Sustainable Living is not that difficult. It looks different for each person and is influenced by budget constraints but is not difficult. This post is going to walk you through the life of an average person with sustainable tendencies. I hope it helps you to find sustainable habits.

Let’s walk through average sustainable living.

In the morning, you get out of bed for work. You unbury yourself from multiple blanket layers because you want to be warm, but the thermostat is set for 68 degrees Fahrenheit, but your bedroom never gets hotter than 64 degrees. You get your clothes that are at least 2 years old but still look nice and head to the kitchen, thinking of how you are sustainably living.

 

You put some water on to boil in a cast iron kettle which may be older than you. While that heats up, you put on your Little Seed Farm deodorant, use your hairbrush (5+ years old), and your solid cologne. You use your Kooshoo hair ties and Elate Makeup to prepare for the day feeling great about your sustainable living journey.

By now your water is about ready, you hand grind your ethically sourced coffee beans and get your French press ready.  Poor in the grounds and top off with water. You grab some cream from the fridge, it’s locally sourced and in a glass jar. Coffee is ready, now it’s time for breakfast. You grab your cast iron pan and get it heated up on the stovetop. While it’s heating, you grab pasture-raised, organic eggs from the farmers market that have been sitting on your counter. You grab some bacon, which is organic pastured raised, and uncured from the fridge.  The last thing you grab is some produce from your garden from the fridge (cabbage, wrapped in a tea towel; peppers, onions, and potatoes, stored in shredded paper in the bottom drawer of the fridge). You chop the peppers, onions, cabbage, and potatoes. You place a few strips of bacon in the pan. Cook the bacon and remove it from the pan. Then you place your produce, to cook using the bacon grease to create a hash and you use a wooden spatula to stir your hash. You remove when the potatoes are done and the last thing you do is add a little oil to the pan and cook your eggs. When done, you finally eat breakfast, continuing your sustainable living journey and feeling fantastic.

Now it’s time to prep your lunch. You grab some leftovers from the fridge that are stored in a glass, reusable storage container with a lid, remembering how much you love your containers. They were some of the best investments you have ever made towards your sustainable living journey. You put it in your purse (which is at least 3 years old and still works) and head out to work.

 

You lament the fact that you cannot use public transportation. So, you drive your car which you will run into the ground to get the most life out of your vehicle while saving to hopefully get an electric vehicle. You get to work. You take notes using the Keep Notes app. to save paper and ink. At work, you have your own reusable cups and utensils that you wash in the sink at work.

When you finally get home, you start by hanging the laundry to dry in your laundry room, and start another load of laundry, using your sustainable laundry soap and cool water for your clothes, hot for towels and bedsheets/blankets. You find this task to be relaxing and really enjoy this part of your sustainable living life.

Then you clean the dishes from your breakfast and lunch, using a cellulose dish sponge and (specifically for the cast iron pan,) a steel scrubber with a dish soap block. When the dishes are done, you are hungry. Take a look at the fridge, based on what is about to go bad/expire, you come up with a meal that is weird but satisfies your hunger. For example, chili tacos. You use your beans, meat, and chili seasoning to make a meat base. Put it in a taco shell with some cabbage from your garden, taco sauce you forgot about in the fridge, and some sour cream.

After eating, you are exhausted, but you put the leftovers in glass containers and cover some things with beeswax wrap to leave for breakfast in the morning. You take out the garbage and replace your garbage bag with a post-consumer plastic bag.  You do some more dishes and wipe down the counters and tables, sweep using your broom that you have had since college.

Now it is finally time to relax. You have sat in your favorite chair for the past 8 years with your TV from college that somehow still works and watch your program. You do that for about an hour, drinking beer from your refillable growlers. It is now time to get ready for bed. You shower using bar shampoo and conditioner and using bar soap with a plant-based loofa. You dry off with a 10-year-old towel that was washed and hung to dry.  You brush your teeth with a bamboo toothbrush and tooth tablets.

Then you cover yourself up with multiple blankets and snuggle up with your buckwheat pillows for the night. You get a great night’s sleep, feeling like you did not hurt the environment.

I hope this sustainable living post inspired you. Remember you do not have to do everything; one or two things help a lot and I hope that you found a sustainable living change to make.

Looking for more Sustainable Living ideas? Check out my other post on How does the Average Person make Sustainable Changes?