I’ve been thinking for a while that I need to get a fresh handle on where we’re at with taking the environment more into account in our lives, with not being consumerist and trying to live more simply. I think the best way to sum up how I feel currently, is stuck. So here’s a list of where we’re at and let me know if you see some obvious ones missing…
They’re not in any particular order, just as I think of them.

The positives

1. Changed lightbulbs to low-energy
2. Installed water meter to check consumption
3. Changed to green tariff with SSE
4. Have electricity monitor to check consumption
5. Have fortnightly veg box delivered. Organic, local food
6. Bank with smile.co.uk (Co-operative = slightly more ethical)
7. Started composting…amazing much that reduces waste
8. Recycle the usual – plastic, paper, cans, cardboard, metals etc…
9. Share our house (we have a lodger – so reducing consumption etc etc)
10. Give generously or at least try to (church and other charities)
11. We use Freecycle regularly (pretty much all the stuff for the baby so far has been given)
12. We’ve reduced – we operate a one in one out on clothes. If something new comes in something old goes out, so we don’t increase our ‘stuff’
13. We offset our holiday travel. I think that does some good.
14. I got rid of the games consoles
15. I’m trying hard to have one internet free day a week – so far, mixed results…
16. We’ve become a fair trade church – at home it’s fair trade orange juice, bananas, tea, coffee, jam, marmalade, sugar and we’re looking for rice…

The negatives

1. We still fly abroad for our holidays once a year if we can
2. We have an old 1.8i VW Golf and a motorbike
3. We’re having a baby (that’s not exactly negative but if we can’t teach him/her/it to live more sustainably than us then it’s probably the most environmentally destructive thing we’ve done)
4. We still shop at Tesco – is that bad? Is there any salvation?
5. A real sense of community life seems just as distant as ever
6. We bought freeview which increased hours in front of the box
7. Our carbon footprint is still off the chart mostly down to points 1 & 2 although not found one that actually got me to one planet living yet
8. I’m addicted to Facebook

There’s probably more, so I’ll keep updating this post for a while till I get it all down…