It’s so great that sustainability is gaining so much more attention.
However, with this can, not always, come with a culture of guilt. Am I doing enough? I know I’m doing ‘this’, but I’m also doing ‘that’, so does my ‘this’ still count? Embracing sustainable living doesn’t mean all or nothing. There’s a common saying that it is about progress, not perfection. And my go to phrase is small switches can lead to big changes.
Our lifestyles, knowledge, environments and resources are all different so we can’t expect everyone to be doing everything the same way. Our priorities are also different. What might be a not negotiable eco friendly choice for me, may not mean anything to you. If taking up a more sustainable lifestyle is important to you, it’s more about making conscious choices and changes, and moving forward, rather than nailing every goal all at once.
I’m constantly looking at ways I can change our lifestyle. It’s ever evolving and a lot of trial and error. There are some things I’m simply not ready to change. I do examine what I’m doing though and think about whether I’m feeling good about the choice, don’t really register it, feel I need to look at alternatives or put in the ‘look into later’ category.
- I still sometimes buy groceries in plastic. When selecting them I’m conscious about it and it doesn’t feel right, however, it’s often due to being convenient, and I’m in a rush. And that’s ok.
- I buy fast fashion items for my kids. They grow so fast and don’t take care of ANYTHING they own so I don’t allow much of my budget for their clothes. And that’s ok.
- I’m still using a few (down to a very few now, it’s taken time) non biodegradable chemicals I’m not fond of in my home. I’m weaning them out and still looking for alternatives that work the way I would like them to. And that’s ok.
- I forget my reusables for takeaway at times. I recycle as much of the packaging as I can and some of it goes to landfill. And that’s ok.
- I have the air con on more than I should have. I get very hot what feels like all the time during summer months and want to feel comfortable. And that’s ok.
- I still buy the odd ‘eco thing’ because it looks pretty and sounds good and then realise I didn’t need it and never use it. And that’s ok.
The list could go on and on. I don’t look at stuff like this and think of how bad I am at sustainable living. I think about it more as a way of looking at possible alternatives or changes I can make to our lifestyle to not feel the need to use items I no longer wish to. Or, I simply decide it’s a change to forget about….for now. And then focus on everything we are doing.
Small switches can lead to big changes.