My Conscious Efforts for the Environment

This past year I started living by myself for the first time due to starting university. This was exciting yet nerve racking for me, as it felt like starting a new life. How was I going to continue the habits I had built at home, by myself, without the support of my parents. During my childhood, I was lucky to have parents who cared deeply about their impact on the environment. They would always recycle properly, buy sustainably produced food and try to limit their carbon footprint. This naturally caused me to have the same concerns for the environment and I got used to their "sustainable lifestyle". When I moved out, I never thought it would be so difficult to continue those habits as I never realized the effort it requires. To live a "sustainable lifestyle" one must make a lot of sacrifices such as taste, practicality and time. However, I eventually found a good balance for my student life while being as sustainable as I can. Here I share the main factors which helped me do this.

1. Don't Be Picky

Going from eating different home cooked meals every day to having to figure out how to do it myself was difficult. Cooking the food my parents' made required too many ingredients and equipment which I cannot afford or have the space for in my small dorm. However, before moving into university, I acquired a couple recipes from my parents and the internet which did not require too much time or ingredients. Then every weekend I plan out what meals I will have for the week, I always make sure to include a grain (such as rice or pasta), a curry/sauce, a green vegetable and a meal with protein. Then I try to find the best recipes which have overlapping ingredients, therefore I do not have to worry about wasting food or spending too much. Finally, I find the time to cook them all at once while enjoying some music or Youtube to create entertainment. Once done, I have four tupperwares filled with delicious food for the entire week. It's not a lot of variety, and often I have the same meal every day, which is why one cannot be picky. You won't have the luxury of a different meal every day and often the flavours will be similar due to limited amount of spices available. But it gets the job done in a healthy and sustainable way. As for grocery shopping, I try to buy products with less packaging and always follow the list I create to ensure I won't waste any food.

2. Give up Practicality

In today's world we've relied immensely on technology and innovation to make our lives for practical. This means we get things instantly, and don't have to prepare much in advance. Unfortunately, this often involves products harmful to the environment such as plastic. Which is why I say to give up practicality-just a bit. This means bringing your own grocery bags to the store, using dishware instead of single use plates even if it means you need to spend time washing your dishes. Recycle and compost! Even if it requires a further walk then just putting it in the garbage. Whenever I go out, I always keep a reusable bag and utensils in my backpack in case I eat out or do some shopping, to prevent any waste. It's something which is hard to change as we always crave instant gratification, but when I started thinking about my environmental footprint in my every day tasks and started giving up practicality, I felt a lot more gratification.

3. Quality Over Quantity

It's easy to go shopping regularly and instantly buy the clothes you like, however it is important to think about the long term use of what you are about to buy. I struggled with this a lot as I always wanted to buy the cheapest clothes I liked in the moment and didn't think about how they would age. Now I have a lot of clothes which have worn out or which are not my style anymore. Sustainability in the clothing industry is a huge topic, there are a lot of upcoming eco-friendly clothing brands, however they are usually very expensive. Therefore, I have started to shop consciously, meaning when I am interested in an item I think about how often I am going to wear it, is the material seems like it will last long and if I really love this item. Often we buy clothes which are "trendy" in the moment and later on realize that they are not actually my style. This method is not as sustainable as investing in companies which are 100% sustainable, however I believe it is more achievable for most of the population. Another tip when it comes to finding clothes sustainably is to trade within friends, often times a lot of us have a bulk of clothes which we don't wear, but our friends might like. This allows us to have the excitement of new clothes without having to buy them and create waste. As Joshua Becker says "the most environmentally friendly product is the one you didn't buy".

These three methods have made me feel as my lifestyle does have an positive impact on the environment at the same time as still being able to enjoy my life. Having a sustainable lifestyle is living your life with the earth in mind. 

 

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