In the Part I on Simple sustainable living in the city I was writing about the reasons to make your life greener.  Part II has some simple green ideas to start your sustainable living.

Where to start to make your life more sustainable?

Sustainable living doesn’t mean giving up all the luxuries of the modern era and changing the lifestyle completely.  It’s rather adapting it to green living.   So, you would like to give a sustainable living a go, but, where to start?

The most important moment, in my opinion, is the realization, the need to become environmentally aware and willingness to take action, whatever the reason for turning green.  It might be global warming, economic downturn, health or something else.  As the old saying goes:  When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Our turning point was becoming parents.  We had the urge to change so many things in a short period.  Then we realized that sustainable living is not something you can do overnight; it’s a learning process, a gradual step-by-step approach, it’s a way of living.  And we are loving it!

If you are new to the idea of sustainable living, start with things you can do easily.  There are numerous green tips that don’t involve a lot of effort, time or money.  Most of them can be implemented immediately.  Make a few changes at the time to suite your priorities and situation.

Simple green tips to kick-start your sustainable living:

Energy:

• Switch off appliances at the power point.
• Change the light bulbs to energy saving ones.
• Switch off the computer during the night.
• Turn off the light in empty rooms.
• Lower the heater temperature a few degrees, set the air conditioner temperature a bit higher.

Shopping:

• Generally buy less stuff – say no to consumerism.
• Shop at second-hand and op-shops.
• Take reusable shopping bags.
• Utilize your local library instead of buying books and magazines.
• Buy recycled toilet paper.
• Say no to soft drinks and bottled water, refill your bottle instead.

Food:

• Try to cook homemade meals as often as possible.
• Buy local and produce in season: Farmers markets are great for fresh fruit and veggies.
• Consume less meat – better for your health, environment and pocket.
• Take your homemade lunches to work (in reusable containers).

Transport:

• Walk, cycle and take public transport whenever possible.
• Car-pool when going to work or picking up kids from school.
• Walk short distances.

Recycling:

• When it comes to packaging, the approach is refuse-reduce-reuse-recycle.
• Think before printing and if you have to, print double sided.
• Switch to paperless bills.
• Recycle whatever you can, not only packaging, but any items in the household. Can I use it in any other way?

Garden (a bit more involved):

• Grow some of your food.
• Plant a herb garden in soil or in the containers.
• Even if you don’t have a garden, you can have a few herbs on the window sill or balcony.
• Living in an apartment? Join a community garden.

The above list can go on and on.  They are just a few easy green living ideas to get started.  Grab a book from the library about a green sustainable living, search the Internet and don’t forget your favourite brew while reading!

The next part in this three part series will be about us:  what does sustainable city living mean for us, what have we achieved so far (more green tips) and what are our future projects.

P.S.  This cute removable and re-usable sticker on the photo above, made from a non-toxic, biodegradable material is from rippleproducts.com.

The big city has its challenges when we talk about simple, sustainable living.  Nevertheless it is possible to live a greener, more conscious life in an urban jungle.  With just a few easy steps everyone can do their bit towards a greener, more sustainable future. And every little step counts.

What does sustainable living actually mean?

Depending on whether a person lives in the city or on a farm, on the level of eco awareness and our priorities, every individual has its own interpretation of sustainable living.  It is a subjective view.

The following definition from Wikipedia sum the sustainable living term:

“Sustainable living refers to a specific lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprints by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet.”

Sounds complicated?  Put simply, it is a way of life that reduces the impact on the environment while leading a healthier and more conscious life.

What holds people back to turn to sustainable living?

In our busy lives, especially in the big cities where the pace of life is getting faster, with information overload on a daily basis and a little free time, a majority of population is on auto-pilot: grab a take-away dinner, fill the shopping trolley without giving much thought what goes in there (and in your body), eat in front of TV without noticing the amount etc.  Who has the time to think about greener, sustainable living?

No time is the most common reason that holds people back from a more conscious and greener life, as well other excuses like:

• Can’t afford it,
• Don’t know where to start and what to do,
• It’s not my job to take action, why do we have a government? and
• Why bother after all? to name a few.

All the above statements are misconceptions.  We (my husband, kids and I) are doing it while living in the big city and speaking from our experience, adopting a greener, more sustainable life has been a great satisfaction!

Reasons for sustainable living

We found the shift towards the greener living easy, very empowering and liberating.    I’ll list here just some of the major benefits for our family:

• We are leading a healthier life
• Escaping the rat race and choosing to be mum at home – by far the most satisfying benefit
• Helping the environment
• Although on one income, being able to save a lot
• Healthier home
• More free time to spend with children
• Teaching our kids about sustainable fundamentals
• Eating delicious, home cooked food
• And many, many more.

In the part two I’ll write about where and how to start living sustainably with some simple green tips for an easy start.

P.S.  This cute removable and re-usable sticker on the photo above, made from a non-toxic, biodegradable material is from rippleproducts.