How to start making sustainable lifestyle choices
How To Make Sustainable Lifestyle Changes
Tanja is passionate about slow fashion, sustainability, and living intentionally. Her Instagram account contains posts about slow fashion, baking, crocheting, and her wool& 100 Day Dress Challenge.
We asked Tanja to share seven of her best tips for getting started with making sustainable lifestyle changes.
1. Curate a smaller wardrobe with good quality pieces
The average person only wears a tiny amount of their wardrobe. This is harmful for the planet but also clutters our home and wastes our money when we have a closet full of unworn things. By shopping mindfully and really considering about the pieces you invest in, you will make sure you can mix and match your existing wardrobe.
The key for a smaller wardrobe is buying good quality basics that fit you well.
2. Choose natural fibers
Natural fibers such as wool, linen and cotton are strong and resilient. They are breathable and feel lovely on the skin, and they are also great choices to be more sustainable as these fibers are compostable in the future.
Because these fibers are so breathable, they will not hold onto odors as much as a synthetic piece - which means you can wash them less.
3. Wash less, hang to dry
Washing your clothes less saves water, energy, and keeps your clothes lasting longer, which also saves you money.
Often it is enough to simply hang them outside for a few hours and they will smell fresh again. You can steam a piece of clothing to give it a refresh, or hang your pieces in the bathroom when you take a shower - it is easy and effective. Or spritz your item with a mixture of distilled water, alcohol (such as vodka), and a few drops of essential oil - add this mixture in a spray bottle and it is ready to use.
It is easy to throw clothes away when they get holes, discolorations, or fit poorly, but it is best to care for our clothing pieces to make them last. Begin with looking at the care instructions. Consider hanging your pieces to dry instead of drying them in the dryer. Not only does using the dryer require a lot of energy, it also might cause the fabric to break faster or shrink the item, reducing its lifecycle.
4. Mend and create your own clothing
Mend holes or use patches to cover them and care for stains promptly.
We can even upcycle pieces that do not fit anymore into useful items. You can learn to crochet, knit, or sew to create items yourself!
We tend to cherish our handmade items because it was a labor of love; we see how much work went into creating it. It’s such a great thing to do with our time when we otherwise would spend time scrolling online. Start small, perhaps with a scarf, and continue to grow your skills.
5. Gift wrap sustainably
The holidays are upon us and with that comes so much waste from disposable gift wrapping. You do not need fancy wrapping paper to make beautiful gifts (and glittery papers are especially bad for the planet.) Try using plain packing paper or simple fabric such as a scarf or reusable fabric gift bag- you can add some natural twine and maybe decorate it with some natural elements like a twig or dried orange slice - et voila - you have a pretty gift.
There are even videos online about how to use paper without using sticky tape!
6. Waste less food
So much food is thrown away, along with food-related packaging.
For example, think about bread or baked goods that you can make at home and reduce plastic packaging! Baking is very relaxing for me, and I like to freeze my bread because we almost never can eat a whole loaf before it gets stale. It can stay good for a few months, then you can easily pull the individual slices from the freezer and toast them right away.
You can also freeze baked cookies, muffins, bagels or cake when you can’t finish them in time. Let them thaw in your fridge and put them in the microwave a few seconds if you fancy it warm - tastes almost like it’s freshly baked again.
7. Visit the library
I highly recommend that you check out your local library. In addition to books, they might also have board games, audio books, or classes. It’s a great place to find resources on being more sustainable, minimal, or learning a new skill. They even have e-books and online movies that you can borrow. I love to take a cup of coffee or tea and have a stroll around the local library as an economical way to dive into so many new worlds without buying new things.