After a year of more stay-at-home time than going out time, here I am again stuck inside while I heal from hip surgery and work on getting my strength and stamina back. I think that it would be easier to handle this time around if I hadn't had to spend so much time last year inside as well. At least I had the summer and fall to get out and do some serious walking before winter set in. Now, with spring teasing me from the other side of the windows, I had to find something that I could do which would take my mind off my enforced house arrest, something I could really get into. So I decided to take another look at the topic of sustainability.
As some of you may know who have been following my blog, I have done some serious downsizing over the last several years. I went from a two-bedroom apartment with screened in porch, to a one-bedroom, and finally to a studio apartment. I have cleaned out closets, donated bags and bags of clothes, kitchen items, and, alas, teddy bears (I have been a serious collector of teddy bears for over 35 years and once owned over 100 bears). The other day, while scrolling through YouTube for some gardening and tiny house videos - my favorites - I happened upon a 12-part series I had seen several years ago called "The Search For Sustainability," hosted by Nathan Crane. It was a serious look at the subject from every aspect of life, from food and housing, to energy use, to sustainable business models, and even sustainability in education and the arts. I was curious to see how many of their ideas I had actually put into practice after seeing it the first time, and which ones I had slacked off on or had't started at all.
At first glance I have done pretty well. I have gone to reusable dish clothes and recycled old clothes into cleaning rags that I can wash and reuse. I try to buy less items in plastic containers unless they can be recycled. I do more cooking from scratch and buy only organic, non GMO foods, especially produce. I unplug things I'm not using and buy only energy saving light bulbs and electrical devices. My clothing mantra is: reuse, repair, recycle. I don't use paper plates. I buy cleaning products made from natural ingredients or make my own in spray bottles. After re-watching the series, I found that there was a lot more I could be doing and using this time to up my game was making good use of it.
For example, just because I'm no longer gardening on a large scale and only maintain a small, tabletop garden, is not reason why I still can't have a compost pile. A bucket with a lid kept to the side could collect scraps from cooking, coffee grounds, and the pruning and dead heading from my house plants and potted herbs. I could share it with other folks I know who would have outside gardens and would be glad to have it. There is even a local organization that sponsors a neighborhood compost project for apartment dwellers like me who need a place to deposit their goodies. Another thing I can do is go back and revisit my wardrobe by season and see if I can pare it down even more to just a few basic outfits and inter-changeable items - mix and match options, if you will. Note: having a 14 year old granddaughter who, while she helps me to put the clean laundry away and straighten my closets and drawers will ask me, "seriously, Grandma, are you really going to wear this again" helps me a lot with those decisions. I also ordered a bunch of reusable produce bags so I can rid myself of the plastic ones from the grocery store. Finally, I am using my down time to get more involved in what my community is doing, or not doing, to find more sustainable energy sources and supporting groups that are trying to get permission to put up solar and wind turbine farms. I may be stuck at home, but I can still write a letter, sign a petition, or call my congressman!
I think more and more folks have taken this last year while they've been at home to take a good look at how they spend their time and money and realized that their former lifestyles are just not sustainable in the long run. More and more people are putting in vegetable gardens and experimenting with more plant-based meals, upgrading their homes to be more energy efficient, and looking ahead to a better and healthier way to live. Sometimes it takes forcing us to stand still and focus on what's right in front of us to help us make sensible, sustainable choices for our families and our planet.
As for me, right now I'm about to go through my old yarn bags and see if I can't come up with some projects to reuse all those odd half-skeins to make something useful, like a new front door rug to wipe your feet on, or some cool crocheted purses to give as gifts. After all, this is a no-waste home!
Peace and blessings.
