Sustainability: my mission

Over the past year I have been shocked by what our consumption is doing to our planet. I'm not one to make New Years resolutions but this year was different. Mine was simple; consume less, make more.

---

I've become increasingly aware of what products I have been buying this year and it has made me think twice about how I go about life in general. From food to clothes to products I keep in my home, everything has had a shake up and I'm loving the way our household waste has decreased and my clothes are lasting longer in my wardrobe.

The first thing I stopped was takeaway coffee. I have owned a KeepCup for years but have been useless at having it with me whenever I go out. I'm a sucker for a coffee whilst out doing the shopping or running errands and it only makes sense that I should be using a cup that can be used time and time again. This was the first small step I had to make to becoming more sustainable and the effort it required to do so was so minimal! I've become good at taking it into the house after being out and about and cleaning it before it starts to grow a stinky, mould garden in my car. It has gotten to the point now where if I don't have my KeepCup, I don't get a coffee to takeaway.

The other plus in having made this change was it made me take time to relax a wee bit. If I didn't have a takeaway cup in a single use cup then why not have it in the cafe! I found it was a great way to stop for a bit and enjoy a nice brew before heading off to finish my jobs. And it also gave me an excuse to check out the local cafes better than just popping in and popping out again, all within the time it takes to make the coffee.

---

The second aspect I needed to change was the way we shopped for food. Too often was I buying products from the supermarket packaged in a plastic bag, like rice and pasta, and filling up our general waste bin with single use wrapping or packaging. I've since been buying my grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, flours, sugars from bulk food suppliers and my waste has reduced hugely! Last year we were easily filling a full rubbish bag a week for collection, but since I've made this change, we are now taking about a month to fill one. My aim is to keep this going and try to minimise it to a bag every two months and so on until we are almost waste free!

Fruit and vege is an easy one. I don't buy any fruit or vege that is prepackaged or wrapped in single use plastic. I have been using reusable bags made of cotton to get my apples, pears etc to save the plastic bags offered by the fruit and veges. And whilst we don't waste a lot of our fresh food, whatever is waste goes into our compost bin which is then used in our garden when we're planting.

Whilst doing all of this has huge environmental impact for our planet, it has also forced us to eat a healthier diet. Lots of fresh foods don't need packaging and those that do can be packed into reusable containers. And to make it even better, our local supermarkets have started allowing us to bring our own containers for meats and deli foods!

---

Clothes. That was the next big thing I needed to change! My New Years resolution was buy it second hand or make it. This has been one of my greatest challenges this year but so far so good! I have managed to learn how to sew basic dresses and skirts and I'm loving it! No longer will I be throwing clothes out if there's a hole in them, or they've lost a button. I can fix them! I bought a simple sewing machine and have been learning little tips and tricks off YouTube and Instagram.

There are still many many things I need to change in order to be more sustainable. Make my vege patches, find a better milk supplier that doesn't use plastic, keep reducing waste from food, the list is endless. But if I can say no to a single use coffee cup a day, thats 7 a week, 364 a year, just for me. Now imagine if everyone did the same. We hold the power to stopping the destruction of our planet. And it can start with one tiny change in our daily lives.

c.