What is Sustainable Living

Is Sustainable Living a definable, one fit for all way of living?

No way.

Sustainable living is as diverse and varied as the people who live on the planet

I believe that Sustainable Living is more of an intention and a mindset that shapes your way of living

Having a sustainable mindset influences all your choices and changes how you view the world, and your place in it

No Plastic to See Here

Sustainable

[suh-stey-nuh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being supported or upheld, as by having its weight borne from below.

2. pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability by using techniques that allow for continual reuse.

3. able to be maintained or kept going, as an action or process.(1)

We often hear people talking about sustainable living, but what does that actually mean, what does that look like in action

I think it probably looks different for everyone, we all lead very different lives, we all have different priorities and values, hobbies, interests and ways of eating

I think the current trajectory of unconscious consumption doesn't take us humans on earth anywhere very livable in the future

There is an urgent need for a shift in our consumption habits, which inevitably sets us on a different trajectory to a more sustainable future

Our resources on this beautiful planet are not infinite, we need to find a better way to manage and renew the bounty offered to us in a balanced, sustainable way. A massive shift from the dominate, exploit and destroy methods currently at play

I'm not talking major overhaul of all our lives, for some that may work, but for most is not a sustainable approach to form new habits

When I started being more intentional about my living I made slow changes over months and years, which lead to more learning, deeper understanding and making more changes

Small individual efforts to make conscious intentional choices to live more sustainably will have big impact overtime.

It works like compound interest, but this investment is for the future of our planet. What kind of world do we want to invest in for our children's futures

Small Induvidual efforts by many = huge effect overall

One of the hurdles to sustainable living is a lot of people don't see their living practices in a global context.

When we package our garbage and the garbage truck picks it up and takes it away, its almost as if we imagine that's the end of it. That bag of garbage, along with the bags of garbage from all your neighbors, the rest of the country and the rest of the world end up in landfills where the majority of its contents will sit for hundreds of years.

Living sustainably starts with recognizing how our choices and actions contribute to the culture of consumption, and impact to the planet

How Can You Start to Live More Sustainably

Starting to live sustainably starts with taking a step back to reflect on and observe your lifestyle, and consumption patterns

Once you have taken notice, can you start to see ways to change or adapt more sustainable living practices into your life

What things in your life do you use once, or maybe a couple of times and then throw them away?

Is there an alternative option that serves the same purpose but can be used many times, or indefinitely?

Is there an option that is compostable, or that can be repurposed into something else?

Instead of buying new, which supports more production of goods, is there a second hand option?

For example - If you're a person who gets a takeout coffee everyday on your way to work, a more sustainable option would be to make coffee at home and take it in a stainless steel or ceramic coffee cup or mug.

This small adjustment in habit alone reduces up to 280 coffee cups a year in the landfill. Think about the impact if even 10 people made that change = 2800 cups, 50 = 14,000 cups, 1000 = 280,000 cups .. You get it

Another easy example is eliminate plastic water bottle use

481.6 BILLION plastic waters bottles are used globally every year - About 1 MILLION/MINUTE (2)

Shocking number, right?

This adds up to catastrophic quick, but just think what it would do if people chose a more sustainable option, it would plumet that number just as quick as it adds up.

I thrifted my most favorite glass bottle, it cost me about $0.75. Saves the planet, and the wallet

Eventually there wont be anywhere to put all these plastics and disposable items. It already floats in our oceans, has reached the farthest remote islands and is in the guts of most animals - pretty easy to see how big of a problem this is

If we can work to identify where in our lives we can REDUCE consumption, REUSE something that already exists, and RECYCLE wherever possible we can drastically change the future.

Start where you are, set the intention, make the effort and it'll grow from there

Sustainable living isn't perfect, its a mindset.

Sustainable living is about living intentionally, compassionately and with the openness to learn and understand

I would love to hear of the sustainable swaps you have made in your life, please share in the comments below!!

COMING SOON My Favorite Sustainable Swaps -- I will link the article here for you once it is published

Together We Can Effect Great Change <3

Starts With You

With Love,

Katie

Resources:

1 - SUSTAINABLE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

2 - So...how many plastic water bottles are used every year? — Open Water