I’ve almost completed the second week of “The Sustainable Whanau Challenge.” So far so good with only the occasional slip up.
Like a lot of people I’d been thinking about a more sustainable lifestyle for ages but not really getting around to it. But this challenge sounded so achievable that I decided to join in. As they put it:
“We, at Ecofest & EcoWest, are calling this the challenge without the challenge, and you'll soon learn why. Many people worry that to go "green" is to make your home totally sustainable, live off the fat of the land, submerge your phones in grey water and compost your car keys. It's not. It's about taking one or two steps further on your journey towards living a greener life. If we can convince every Aucklander to do just that, then collectively we've made an enormous difference.”
Participants were asked to pick just four easy eco-actions from a list of 10 and to sustain them for three weeks.
This is a clever idea as habits are akin to being on autopilot. We do them unconsciously so bad habits are hard to break. But recent research has shown that if you make just a few small and achievable changes and stick to these for three weeks, you will have formed new habits which will continue over time.
Signing up for the challenge was free and easy. Once registered I received an infographic listing the actions to choose from across four categories:
Power Down
Be smart with water
Reduce your waste
Sort your Kitchen
As an extra incentive there were lots of awesome eco-friendly prizes to be won including an electric bike, a solar heating kit and a raised garden bed as well as lots of spot prizes. But more importantly everyone would be a winner as we would see a visible reduction in our power, water and food bills.
I chose these actions:
1. Use baking soda and vinegar for household cleaning:
“No you don’t have to sacrifice your precious bottle of aged balsamic vinegar for this,” reassured my neighbour who has long lived a much greener lifestyle than us.
Simply fill a spray bottle with 50 percent water, 50 percent white vinegar and it will do a great job cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. Just wipe down with a dry cloth/paper towel at the end.
To clean dirty surfaces I’ve also been sprinkling baking soda on a damp cloth and using some elbow grease. Apparently baking soda is also good for cleaning ovens but as I only get round to that once in a blue moon it will be a while before I put this to the test.
2. Eat Meat-Free Dinners Twice a Week:
I like vegetarian food but my partner is a dedicated meat-eater so virtually every day there is meat on the table. I now cook two meatless meals each week like fish, a vegetarian lasagne or silver beet and ricotta pie. But I do avoid vegetarian foods I know he won’t eat (at least not yet, like tofu). No complaints so far! I could probably have done it ages ago!
3: Turn off all lights and unnecessary appliances when not in use:
I’ve been the main culprit here. I frequently forget to turn lights out when leaving a room. And sometimes the computer stays on all night. But it’s actually not that hard to be more mindful and switch off when not using.
4: Spend no more than four minutes in the shower and feel free to wee:
It felt a bit daft putting a little timer in the shower cubicle which can be set to go off with a loud ring after 4 minutes. My challenge now is that whoever enters should shower quickly and be out again before it goes off. I’ll be testing this out on our three granddaughters this weekend and looking forward to their reactions.
As the highest amount of indoor water use per person happens in the shower spending less time in there should pay off in reduced water bills.
My mother would have been appalled at the suggestion to wee in the shower! But times they are a changing! And as about 20 per cent of our water goes down the toilet one less flush a day by each family member will certainly keep water usage down.
Will I be able to complete the challenge? Most definitely! The encouraging comments, helpful hints and links to informative articles on the Sustainable Whanau Challenge Facebook page help to keep me enthused (it’s almost as good as having a personal trainer!).
Keen to find out more? Click here! Or if you have any other ideas on how to live more sustainably, do share.
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