I'm taking 12 months to create a more sustainable life for myself. It began on April 1, so I am a quarter of the way through.
So, does making small changes proactively each day actually make a difference? In an outcomes-focussed world, here is the concrete evidence in Top Ten style for the gains to date.
The Top Ten Tangible outcomes from Project 365
10 - Reduced electricity bill. I am talking HALF what we paid last year. We haven't switched providers, we've just been switching off. Power points at walls - off. Lights and heaters when we aren't in the room - off. Taking shorter showers, holding off turning on our heating. Upgrading to energy efficient lighting. Replacing aged appliances with new, energy efficient ones. All the little bits make a big difference.
9 - More disposable income. I am talking about smarter decisions around spending our money. Firstly we cut out take away coffees and disposable water bottles, carrying keep cups and drink bottles with us as habit. Then we moved to cutting newspapers and magazines and going digital (or letting the news find us). We make a menu list of dinners for the week, cooking with in-season produce and reducing our wasted food substantially. We planted herbs in our garden so now we don't buy them. We have 3 chooks, which provide enough eggs each week. All the little bits make a big difference.
8 - Better health. Meat free Mondays give our bodies a break from red meat and encourage different foods to nurture our bodies. Screen free Sundays mean we get out more, we spend less time lounging around. Date nights on Thursdays give us a chance to reconnect, relax and appreciate being a family. Dry July - enough said.
7 - Increased intelligence. OK, this one might be hard to measure, but here are the indicators that we're smarter having lived the project. Reading at least one book per month. Tuning out to trashy magazines. Having lunch with a stranger. Learning how to make your own Espresso coffee. Building a weekly dinner menu that includes vegetarian and child friendly options (a complicated skill set, let me tell you!). Balancing a budget that allows for monthly donations to charity and preserving 10% of all we earn to keep and invest forever (when maths and accounting is not your strong point). Having the guts to admit to family, friends and stranger why you're on this project.
6 - Reduced carbon footprint. I haven't measured the number. But using less electricity, gas and water, giving up paper cups and plastic bags and recycling every scrap possible, each little action makes a big difference.
5 - Increased confidence. Shaved off your long hair? Gone a day without makeup? Died your hair apricot? These regular ego tests have pushed the boundary. And life went on. So now I push it harder.
4 - Improved business outcomes. The Events Hunter brand is stronger for the project. It gives the brand a soul. People want to be part of it. No downside.
3 - Enhanced relationships. Friends, strangers, family and colleagues - many of them have joined in some of my inititiaves, and supported my vision. My children and husband at this point mostly go along with whatever the day's challenge is (still can't get them to do "vegan Monday" though) and the focus on the simple things in life has certainly brought us closer, has made us calmer. My Dad doesn't know what's happened to his former capitalist materialistic daughter with the long blonde hair, but he lives in hope one day she will return.
2 - Reduced stress. Spend a day successfully fulfilling your pledge to not yell at your kids. Enough said.
1 - Knowledge you've made a difference. Standing up for something or someone you believe in. Supporting an organisation saving orangutans. Learning something new from a book you're reading. Hearing your children repeating your sustainability mantra (ie "lights and heater check" before leaving the house). Your friends and family adopting Meat Free Monday, Date Night, Dry July. Each of these, and more, yields the most indescribable feeling of joy, satisfaction and most of all - hope. And that's how I know its worth it. I am changing the world, one day and one person at a time.
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