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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

 

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

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Ik gebruik al jaren een bamboe tandenborstel, die van Humble Brush 🎋. Naast dat hun product duurzaam is, doen ze ook wat moois met de winst. Dat maakt een product nou echt eco-positief! Je leest meer over poetsen met bamboe op mijn blog, via de link in mijn bio. Vandaag op de blog: iets waarbij de relatie met eco-positief leven wat indirect is: diëten. Januari is dé maand waarin veel mensen weer aan het diëten slaan en daarom leek het me goed om deze post nog net op de valreep in januari te delen. De blog van vandaag gaat slechts over één van de vele nadelen van diëten: het leidt ons af van wat echt belangrijk is 🧐. Weten waarom ik dat denk? Lees dan nu het artikel via de link in mijn bio. Ik ga dit jaar weer de challenge aan om de winter door te komen zonder de warming aan te zetten. Hiervoor ging mijn essential, een warmwaterkruik 💦, kapot. In deze reel laat ik je zien hoe ik een ‘nieuwe’ tweedehands kruik kocht. Vandaag te lezen op whenateengoesgreen.com: een inspirerende documentary over Greta Thunberg: I am Greta. Een documentaire over hoop, maar vooral over doorzettingsvermogen 🔥. Lees het nu via de link in mijn bio. Meer vegan producten in de schappen, yay! Gisteren probeerde ik voor het eerst de vegan lentil tikki masala saus van Patak’s 🧑🏼‍🍳. Zie in deze reel wat ik ervan vond. Vandaag verscheen er een nieuw artikel op mijn blog over: 5 dingen die ik niet koop. Want we denken vaak dat we dingen écht nodig hebben, maar vaak is dat niet zo 🧠. Check het artikel via de link in miijn bio. Vorige week verscheen er een artikel op mijn blog over alles wat ik nieuw kocht in 2022. Dat is een groot deel van mijn negatieve impact. Deze week was het tijd om te kijken naar de andere kant van de medaille. Vandaag lees je op mijn blog een artikel over al mijn positive impact in 2022 🌞. Je vind de link naar het artikel in de link in mijn bio. Afgelopen week verscheen er op mijn blog een artikel over alles wat ik nieuw heb gekocht in 2022. Eén ding op de lijst waren deze onderbroeken (een stuk of 20). En nu denk je misschien: waarom zou je in één keer zoveel onderbroeken kopen? Op 31 december, nog net op de valreep in 2022, kwam er een video online op mijn Youtube-kanaal over voedselcoöperaties. Ik denk namelijk dat voedselcoöperaties ons voedselsysteem democratischer en eerlijker kunnen maken 🥦.

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  • The last secondhand clothing inspiration of 2022
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