This summer provided us with the opportunity to be with friends and family in beautiful sunlight after many months of uncertainty. Many of us chose not to travel very far, but to explore new places within the UK and found great joy in being able to have adventures once again.
This however distracted us from some of our sustainable habits that we would normally practice. Not knowing whether or not we would end up in a position of having to stay at home during the summer meant we took every opportunity we had to enjoy the moments we were out. Now, after a stunning summer, it’s time for us to look at getting back on track with our sustainable and healthy goals.
Welcome to your mini-January! A time to reflect upon the last 6 months, reevaluate sustainable resolutions and have a positive following 6 months. Below we’re going to go through our top tips to reset and get back on track to having a more sustainable future for you and your family.
Sustainable intentions
Individually we all have different intentions on how we are going to reach the goal that we hope the whole world is working towards; making a healthy and happy environment for everyone to live in. We all have different tastes. Some like to spend on their wardrobes, others like to spend on evenings out and others are forever striving in their career. This is what make us so different! This means that whilst one person might be super sustainable in one area, but not so much in another.
For someone who eats out, they might consider choosing more local options. For someone who invests in their daily outfits, they might choose a sustainable brand. Something we all have in common is the cleaning of our homes, washing of our clothes, cooking of our food and disposal of our waste. These are often the areas we end up slacking in because they can become mundane, but easy switches to sustainable products will make a big difference. That's why Bower exists!
Evaluate
Leading on from considering sustainable intentions, our next point to look at is evaluating where you are and what you’ve done. No matter how small a change has been, it still makes a difference. If you’ve spent the last 6 weeks being a little less proactive about monitoring whether items are going in the bin or recycling this might be the place to start (or a conversation to have with the household!) You might be considering resolutions you’ve previously set that haven’t manifested and how these can be implemented in a new way that they won’t be left behind again.
Introduce new habits
Speaking of new, this might be just what you need. If something hasn’t worked and a habit hasn’t stuck then it’s likely (as much as you think you want it) that it just isn’t practical, tenable or realistic. That doesn’t in any way reflect on your commitment to helping the world to become a healthier place, it just means there’s an easier way out there to achieve what you want. Finding new ways to purchase and consume is very difficult because it’s something that we are actually pushed by advertisers to do. The amount of research and knowledge on human behaviour to manipulate conditions in favour of companies various desires of accomplishments and to make us purchase their goods has put us in a position where we have to fight against them to have sustainable outcomes. But there are ways and things in place to make this easier for us!
Organisation
When we determine the things we can change to have a better impact on the world, it can be made difficult to keep on top of. With advertisements for cheaper, quicker and brighter products, we’re bombarded with the idea that convenience is more important. So, choosing healthier products that can be conveniently set up so you don’t have to think about purchasing cuts out the middle man and avoids having to fight against the companies trying to appeal to our instinctual characteristics. By having products that we regular consume arrive on our doorstep in an environmentally responsible way, it's easier to take care of the planet and stay organised. Win-win!
Coming back to where you started, reevaluating, working on new ideas and organising in a convenient way, all contribute to habits that will stick and create a more positive environment for all. So let's make it a sustainable September!