The first step towards Sustainable Living

Herbs in reused containers

Many of us don’t know where exactly to start, how to start and why to start living sustainably. I followed a few simple steps which helped me get on the path of sustainable living. In this post, I will discuss how our mind plays a key role in changing our attitudes resulting in actions in our daily life.

Some people follow a sustainable lifestyle because their parents were doing it and it was part of their growing up. From an early age, they make choices that produce very less waste and they recycle and repair at every given opportunity. These are the people who will naturally invest in a toolbox to l repair items at home, rather than buy new stuff. I recently invested in a sewing machine and have noticed how much we can avoid buying new clothes. There are dozens of options to upcycle clothes on Pinterest

For some, sustainable habits were never part of their life. To train that kind of a mind at a later stage, say around 15 years of age or later is tough. The mind is already set to do things in a way that it is used to. For these set of people, it may be harder to change, but habits can be changed over time if you are convinced enough yourself. Sustainable living is a lifestyle change that one needs to accept willingly.

There are many blogs, websites and books written on how to go zero waste, things you can swap, reuse, grow what you eat etc. Those can be of help but if we introspect, you are the best person to choose what to change or amend in your daily routine rather than a book telling you where to start. If you do need a kick start, a slight push or ready-made ideas, there are plenty of bloggers websites, books available online. (Nayana Premnath, Brown Leaf, Kathryn Kellogg, The Mindful Mom, ilovecomposting) .

· Why would we want to change our current lifestyle/ Why would I want a sustainable lifestyle?

Let’s start with asking — why would you want a sustainable lifestyle? What makes you change the current way of living? Is it because someone else is practising sustainable living? Is it because a steel straw is trendy these days? Simply following a trend may not help you sustain a new way of living. You will need to go deeper to find the answer to why. The very reason you landed on this page may be one of the reasons (or at least that is my hope in writing this blog!)

· Train your brain

Any action you do or wish to do begins first in your head! It is really helpful to picture yourself doing certain activities which you wish to do in future (also referred to as the Power of Intention. This may help to understand what the possibilities are and also any limitations for you personally. For example, I pictured myself changing various habits before they actually manifested in my daily life:

Ø rinsing all the home delivery food containers before putting in the dry waste bin

Ø washing the milk packets, drying it and collecting it for a month or two to sell it to the recycler

Ø composting my kitchen waste and using it in my balcony garden.

Through all these activities, I got a sense of pride that one step can change the course of waste going into landfill. This motivated me to take further steps (one at a time) towards changing my lifestyle. It is not so easy as it takes away time from the daily routine. It is a continuous process of unlearning old habits to new sustainable ones. I see myself living a zero-waste life, having a permaculture farm and community living. Every day I am working towards achieving what I have envisaged.

· Observe daily routine/ patterns

Observing my daily routine for at least a week gave me a fair idea where I need to make changes. Listing down possibilities and options helps. At this moment your mind plays an important role. It can either manipulate or support you. The manipulative mind may put most of the changes (for example, segregation of waste or using kitchen cotton towel instead of a paper towel) in the ‘maybe later’ box.. This is the time where you can go deep and research to persuade the doubtful mind. ‘What happens to the unsegregated waste?’, ‘How many trees are cut to make one kitchen paper towel?’. I am sure the answers you get will convince you to change. I looked into the impact of my daily activities this way and thought about the impact of what a family and the community as a whole can have on the environment

· Experience the change

I took my time and started following what I listed down. It started with simple things like having a bucket bath and repairing my shoes and not jumping to buy a new one! After having done one small change consciously, I got a feeling of wow. I have trained my brain successfully!! This inspired me to do more by taking more challenges and tougher decisions. Once you experience the change, never forget to share your experiences. It can be on social media, with our friend, family, colleagues. You can inspire people and also may get solutions from other’s experience.

· My Sharing

If it was not for Dhanashree Chauhan from ilovecomposting, I wouldn’t have started composting while I was 8 months pregnant. The kit Dhanashree provides makes composting in apartments extremely easy. I could sieve my first batch of compost when my daughter was 3 and a half months old. After seeing the results from my composting, my mother and cousins have started composting their kitchen waste.

My first batch of compost

To Summarize:

· Ask why would I want to change my current lifestyle? / Why would  I want a sustainable lifestyle?

· Train your brain

· Observe your routine/ patterns

· List down where I can make changes

· Start and experience the change

· Lead by example

· Share your experiences

I hope you find your way through to train your brain and start living sustainably. Simple tweaks in daily routine can change your life forever. What is your tweak of the month?