Saving the Planet in Your Own Way: Living a Less Wasteful Life
Waste is one of the biggest problems around the world right now. When we are looking to make changes in our lives, and not just focus on sustainability, but be more aware of how we are wasting things, it can force a few simple life changes that can make all the difference. So what does it really take to not be wasteful in many areas of your life?
Look at How Much You Are Using
This is the best place to begin. We’re not just talking about our food and meat intake, but looking at other aspects too. For example, if you are trying to cut down on your fuel, you could use portable oil tanks to see exactly how much fuel you are using. Rather than putting an arbitrary amount in your car, you can be very sparing in your fuel use. When you start to look at how much you are using, not just in terms of your food, but in terms of everything that performs part of your daily life, having that perspective can make a big difference in how much you are wasting.
How Much Can You Cultivate Yourself?
It’s a very important thing to address, because many people like the idea of being self-sustaining, but do not have the time to do it realistically. You may like the idea of growing your own fruit vegetables, and it’s important to do whatever little you can, but if you are going into the process blindly, you could end up causing more waste than is necessary, especially if you do not harvest crops at the right time, do not feed plants appropriately, and so on. It’s so important to stick within your natural limits, so you can start to grow things like vegetables, but make sure that the balance is there so that the food gets used, while also making sure that you don’t overwork yourself in the process.
Reusing Food Products
Following on from the idea of using food for everything, you can get into the habit of growing your own fruits and vegetables, but also making sure that everything is put to some use. For example, you can turn fruit into jam, freeze certain vegetables, and pickling vegetables. You can also get into the habit of batch cooking meals, and ensuring every vegetable gets used. When you batch cook, you can portion everything up and freeze it, making sure that nothing gets wasted.
Don’t Forget to Live in the Real World Too!
We cannot get everything perfect, and we have to remember that there’s only so much we can do. We may want to become more sustainable and live a more minimalist lifestyle but it’s important to remember that not everybody has caught up to this way of thinking. And, like insurance has shown time and time again, we need some form of backup plan. There are so many different aspects of the real world that aren’t necessarily sustainable right now but they are coming around to this way of thinking. This is why we’ve got to be patient, and with the recent news of the climate report showing that we have to start acting now, this is where we can all start to do our own little bit to help the planet.
