Sustainable 2020

See Australia up in flames put the view of climate change into a different perspective. Things I absolutely love and cherish are going up in flames. I was aware and have been aware of climate change for a while but the changes are becoming more drastic and far worse than I had ever expected them to be now, as I’m in my late 20’s. A huge goal of mine has turned to sustainability and how to better the planet with my small steps. My efforts, though small and though potentially won’t make a large dent in the climate change problem, are all I can do. I’d rather say I lived a little and tried my best than to give up and continue harmful habits. I have compiled actions I’m going to take in 2020 that will allow me to be a better human to planet earth. Here they are:

1) Use less plastic

Staying aware of the things we buy and the packaging that comes with that is a huge way to reduce garbage and the plastic getting dumped into the ocean. Using things like bar soap instead of soap in a pump, and if you do use products made of plastic try finding ways to recycle them by using them a second time. I’ve also found reading ingredients is helpful because there are products that have plastics in them without you even really knowing they’re there. Like micro-plastics in face washes and other hygiene products. Also bringing your own utensils and straws when you go out, using paper or glass instead of plastic when possible, and consuming less packaged grocery items are all additional ways to reduce plastic!

2) Sustainable clothing brands or second hand clothes

This one is going to be tough, I don’t shop too often but when I do I head to the Zara’s and the Free People’s of the world. Though both have great business plans and are highly successful, I am not entirely sure how they rank on the sustainability scales. I know Zara is all about “fast fashion” where they intend for their items to be worn once and then thrown away. Free People I am hopeful has better practices than this but I can’t guarantee I know where their clothing is coming from. Moving forward I am going to be looking into what I buy with more depth and I’m going to research what they are making and how they are making it. Brands I know that are sustainable for 2020 shopping are:

There is a huge stigma against second hand clothing, lots of people think they’re really dirty and gross to re-use. And to a point that can be true but I’m not thinking I’ll go and buy ripped up clothes or really dirty clothes, in fact many thrift stores don’t even hold items like that on their floor. What I’m thinking is I’ll search for second hand items that are lightly used and are items that I really really like. If I can’t stop thinking about them then I can buy them but if not then I’ll be fine without them.

3) Use reusable items

No more one time use items. This means I won’t be using paper towels but cloths instead, no more makeup removers or one time face wash cloths. We will use re-usable bags for shopping, coffee mugs instead of cups, water bottles instead of plastic bottles, use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets, and beeswax wraps instead of plastic wrap.

Another great way to go about this is finding multiple uses for items. Like paper bags could be used for gift wrapping. Or finding recycled gift wrapping paper, items that use recycled plastics like water bottles and containers etc. Finding a way to reuse items or use recycled items is the goal.

4) Taking public transportation

This one we had no choice in because we don’t have a vehicle but its something I plan on continuing into 2020. We will always use public transportation or walk/run/bike instead of using a car. We live close to our grocery store and can take the bus to work because we live close to a bus line, it was something we took into consideration when we moved into our place. We will continue to use the bus and light rail whenever we need to go somewhere, it saves a little bit of the environment and actually saves us quite a bit of money each month too.

5) Eating less meat

I’ve always been a meat eater and this one has been hard. How I will accomplish this is meal prepping on weekends to make sure I have meals ready to eat throughout the week and I will be using alternative protein sources to meat. The source I’ve been using for a few months is tofu, and I have been meat free throughout the week successfully. Consuming less meat helps the environment tremendously and it also saves us quite a bit of money!

All these steps and more will be used to help the planet and be a little more sustainable of a person. I want to reduce my carbon footprint and the added benefit is the amount of money I will be saving. Because although these steps help the environment, we have been doing a lot of them because they also help save us money. It’s a win-win once again :) When I think of more steps I’ll write them out here!