When I was in elementary school, every year we celebrated Earth Day. This mostly consisted of drawing a nice green globe and using some kind of variation of the motto “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”.
This was in the 90s, and of course, being a child, green living and sustainability were the last things on my mind. As much as I remember, protecting the planet and living more sustainably weren’t even such mainstream issues (maybe with the exception of the ozone layer). Environmentalism was definitely a lot more niche topic back then for a lot of us, children and adult alike.
Since then, the ozone holes have somewhat recovered and this issue stopped being a headline. The bad news is that we have to deal with even more environmental problems nowadays.
I don’t want to write a novel on the seriousness of the situation, this has been done by a lot of smarter and more qualified experts many times. What I can say, though, is that we don’t have the luxury of remaining ignorant or passive anymore. Even if we don’t care about the moral or ethical aspects of destroying our planet and millions of living creatures, something has to be done out of very practical, self-preservation concerns. It’s not the problem of our future children or grandchildren anymore – it’s gonna affect all of us in our own lifetime.
I think anyone who aspires to live a more intentional lifestyle must pay just as much attention to sustainable living habits as to personal life improvements, like minimalism, decluttering, or mindfulness. It’s not a simple journey and doesn’t have to be an all or nothing journey either, but it matters – a lot. As I wrote here: no, you’re not too small to make a difference.
Turning abstract wishes into actions
There’s a widely-quoted saying that a goal without a plan is just a wish, and I wholeheartedly agree. I may be too enamored by to-do lists and excels (at least according to my friends and family), but this is how my mind operates. Living healthy, being more mindful, or adopting more sustainable habits are too abstract goals for me. I need concrete steps – steps I can plan for, realize, and track.
That’s the reason why I put together a personal action plan for living more sustainably in 2019.
A sustainable action plan for 2019
Research, learn, and ask
Being informed in my opinion is the number 1 most important thing we can do and the critical first step for any kind of change. I know it seems a bit vague (especially after my rant about abstract goals), but this is more like a way of living for me, and not a goal per se.
Action steps
+ I’m gonna keep researching (and trying) issues, ethical and sustainably-made products, and sustainable living ways, and I’m gonna share my experience here. I know there are bloggers and experts who are far ahead of me in terms of sustainability and I do look to them for tips, tricks, and advice. I’m sharing whatever I find because there may be lots of others who are at the same stage of this journey as I am – having the intention, but lacking the answers. Because I do have a lot of questions – in fact, the more I learn about this, the more questions I have. I’m not perfect, but I’m determined to improve.
+ One thing I like and admire in others is moving from passive research to active inquiry – which means going directly to the source (brands, companies, public officials) and asking questions. Instead of blindly believing everything we read, it’s nice to start a conversation with the people behind the stuff we eat or buy or with people having the means to effect changes. We have a right to know what we consume, after all. It’s also a small step towards maybe changing some things. Public questionings, petitions, and demanding information or better solutions have already achieved some things, take the issue of straws for example.
Find more ways to reduce my waste
Zero waste is a nice concept making headlines nowadays, but I also happen to think it’s pretty much unrealistic for most of us. So, instead of trying (and failing) to become zero waste, aspire for creating LESS waste (I wrote about my efforts in this post). I’ve already moved past the very beginning steps of using reusable bags etc., but there are still a lot of areas for improvement.
Action steps
+ Buy more stuff in bulk and package-free – especially dried goods, seeds, nuts etc. There’s a new zero package shop in the city I definitely want to visit, but the farmer’s market is generally a good starting point.
+ Make more food from scratch. I don’t mean proper meals, because we never buy prepackaged or frozen meals, but other daily essentials like granola, fresh juices, cookies etc. This will definitely be a challenge because cooking is not my favorite hobby, but I’m watching a lot of cooking shows to be inspired to experiment more.
Adopt an even more plant-based diet
Most experts will tell you that one of the most important things we can do for a more sustainable lifestyle is to consume less meat and dairy. In a way, it’s even more important than cutting down on fossil fuels, as current industrial agriculture (and mainly meat production) is a source of a multitude of environmental problems – not just greenhouse gas emission, but deforestation, pollution, land quality decline, water waste. Not to mention animal harm and human health effects, including diseases and increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
It’s not realistic to expect every single person to adopt a vegan diet overnight, though. But it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing game either. Even if you’re not ready to totally eliminate meat or dairy, adopting a more plant-based diet does matter and does make a difference.
I don’t eat a lot of meat, maybe 2-3 times a week, but I do consume dairy on a daily basis – mainly milk, cheese, and yogurt. My goal is to reduce meat eating to the bare minimum, meaning it won’t be the norm, but I don’t promise to never ever eat it again, and try to build habits of substituting dairy with alternatives.
Action steps
+ When it comes to adopting a plant-based diet, what works for me is either designating full meat-free days or designating meat/dairy-free meals. I’ve pretty much totally eliminated meat from breakfast and dinner, now I need to do the same with dairy. This gives me a nice structure and it’s easy to track my progress (I use the Strides habit tracking app).
+ Find alternative vegan recipes for the meals we eat the most and get used to those being the rule, not the exception.
+ Substitute milk. I drink at least 3 or 4 coffees a day and this is the main source of my dairy consumption. Switching to plant milk would also make sense to me, as I have slight lactose intolerance (I can eat some dairy without significant effects, but cannot really drink 2 or 3 cups of milk). Unfortunately, the availability of plant-based milk in Hungary is still slim, there are only a couple of brands, and so far I haven’t found one I’ve liked. I’m continuing my research and maybe even look into making my own if all else fails.
Use my car less
We’re a two-person two-car household. For a long time, this wasn’t the case as I’ve only got my driving license 4 years ago – until then I totally relied on public transport. Since I’m working from home, I don’t use my car very much and we definitely coordinate whenever we can, so we only use one car, but nevertheless, I know I overuse my car and, besides meat consumption, this is definitely one of the biggest sources of my eco-footprint (check what’s yours here).
Action steps
+ Eliminate “unnecessary” car rides. You can make a case for most car rides being unnecessary, but I’m going to remain realistic here. I’m still going to use my car a lot. What I don’t need to do, though, is to use it for very short rides, purely for lazy comfort reasons. Going to the post office or gym that is like a 10 mins walk from me clearly fall under this category. That definitely needs to stop.
+ Another relating issue is air travel – and I’m not sure what to do about that since traveling is one of my passions. I’ll definitely look into this issue to know at least the scope of this problem and the pros and cons of potential solutions and habit changes from limiting air travel to buying carbon offsets. Ethical and sustainable traveling, in general, is something I’d love to learn more about this year.
Reform my water drinking habits
Water consumption is one area where I definitely need to improve. I do have a reusable water bottle that I take with myself mostly in the summer, but I’m not sure it makes much difference if I refill it from a plastic water bottle, even from those bigger ones in cafés and some offices. I still drink bottled water at home (the bigger 1.5L sized ones, not the small ones but it probably doesn’t really matter), but I’m now very determined to change this.
Action steps
+ I’m going to thoroughly research the tap water quality when we move into our new flat. I’m fairly certain it’s safe to drink, but I’m a bit confused whether we still need a water filter system or what exactly it does to improve water (you’re very welcome to share your knowledge in the comments). So I’ll look into that and then decide whether it’s really worth it and which one seems to be the best.
+ Also, I’m not particularly fond of the taste of tap water, but maybe this is just a matter of habit. I’ll definitely give it another go, maybe sprucing it up with herbs and fruits.
+ We’ll install a water-saving showerhead to control and reduce the water we use for showers.
+ We’ll have a big terrace, so I’ll start collecting rainwater to water the plants.
Research and opt for energy-efficient technologies
I think I’m currently somewhere in the middle when it comes to sustainable energy consumption. I don’t live in a home with the latest green technology (and will not for some time), but I still try to be a smarter energy user. We don’t have an AC or tumble dryer, which already means a significant energy saving. I pay attention to switching off the lights or unplugging electronic appliances when they’re not in use. However, I’d like to learn more about green technologies and what options are available to me.
Action steps
+ Research energy-saving technologies, gadgets, and certification. We’ll have to buy a couple of bigger household items this year, like a refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, so will look into the most energy-efficient options.
+ Installing solar panels is not an option for me right now (if I ever have a standalone house, I’ll do it), but I’m interested in the smaller solar chargers and whether it makes sense to buy ones to charge smaller items, like phones.
What’s on your personal sustainable action list?
[…] I think in today’s day and age, to be unconscious about sustainability is really not responsible. That said, I don’t think it has to be an all or nothing approach, and I love how Viktoria has put down clear action items for some of her sustainable living intentions. […]