SUSTAINABLE LIVING

I was reading this post a while ago on Shape of Things to Come, about living sustainably and what that means. Emma defined sustainability as 'maintaining our present human, social and environmental needs while making sure we plan for future generations'. A simple statement that actually means a wealth of different things.

We, as a family, in no way or form as what could even remotely be classed as 'sustainable'.  and in some ways, its a scary thing to think of even being in this day in age with so many societal pressures. Also its hard because there seems to be no middle ground on it. You either are a crunchy- grow-your-own-food-and-keep-chickens-while-cultivating-alot-of-armpit-hair hippy, or a  destroyer of the environment.

So with this in mind,  I wanted to really make my own list of things I want to change about our lifestyle, maybe we could even call it a list of goals. Little ways that I would like to us live more sustainably, and in-tune but also ultimately cheaper and healthier.

Recycle and compost.
We already have a great recycling system out here in the west and we use it well because of the fact rubbish bags cost money out here. It's a good system now that I'm used to it and over the shock of how little we can throw away. It's also forced us to look into what packaging etc we are buying. The only problem now though is that there is no way of dumping organic matter such as food scraps and garden waste currently (the Auckland LTP has a plan in place for 2014 I believe). We don't really want a compost system in our garden though. One, we are renting and two, its a pain in the ass. Oh and three, they stink. However our Old Man Neighbour seems to have a thriving garden and compost so we might ask him if we can dump out stuff in his compost over the fence, instead of in our rubbish.

Many of you will probably be sitting there saying, um doesnt she use disposable nappies?? For a while we thought seriously about cloth nappies but considering our two are almost out of them and the fact we already pay through the nose for water and power, that we don't have a dryer and the start up costs of it all - thats out. Also at the end of the day, this is Simon's decision as he is the stay at home parent, the one who would be doing all this extra work and I have to live with that. 

Also, I will just have to live with the guilt of disposables :(

Buying seasonal and local items.
We have a farmers market that sets up in the library/community centre carpark every Friday and I love seeing what the Ranui co-op has in the way of veggies. Its also good because its before shopping day and if the prices are right I will buy from there. Its winter now so selection isnt great and vendors have dropped off as its too dark/cold/rainy for them to be out, but in summer apparently its a good place to shop.

Buying seasonally is something I want to do more of too. Simon (who does the groceries) already does this pretty instinctively as food is cheaper when in season, but I would like to make a more conscious choice about it. I want to become more educated on this though.

Buying organic and animal friendly foods.
We are very poor. No really - we are skint. One day I will share my budget with you all so you can see just how skint we are. But this is something that I feel is important and when our budget allows I will always prefer this type of food.  not only is organic and animal friendly farmed food better for you health, but if the more people buy it, perhaps it will set a precedent and become the norm, bringing prices down. Pipe dreams I know. One small way for us is to splash out on free range eggs and chicken.
What twists my undies about it all is that my parents often have an entire fridge full of eggs to give away, but they live three hours drive away. Annoying as hell.

Gardening and urban harvesting.
everyone knows I want to grow some of our own food. What other people sometimes don't realise though is how much edible stuff are in their local parks and neighbours gardens. A while ago I was eyeing up some apples in a property that was for sale just over the way, someone else beat me to them though before I could ask the new owners. Also at our old place the neighbours had trees and vines of grapes that came over onto our property. Free figs, cumquats and grapes for all! Old Man Neighbour also gave us a bunch of tomatoes a few months ago.

I also like the following from Emma's post on Shape of things to come:

• ·         Use more traditional methods of cooking and less appliances;
• ·         Sometimes buy treats like coffee or chocolate from fair trade sources;
• ·         Use old appliances until they break down before buying a new one;
• ·         Grow herbs and flowers – it’s cheap, satisfying, healthy and helps us all breathe a bit easier;
• ·         Be kind to each other;
• ·         Walk where you can;
• ·         Buy and restore old or second-hand furniture;
• ·         Use natural substances like cheap vinegar for cleaning;
• ·         Use your local parks and gardens – we use our local park and it’s mostly empty! If we don’t use them, the council will tear them down and put up a multi storey car park or something;

And while we are on the note of using local parks and gardens? Use your libraries people. I know what its like to have all your own stuff and there is nothing like buying a newly printed book. but go check out your libraries and see what FREE resources are there for the taking.

Do you have any ideas for living more sustainably to share?