Its been ages since I blogged. But yesterday, while reading some blogs on the internet, I had an "a-ha" moment, which I then excitedly shared with J and now it's a joint project we are going to try and implement starting tomorrow.
Let me backtrack a little bit here. We've been talking about moving next year sometime, and working in development for a few years. This made me start thinking of the practical side as well, including what we would need to leave behind packed up, and what we could take with us. And with this came the realisation that we have sooo much stuff!
We're not the most commercial or material of families. Some might also think of us as slightly crunchy :-) However, we enjoy the luxury of two incomes, and budgeting hasn't really been a necessity. A cute new T-shirt for Mira here, a new handbag for a change, a new release book that was recently reviewed... they all seem to quickly find a place through our wallets into our house!
So what is low impact? Low impact is an attempt to reduce the amount and impact of our consuming habits. What this will mean in practice:
1. For the next four months, we will not buy anything new! (Of course there are exceptions, which include health/safety/food/ personal care purchases)
2. For food products, we'll buy packaging free as far as possible
3. If we need something new, we'll explore the second-hand, borrow or create avenues first!
4. In general, we'll try to minimise bringing more plastic into our house
So there you are... four simple rules to stick by for the next four months.
Will this be easy? No way. Specially with Christmas, birthdays, and a holiday to Latvia. We'll have to be inventive with Christmas presents. J and I already have an idea for Mira's gift. It will be a woodwork project, new for both of us, but hopefully fun and satisfying. Our gifts to each other could be something handmade too, or an experience, not necessarily wrapped in paper. In Latvia, we'll try to buy souvenirs from markets or cooperatives, instead of a souvenir shop. Or bring back something edible...
Starting tomorrow, we are also part of a "climate neighbourhood" project (Klimaatwijk), which looks at reducing your energy consumption without a change in comfort. We need to record our meter readings, and get helpful hints and specific suggestions from energy experts... The goal is to reduce energy consumption by 8% in the next six months. Our low impact project will fit well with this.
I'll post regular updates about this, and be honest about our attempts!
We don't expect our family and friends to do the same of course, but we hope they will be understanding and supportive :-)
Let me backtrack a little bit here. We've been talking about moving next year sometime, and working in development for a few years. This made me start thinking of the practical side as well, including what we would need to leave behind packed up, and what we could take with us. And with this came the realisation that we have sooo much stuff!
We're not the most commercial or material of families. Some might also think of us as slightly crunchy :-) However, we enjoy the luxury of two incomes, and budgeting hasn't really been a necessity. A cute new T-shirt for Mira here, a new handbag for a change, a new release book that was recently reviewed... they all seem to quickly find a place through our wallets into our house!
So what is low impact? Low impact is an attempt to reduce the amount and impact of our consuming habits. What this will mean in practice:
1. For the next four months, we will not buy anything new! (Of course there are exceptions, which include health/safety/food/ personal care purchases)
2. For food products, we'll buy packaging free as far as possible
3. If we need something new, we'll explore the second-hand, borrow or create avenues first!
4. In general, we'll try to minimise bringing more plastic into our house
So there you are... four simple rules to stick by for the next four months.
Will this be easy? No way. Specially with Christmas, birthdays, and a holiday to Latvia. We'll have to be inventive with Christmas presents. J and I already have an idea for Mira's gift. It will be a woodwork project, new for both of us, but hopefully fun and satisfying. Our gifts to each other could be something handmade too, or an experience, not necessarily wrapped in paper. In Latvia, we'll try to buy souvenirs from markets or cooperatives, instead of a souvenir shop. Or bring back something edible...
Starting tomorrow, we are also part of a "climate neighbourhood" project (Klimaatwijk), which looks at reducing your energy consumption without a change in comfort. We need to record our meter readings, and get helpful hints and specific suggestions from energy experts... The goal is to reduce energy consumption by 8% in the next six months. Our low impact project will fit well with this.
I'll post regular updates about this, and be honest about our attempts!
We don't expect our family and friends to do the same of course, but we hope they will be understanding and supportive :-)
2 comments:
Hi Parul,
First Congratultions to you and J on the awesome news!
Second, I'm so proud of you for attempting a low impact and environment friendly lifestyle. We talk about all the time and do little things here and there but nothing in a systematic way like you. But in the spirit of sisterhood :-) I'm going to make a more conscious effort and follow your example. I hope you'll blog often with helpful tips. Love you for inspiring me!
Sarika
Ik supporter!
En voor mezelf houd ik het voorlopig bij een bescheidener voornemen: eens een jaar bijhouden hoeveel ik uitgeef aan kleren en schoenen (in de hoop dat dat tot een bewuster koopgedrag zal leiden).
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