposable stuff. (Obviously, sometimes I do eat out, I’m not against it entirely!)
- Working from home means I don’t have to drive much – which is more of a privilege than a choice, but I love that.
- Use a silicone menstrual cup and cloth pads instead of tampons and disposable pads.
- Use cloth napkins at mealtimes.
- Use reusable fabric shopping bags instead of plastic. This is one thing that I used to try to do but often forgot, but once my state banned plastic bags, it became easier to remember my cloth bags because now everyone uses them.
- Only shop at secondhand stores or buy items I know are from reputable companies and of good, long-lasting quality. (Ok, this is about 80% true. I occasionally buy clothes from Amazon or TJMaxx.)
- Avoid eating meat.
- Grow some of my own food.
- Avoid using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc., in my home, garden, and yard.
Things I could do better if I remembered to or felt like it:
- Bring containers from home for leftovers when we dine out.
- Stop using so many tissues. (I have hankies, but I often get lazy or feel awkward using them in public.)
- Take shorter showers.
- Use a clothesline instead of a dryer. (Lol, no.)
- Grow more of my food and preserve it to eat throughout the year.
- Go entirely vegan, and make more of my own food instead of buying pre-made things like veggie burgers and cookies.
Weirdly, I can’t think of more things I could do. Maybe because I thought about this topic 20+ years ago, figured out all the things I could do, and implemented most of them.
So many things have changed in the last 20 years. People at work would tease me for carrying a water bottle into the office – ask me if it was liquor in there. Trying to find vegetarian options at restaurants took a lot of work. Nowadays, carrying a water bottle or not wanting to eat meat seems more mainstream.
Well, there you have it. I’d love to hear suggestions for other sustainable behaviors I might have overlooked. If you’ve read this whole thing, tell me if/what you do to be sustainable!
Uncommon Heather 
I agree with you – it’s important to do what we can and be mindful of our choices. I’ve mellowed a bit though. I used to be so rigid – I wouldn’t even use paper towels! But when I thought about it, for really messy jobs, using a rag had it’s downsides. The rag became another mess that needed cleaning! I’d waste precious water rinsing and rinsing, and then I’d throw the nasty rag into the wash, which couldn’t be good for the machine over time. It’s horrifying that appliances are relatively disposable these days. My mother used the same washing machine for 28 years, but I’ve had to replace mine multiple times over the decades of my adult life. I’m guessing that the environmental impact of using a few paper towels is far less than hastening the end of another washing machine’s life. But maybe that’s just rationalization for my wanton ways. 🙂
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Oh man, I forgot about paper towels! I use them too, and you’re right, using a rag for certain jobs is just such a pain and half the time I’d end up just throwing out the rag anyway. I do think a lot of paper companies have gotten more responsible with using recycled materials and replanting trees- though that might just be greenwashing…
And yes, so annoying that appliances don’t last. The planned obsolescence of everything these days kills me.
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How you live a sustainable life is important to many. Good work! Thank you 🙏🌍
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