7 Ways Sustainability Will Simplify Your Life
Streamline Your Life Through Sustainability
Life is busy — and that’s an understatement. Between work, home life, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and keeping up with friends, just trying to juggle life’s basics is enough to make anyone overwhelmed. And while you may be well aware that the state of the planet is in dire straights, the idea of adding sustainability to your overflowing to-do list might sound like more than you can take on. But what if I told you that we have been fed the inaccurate narrative that an eco-friendly lifestyle is about MORE — more time, more money, more eco-stuff, and more stress? The truth is, eco-living is actually about LESS, and it holds the power to lighten, improve, and simplify your life — all while benefiting the planet. Don’t believe me? Here are seven ways sustainability can enhance and streamline your life:
01. Cuts Out the Excess
Humanity’s obsession with owning more isn’t just detrimental to the planet, it’s also a plague that’s depleting our lives. From food to clothes, overconsumption of, well everything, is putting our well-being at stake. From the physical to the digital world, studies have shown that clutter increases the stress hormone, cortisol. And yet, we’re addicted. There are 300,000 items in the average American home. And when we can’t stand drowning in our own things anymore, we rent storage units to hold even more. But it’s not just adults who are having a hard time with all of this stuff. It’s kids too. American children make up 3.1% of the world’s population and yet they own 40% of the toys consumed globally. Studies have shown that too many toys can inhibit a child’s cognitive and neurological development. And just as familiarity with toys can lead to boredom and disinterest, so can overabundance. It’s clear, the culture of more is not serving us.
Sustainable living allows us to reassess what is most important to us. It enables us to make more informed choices about the systems and values we are upholding through our consumer choices. And it allows us to take back our power and our planet when we cut out the excess.
02. Creates More Time For What Matters
Owning and consuming requires a lot of time. Between shopping, cleaning, putting stuff away, looking for misplaced items, organizing, and getting rid of things, it’s mindboggling to think of how much time we spend dealing with stuff. Not to mention the hours spent working earning all of the money required to store items while we continue to buy more. When we create green guardrails around what we bring into our homes, we save ourselves time — while opening up space in our life for more of what truly matters.
03. Saves You Money
The average American spends nearly $18,000 a year on non-essentials and carries over $6,500 in credit card debt. Thirty-eight billion dollars are spent on self-storage in the United States annually, with the 2022 national average for units costing $110 a month. When we cut out excess purchases (that aren’t serving our planet or our wallets), the total savings is greater with an eco-focused lifestyle. And while eco-products do sometimes cost more, many are reusable and higher quality, meaning they only need to be purchased once, saving you money in the long run. Plus, shopping secondhand is even more eco-conscious than buying brand-new green items — taking your savings to the next level.
As you take on an eco-lifestyle, it may be tempting to buy sustainable stuff to replace your not-so-eco-stuff. However, buying more, of anything, isn’t going to get us out of this environmental hole we find ourselves in. In the end, refraining from purchasing more stuff is the most sustainable choice of all — and the most cost-effective option too.
04. Limits Clutter
When we start living sustainably, we create effective systems to limit the physical, digital, and mental clutter that impacts our daily lives. By being mindful of what you purchase and allow into your home, we implement tactics that cut off the clutter before it starts.
05. Makes Daily Life Easier
Have you ever stared into your closet, bursting with clothes, and felt like you have nothing to wear? Then you understand how having too much can leave us feeling overwhelmed, unsatisfied, and like we need to buy more. When we edit our closets (and lives) of things that are no longer serving us, we simplify our daily routine — making getting dressed easier and giving space and energy to things that we love, enjoy, and use.
06. Creates Healthier Habits
In order to heal the planet, we need to create healthier, stronger, more sustainable systems. But those structural changes don’t just apply to organizations, governance, or society as a whole, they also apply to our individual lives. Sustainability pushes us to eat better, get outside more, focus on self-care, and get involved in our communities. It’s about creating healthier systems for both ourselves and the planet.
07. Builds Community
In our modern, hurried lives, humanity has become more and more isolated. Living sustainably builds a community around you that supports one another and the planet. It encourages connection, caring, and support. For dozens of ways to build community around sustainability, click here.
Now is the Time to Simplify and Streamline Your Life.
And once you begin parting ways with old, unsustainable routines, you can pave the way to develop healthier eco-habits that are second nature — and are better for both you and the earth.
read more:
