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My Sustainability Journey: from Details to Big Impact

My Sustainability Journey: from Details to Big Impact

Posted on July 5, 2021October 23, 2022

I started this blog 5 years ago. That’s because I then started taking steps to make my lifestyle sustainable. Over these 5 years I have learned a lot. And so, my mindset and behavior has changed. I dare to say that I am a completely different human now than when I was at age 16/17. In a good way if you ask me! At first my sustainability behavior was very random but I’ve evolved. Today I want to discuss my sustainability journey: from details to big impact.

Zero Waste

If you’ve read all the posts on my blog (this is the 400th!) then you know this whole sustainability journey started with a zero waste journey. It was the first active step I took towards sustainability. I found a zero waste blogger (Rae Strauss) and figured that she was doing a good thing. Then I slowly changed things in my own life. I bought reusable handkerchiefs, started refusing straws and bought zero waste make-up to name a few examples. That was all very tangible and visible and so I noticed change quite easily. My waste was visibly declining and people around me really liked this lifestyle.

Hidden Impact

As I got further along the way I started reading more and more books. One book changed everything for ne, The Hidden Impact by Babette Porcelijn. The book taught me to look at a sustainable lifestyle in a holistic way. You have to look at the whole picture, not just the tangible and visible things like waste. Science showed me that the hidden impact behind most of my behavior is far more dangerous than the things I can see. At that point I learned more about what’s really important. To stop buying new stuff for example or to go vegan. Porcelijn made a top 10 list of which behavior was most damaging. Waste wasn’t even in there. It was about as I said, stuff, food and transportation.

Porcelijn also gave me the tools to measure my impact really accurately. I had to keep a list of what I bought, how much I travelled, how much energy I used, etc. For the first time I had an accurate view of how sustainable I actually lived. Turns out, my score was horrible. We needed 4 earths if everybody lived like me! And I thought I was living quite sustainable. I learned then that I was focussing on details. I lived as zero waste as I could, recycled, reduced my showering time, got a sticker to get rid of junk mail, etc. Yes, all those things are still important. But it’s not the first thing to worry about. That’s when my sustainability journey shifted from details to the big impact.

Big Picture

By measuring my impact, I now had a clear view. After that first measurement I stopped flying, went vegan and tried to buy very little new stuff. Not all at once of course, but gradually. I focussed on the big picture. And that’s what I still do today. Where I first tried to have a zero waste flight, I now go on a holiday by train or car. Or where I used to buy zero waste cheese, I now buy vegan cheese in plastic. By focussing on the big picture you change the things that actually matter.

5 Years Later

I am still not where I want to be, last time I measured my impact I was at 1.1 earths. Close though! I didn’t achieve that because I increased my effort. Not at all! I just shifted my effort from the details to the big picture. And I have to say: this gives me a lot of peace. When I get down to a score of 1 earth (and I know I will!) I have reached my goal. I think this year will be the year, I will calculate it in September. That means I then have achieved that final goal, a sustainable lifestyle.

And so this gives me more peace when the details don’t work out. You know, I don’t live 100% zero waste and I do take long showers sometimes. 5 years ago I would have bern bothered by that a lot. Right now I feel peace because I know I am already living sustainably. Don’t get me wrong here, I still care about the details too. I do still refuse junk mail and try to live as zero waste as possible. I just can’t be bothered when I’m not 100% perfect because I know the base is good.

That’s what the past 5 years and 400 blogposts have brought me! A peaceful state of mind. Knowing that what you do actually makes a huge impact, focussing on the big picture instead of the details.

What did you think of my sustainability journey: from details to big impact?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

2 thoughts on “My Sustainability Journey: from Details to Big Impact”

  1. Winny says:
    July 5, 2021 at 6:39 am

    Gefeliciteerd Romee. Ik heb je reis vanaf het begin gevolgd en ben trots op je.

    Reply
    1. admin says:
      July 11, 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Lief van je Winny, dankjewel!

      Reply

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ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Here’s what I posted most recently

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Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) naar Bratislava (🇸🇰) reisde. Dit was reisdag 3/6 van onze duurzame interrail reis. Ik ben vandaag 25 jaar geworden 🥳. Ik hoop heel hard dat dat betekent dat ik ongeveer op een kwart van mijn leven ben. En wat een verjaardag is dit! Ik mag het vieren in Kopenhagen met mijn favoriete persoon @casperchristiaanse , terwijl ik met de trein door Europa reis 🚃. Ik ben een gelukkig mens. Op naar de 50! Dit is hoe ik van Dresden (🇩🇪) naar Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) reisde. Niet een bijster lange, maar wel een prachtige treinreis, omdat je door het nationaal park Boheems Zwitserland gaat. Dit was de tweede reisdag van onze interrail (2/6). We zijn op de helft van de interrail. Terwijl ik dit typ zijn we onderweg naar Warschau (8,5 uur vanaf Bratislava). Nog twee bestemmingen te ontdekken, maar wat hebben we nu al veel genoten. Elke dag goed en lang slapen, nieuw vegan eten proberen, bijzonder lang wandelen, spelletjes spelen, weinig schermtijd, genieten van de mooie uitzichten en zon: deze reis is genieten 💜. Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Amsterdam naar Dresden reisde 🚃. De interrail is officieel begonnen! (1/6) Vandaag verschijnt er geen artikel op mijn blog. En de komende twee weken hierna ook niet. Dat is voor het eerst, in de 7 jaar dat ik schrijf. Een heel leuk onderdeel van duurzaam leven is tweedehands kleding. Hier zijn 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in augustus 2023 🌞. Je zag het al in de reel van vorige week: ik ben op vakantie geweest naar Gent, in België. Het was een ontzettende aanrader, en daarom verscheen er vandaag een artikel op mijn blog over de leukste en duurzaamste hotspots in Gent 🌆. Check it out via de link in mijn bio Gent, wat was je prachtig 🌆. Dit is absolute een duurzame vakantietip (oh, maar wees niet zo naïef als ik en ga lekker met de trein 🚃). Binnenkort is op Youtube de gehele vakantievlog te bekijken.

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