Envirobox

Create specific goals: Following the 80/20 rule would even apply to being a greenie - by simply focussing most of your energy and worry on those three areas, you’d expect a big benefit for Mother Nature and the planet you’re going to leave your grandkids.

Of course, there’s several no-brainer minor changes (we’ll cover lots of them soon!) you can and should make to your day-to-day habits. Focus your energy on the things that matter, by setting specific, achievable goals, just like in other areas of your life, for example your career or finances. For example, taking a few minutes to install a low-flow shower head that will halve your hot water use than trying to remember to take shorter showers.  Set yourself targets like “I only want to use 3kwh of electricity a day” or “only put the rubbish bin out every fortnight”.

Keep your water, electricity and gas bills to track your usage: Unsuprisingly, these are perfect to measure how you’re going against your goals!

Dont feel guilty: If your life is anything like mine, it’s crazy and action packed!  A career, mortgage to pay,, skyrocketing fuel and food prices, study - and I’m not even married or a dad yet! But we all know the planet is in trouble - it’s in the news every day, articles about flooding, changing weather, endangered species, droughts and famines.  But when things get busy, agendas like furry animals and our grandkids get left aside. Don’t let guilt that you’re not doing enough get you down! You don’t have to solve all the worlds problems.  Just make a commitment that you will do the best you can with the resources you have available, without giving up anything that is important to you.

Have fun: Becoming sustainable really is a journey we are taking, not an extra burden or yet another thing to cause you extra grief, worry and lost sleep! I see sustainability as a hobby actually, but it’s up to the individual or family as to just how much they let it impact their lives. If you have a family, just imagine what you can be doing with your kids to encourage them to be sustainable and responsible at the same time - that have huge benefits compared to letting them sit on the couch in front of the TV all day. Whatever the case, it’s about doing as much as you have resources to handle - time, energy, money - and no more - before it becomes a commitment. A burden, which is soon avoided.  So enjoy the experience!

Shout it all out: Share your ideas, visions, and thoughts. Doing this will gently encourage your friends, colleagues and family to follow your example.  The comments area below is a good place to start! You’ll find yourself turning your neighbors and peers into friends. Also, the internet is also a great place to learn about what other people and organisations are doing to improve their impact on the environment - not to mention celebrate success and share your learnings with others. I’m working towards implementing a forum on this blog in the near future for this very purpose!