Skip to content

When A Teen Goes Green

About an eco-positive lifestyle

Menu
  • Home
    • What is an eco-positive lifestyle?
    • New? Start here!
  • How to guides
  • Reducing negative impact
    • Veganism
    • Minimalism
    • Zero Waste
    • Sustainable Traveling
    • Sustainable and Fair Fashion
    • Intersectional Feminism
    • Circular Economy
    • The 9 Planetary Boundaries
  • Increasing positive impact
  • Inspiration
    • Recipes
    • Hotspots
    • Organizations and apps
    • Books, documentaries, films, series and podcasts
    • Books, Films and Series List
  • Personal
    • My Ideal World
    • About me and this blog
Menu
Why I don't light candles

Why I never light candles

Posted on May 15, 2023May 15, 2023

A few years ago I decided to stop lighting candles. At the time, candles were one of the few things that I would still buy new something. I love the smell of some candles, even when they’re not burning. And honestly, there are some pretty beautiful candles available. Aesthetically, they can really make your home better. And besides that, I also thought it was a cozy thing to do: to light a candle and romantically sit by it. But despite all those things, I decided to remove candles from my life. Here’s why I never light candles.

Pollution

I decided to stop buying candles because it’s bad for my health. When you burn a candle, you create air pollution. For that matter, it doesn’t really matter whatever you burn. Paper, candles, coal, it all creates pollution. Particulate matter, to be precise. The same kind of pollution that comes from cars, cigarettes and fossil fuels. When you burn candles, you create that particulate matter inside of your home. I want to prevent that, where-ever possible. Of course it matters how much particulate matter you breathe in, but research has shown that, generally speaking, particulate matter is bad for your health and can create all sorts of diseases.

And honestly, I don’t believe particulate matter is the only toxic thing that is released by candles. The Dutch government says that candles also produce volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxides. Also, most candles smell really good. And that smell is caused by some substance, like perfume. I don’t think burning that substance is good for your health. From most candles I don’t know what they’re made off. They may contain any harmful substance. And I honestly don’t believe that burning anything at all can be good for your health.

Prevention

Most people don’t care about particulate matter, because it’s already all around us. It is created when you have a wood stove, when you cook using high temperatures, it is emitted by cars and tons of other sources as well. Therefore, I’ve heard people say that preventing exposure to particulate matter is useless. I personally disagree. Where I can, I try to limit my exposure to particulate matter. And the particulate matter that comes from candles is something I can choose to prevent. The particulate matter from cars in my city is not something I can manage (I would if I could). For the same reason I don’t smoke cigarettes. I don’t want to make matters worse than it is.

Global numbers

Right now, I am not going to go into how much particulate matter is released when you light one candle. There is just one simple rule: the more you light, the more pollution. Right now, we live with about 8 billion people on this planet. What everybody lit one candle every day? 8 billion candles, I bet that’s not good for anyone. This thought experiment always helps me when I think of a certain behavior. If everybody did the same thing as I do, what would happen? We tend to think: ah, one candle, that doesn’t matter. But we’re not alone on this planet.

Redundant

Okay, so that’s the first part of my argument. Then there’s the next thing: candles are simply redundant. With every purchase I made, I try to think: do I really need this? And what does this bring me? When it comes to the positive side of candles, they bring me a nice physical sensation (the smell) and a nice ambiance. For me, that doesn’t weigh up to the negative consequences. But also, those things are no needs. Candles are not essential for me to live a good life. It’s a ‘nice to have’ in the best case. And so, I don’t buy them. They’re redundant and a luxury. Where-ever I can, I try to eliminate those things out of my life.

Decoration?

Then there’s the last question. Candles can look very good in my interior. They’re nice decoration. So why not use them like that, without burning them? For some people this might be an option, but for me it’s not. I like my decoration to have a function if that’s a possible. Plants for example, are great decoration, as they clean the air and have positive effects on your mental well-being. Candles don’t have any function if they’re not used. They only create extra work because they catch dust and I’d have to clean them. I try to keep my home decoration minimalistic because it saves me time and effort.

That’s why I never light candles (and frankincense either). What about you?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Follow me on Instagram.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search for anything

Want to get an update every time I post something?

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 273 other subscribers.

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

  • The best vegan ice-cream, desserts and yoghurt
  • I am a poop donor
  • Why I never light candles
  • 4 podcast tips from May 2023
  • Series: Dominee of Koopman

Translate this site

Follow me on Instagram

Een greep uit de vegan maaltijden die ik at in mei 2023 πŸ§†. Als ik zo terugkijk heb ik de italiaanse weer helemaal ontdekt, haha! Maar het hoogtepunt was wel echt de vegan, zero waste, kaassaus die ik maakte voor over de nachoschotel 🫘. Welke vegan ijs-, toetjes- of yoghurtproducten zijn het lekkerst? Ik zette het voor je op een rijtje in een artikel die vanaf vandaag te lezen is 🍧. Je vindt de link in mijn bio. Spoiler: deze van Hertog staat er zeker tussen! #plantaardig #vegan #blogger ✨ 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in mei 2023 πŸ‘—. Ik had op iets beter weer en iets koudere outfits gehoopt, maar goed, dat schuiven we dan maar naar juni! Ik ben poepdonor πŸ’©. Ja, Γ©cht. Ik doe mee met een wetenschappelijk onderzoek waarbij mijn darmflora gebruikt wordt om mensen met een leveraandoening te genezen. Ik ben zo blij met de positieve impact die ik hiermee kan maken! En ik krijg er nog betaald voor ook. Meer weten? Lees het artikel dat ik erover schreef via de link in mijn bio. Binnenkort zal ik er ook een Youtube-video aan wijden. #donor #positieveimpact #nafldnashresearch Minimaliseren en ontspullen blijft een ongoing process πŸ“¦. Ik vind dat ik niet al te veel spullen heb, maar toch geef ik nog geregeld spullen weg aan de kringloopwinkel. In deze reel laat ik de laatste 5 items aan je zien. Plantaardiger eten hoeft niet moeilijk te zijn, je moet net even weten welke producten vegan zijn. Vandaag deel ik een makkelijke swap voor mayonaise 🍟. Het is weer mei! En dat betekent dat er weer een artikel met podcast-tips op mijn blog staat (de vijfde in de reeks inmiddels!). Vandaag lees je over 4 podcasts die ik aan bijna iedereen zou aanraden 🎧. 5 vegan maaltijden die ik at in april 2023 πŸ₯™. En ja, Γ©cht alles is vegan. Want elk gerecht is te veganizen. Vandaag verscheen er weer een kijktip op mijn blog. Ik tipte de serie Dominee of Koopman, een serie over ontwikkelingshulp. Wat ik ervan vond lees je in het artikel πŸ’°. #blog #serie #ontwikkelingshulp

Read my latest posts

  • The best vegan ice-cream, desserts and yoghurt
  • I am a poop donor
  • Why I never light candles
  • 4 podcast tips from May 2023
  • Series: Dominee of Koopman

Subscribe by e-mail

©2023 When A Teen Goes Green | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com