Sustainable Living - small steps.
So, yeah, this has been on my mind for a few years now. I have been trying to be a lot more aware of the things I use, wear and eat. I am by no means perfect. And, that is what I want to talk about.
I follow a lot of people online (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, you name it I am there) who follow a zero-waste lifestyle and are vegan. I am neither. I am not proud of it but I have decided to be less embarrassed by it.
I recently realised there are a few things I have been doing for years without ever really realising that they were partly zero waste/vegan lifestyle. That made me think maybe if I continue them and slowly and steadily keep adding more to that list, wouldn’t that make more sense, instead of making myself feel horrible for not being able to do a lot more immediately?
I mean why do we need to make ourselves feel bad that we are not able to always do 100%. I know many will be against this idea, but I feel like doing even a little bit is better than not doing anything at all because you cannot always meet the standards set by others or even by you. I mean why does it have to be all or nothing?
Okay, for example, for a while now, I have been carrying a bottle of water with me everywhere I go. It started because throughout the day I tend to drink a lot of water and it is not available all the time. So, my handy dandy giant bottle became a permanent friend of mine. It goes where I go. I rarely buy plastic bottles of water if I can avoid it completely. Only if there is no way to fill up my bottle and I am dying of thirst will I opt for one. I have even started carrying a smaller bottle for bags that cannot fit my bigger bottle or for places that do not allow my awesome giant bottle. I actually cannot remember the last time I bought a bottle of water. It not only saves a ton of money (if that’s your motivation) but ‘em plastics too.
The next thing I want to talk about is my set of cutleries; a spoon, a fork, a pair of chopsticks and my metal straw with a silicon tip cover. I love them and carry them everywhere. (Yes, I know everyone is trying to cut down on straws and I feel like that’s great.) I have been using this set for a couple of years now and I find them convenient and hygienic as well. Of course, I don’t take them out if I am at a restaurant that provides proper forks and spoons.
The deodorant bar is my next favourite thing. I am a stinker. I mean I sweat a lot. Hence, I used a lot of deodorants, the can kind. I read somewhere that natural deodorants are much better for people with active sweat glands. So, after very little research I found Lush carries a deodorant bar. I was curious and I got it. It’s been almost 7/8 months since I got it and I still have half of it left. So, I can easily use it for another 5/6 months. So, basically I will be using one deodorant bar instead of 12 of those one time use cans. (Yes I used to go through one of those cans a month). And, yes it does make me smell less bad. I noticed it after a month and so did my mother. I am never going back to any other form of deodorants.
Since we are on the topic of bars, shampoo bars are my next mention. I love them. Absolutely in love. I have been using shampoo bars since 2017 and I love them. The ones I usually use are again from Lush. They feel and smell so good and I love the fact that there is no packaging to throw afterward. Since, coming back to Kolkata, I have been looking out for local brands since my little stack is slowly diminished. Maybe in another blog soon I will mention the ones I liked.
My next go-to is bamboo toothbrushes. Yes, the easily available ones are with nylon bristles and that has bothered me for a while but that is much better than the plastic ones, right? I found one company in India that makes castor oil bristles that have the least amount of nylon and I will be trying them out soon. I love bamboo brushes because you can easily use the bamboo-part of it once you are done using it for brushing. My mom needs sticks as support for her plants and these come in handy.
I have a couple of other swaps that I have made in my life which have helped reduce my waste by a lot. But, as I said I am not perfect.
The makeup and the night cream I use come in thick plastic bottles. I always try to find a secondary use for them but well they are still there staring at me, making me feel bad about buying them. I am always on an active lookout for sustainable swaps which won’t harm my extra sensitive skin. (If you know any let me know)
Take outs; this is my guilty pleasure. This is not only bad for the environment but my health as well. Since I have been on a health journey I have stopped ordering in as much as I used to but still, it’s not that good. Again in our house, almost all takeaway containers have some secondary use.
Okay, now let’s talk about food.
I love food. As a Bengali, I have always known a non-vegetarian diet to be the norm. If you do not have fish daily you are a disgrace to the Bengali name. On top of that for the past few years, I have been in the US on and off (I even lived there for about 2 years) and I was exposed to a lot of meat-eating. I was on the Keto diet for a while and from my initial learnings, I understood I had to eat a lot of meat. And, that’s what I did.
I am back on the Keto diet but this time I have researched a lot. I mean a lot. I now know that one can easily be on a healthy Keto diet while being mostly plant-based. Yes, I said mostly because I still eat chicken and eggs. And, cheese. (Other some other meats when I eat out/order in -_-)
Recently I was talking to a friend of mine who is Vegan and I was telling him how ashamed I feel that I am not 100% plant-based. He told me something that I have since been exposed to a lot more thanks to many youtube videos, the simple fact that incorporating even a few plant-based meals is much better than not doing anything at all. Remember the all or nothing mentality I mentioned before? Yup, it’s better to incorporate some vegan options in your diet and life than to do nothing at all.
I have been consciously trying to have at least one meal that completely plant-based, and some days I try to make sure all my meals are plant-based. I am constantly trying to figure out ways to swap my regular and favourite foods with their plant-based options.
Now, I can go on about this and most probably I will in the future but this is all I have to say for now. These thoughts have been on my mind for months and I just wanted to share them. I do not want hate or love by sharing this but I just wanted to share that even small steps help in the bigger cause. Small changes matter and each one of us can do it.
Please share your own experiences, thoughts, and tips.