Sustainable Living — The Imperative Lifestyle Change
It needs to be said, It ought to be done, It needs to spread!
Hell No! I'm not talking about the notorious Coronovirus which is spreading and disrupting lives all over the world! I'm talking about the problem which is much greater than that, which may have worse, far-reaching effects than this deadly virus itself.
I'm just any late-20s independent woman, who has enough disposable income and excuses to purchase five new outfits every month, who strongly believes that carrying a dapper clutch can be ways more fashionable than carrying a sloppy grocery bag and can afford the ease of driving around in a slick automatic fuel guzzling car.
But, I am also not as ignorant as this dude:
In the past 12 months, we have seen disrupted seasons with unexpected rain showers throughout the year, boiling hot summers, teeth-rattling winters, depleting air quality and an overarching increase in climate change led diseases and deaths.
I know, understand and acknowledge that climate change is real! 2019 was a red-alert that we have to act up now or live the risk of wiping out the entire human population sooner than ever.
This is a call to all educated and well-to-do 20 to 40-year-olds who can bring about incremental lifestyle changes but put-together make a huge impact on the Earth's future overall.
I'm sharing some practices that I incorporated in my daily lifestyle and you can too!
Control on Whimsical Shopping- Did you know that it takes 3,500 liters of water to make a mere cotton shirt? In the past few years, more clothes have been bought and sold than ever and more than 57% of the clothes go to landfills which take over 40 years to decompose.
Mid 2019, I geared into the "confessions of a shopaholic mode". I unfollowed all brands and influencers who were tempting me to make purchases that I didn't need. I signed out and deleted all the shopping apps like Zara, H&M, Shein from my phone and unsubscribed to my daily dose of H&M newsletter.
I actually thought I am going to OD of this abstinence and probably go back to being the casual shopaholic that I am but I actually didn't miss it at all.
It wasn't that I was devoid of the things that I needed. Of course, I did get myself some gym shoes that I needed. But I became a little conscious of what I buy. I ask myself, do I really need this? How many times am I going to use it? Do I already own something like this?
I also started investing in things that last longer rather than investing in things with a smaller lifecycle. I also re-invented my wardrobe and found new ways of wearing the same clothes. Simple laws of habit, it did not take me over 2 months to get to this lifestyle and I think I am in love with it. Now, I'm really proud to say that I repeat all my clothes and that's how I am giving it back to the Earth!
Avoid the use of disposables — A few sustainability steps can also help and motivate others around you. Another simple yet effective lifestyle change was carrying my spoon to work daily so that I don't pick new spoons or fork from the cafeteria. I also opt for 'Do Not Send Cutlery' on the food delivery apps.
As a family, when we go out, we stock water in the car to avoid increasing plastic waste by purchasing new water bottles. We also keep some cloth bags in the boot of our car for emergency grocery shopping.
Carpools and public transport — This is the biggest boon for me in terms of convenience and this also has a direct and immediate impact on the environment. Last year, I also got introduced to carpooling apps like sRide, Quickride, Blah Blah Car, etc.
Before that, I was taking an independent autorickshaw from Home to Work, which was super polluting, expensive and rather inconvenient. Now with the advent of these carpooling apps, which are legit and safe, I have taken over 400 rides in the last 10 months and this simple move has reduced one vehicle on the road, decreased that much amount of pollution and made my journey more fun because of great company and fun conversations with fellow carpoolers.
Shorter and timed showers — I can't begin to tell how much I have loved long, hot, refreshing showers and even more — bubble-filled-jacuzzis. But, in light of the acute water shortage that many parts of India faced last year, I decided to give this luxury a skip or keep it for the rarest of rare times.
On the normal days, I usually have a 7-minute long shower including a hair-wash. I also turn off the faucet while brushing my teeth or when not in use. It has not only helped me curb the water wastage but also I don't tend to be late to work due to extra-long showers.
Reduced Air-conditioning hours — This one has been a tough one on my husband because before we got married he was used to living in the house that felt like an industrial refrigerator and I, being from Rajasthan, like it a notch warmer rather than normal chilly.
To decrease air conditioning hours, we started leaving our windows open post 8 PM with our curtain down and when we'd step in the room to sleep, it was already cold. Obviously, we do turn on the air conditioning when it gets humid, but we turn it off in an hour or when we leave the room. We also utilize a lot of natural light in the daytime to do our chores. Besides, we use LED lights rather than CFL lights, which are kind of dimmish and need frequent change but are still light on electric consumption and the environment in general.
Walk and Cycle to shorter distances — This has to be my favorite change and the easiest to adapt to. I walk or cycle down for the chores that are in the hood. I also tend to collate grocery lists and order them on apps like SuprDaily which is a much more energy-efficient way to shop rather than going to the store for a single item.
Honestly, I am loving the sustainable changes that I am bringing about in my life and I feel that it is going to be the need of the future. A sustainable life is not boring. There are many things that you can do while having a sustainable lifestyle like travel sustainably to uncommon destinations, taking up fun or educational courses on Udemy, Coursera, etc, joining cool health clubs, but let your lifestyle not have a damaging, regrettable and irreversible impact on the environment.
Don't live on this planet as if we have another one to go to!
