Hello, fellow eco-warriors! 🌿It's time for Mid Green Family to work out our 2024 goals 🌟. We're all about mixing up the little and big shifts in our daily lives, aiming for those sustainable wins we can stick with and grow.
Reflecting on 2023, it's been a numbers game. By comparing bills, we've seen real drops in our electricity, water, and gas use, with some standout moments.
Our electric vehicle cut down our transport emissions big time, despite the odd charge here and there. Solar panels did wonders for our electricity use, slashing it by 45%! Water-wise, fixing leaks and cutting down on long showers saved a whopping 49%. Gas saw some accidental savings, likely thanks to quicker showers and more oven meals. Fashion was a breeze, with no new clothes but yes to essentials and second-hand finds. Food and waste? Trickier to measure, but the emptier bins and less frequent trash days hint at progress. The kids are champs at spotting palm oil and making greener choices, even if it means saying bye to favorite snacks.
Here's the details -
Big-ticket fixes contributed the most to us shaving >2 t CO2e off our footprint -
Transport: Switching to an electric vehicle🔋 cut our transport emissions significantly, with minor emissions from occasional public charging and a Tasmanian road trip. Future reductions hinge on the kids using the bus for school.
Electricity: Solar panels☀️ slashed our electricity use by 45%. Further reductions might be limited, but we'll minimize overnight charging.
Water: Repairing leaks😳 and adopting shorter showers cut water use by 49%. With a new herb/veg garden, usage might tick up slightly.
Gas: Less gas usage came naturally with shorter showers and using the oven/electric multicooker more. Plans are to maintain current levels, as a switch from gas to electric isn't in the cards yet💵.
Flights: After a major holiday, we're not planning another big trip soon, though work travel persists. We'll keep buying carbon offsets🌱 to mitigate this impact.
Fashion: Skipping new fashion buys hasn't been tough. Essentials like underwear and socks, some secondhand finds, and the occasional dry cleaning sufficed. The goal is to continue this trend👏.
Food and waste
Our kitchen bin's new dilemma: it's getting smelly since it takes longer to fill, a side effect of our waste reduction efforts. Now, our red kerbside bin enjoys a three-week vacation between outings. Similarly, the yellow bin, rarely gets to the kerb as we divert more paper and cardboard to compost.
Navigating the maze of carbon footprint calculators for food can be tricky; they often hinge on expenditure (which can mislead) or demand a meticulous log of every morsel consumed (a daunting task). Instead, I'll share our family's journey of conscious reduction and the occasional slip-up in our sustainable eating habits.
Consistently -
Removed products with palm oil (kids missed their instant noodle brand the most)
Stopped eating beef - steak / mince / pies / burgers
Reduced lamb - eating once every two - three months
Reduced supermarket shopping for fruit & veg
Ate more beans, pulses and grains in meals
Bought most fruit & veg at the farmer's market
2024 food goals -
Continue increasing amount of plant-based meals in the week
Mum's food prep - breakfasts, lunches - helped avoid buying lunch for me
Make our own yogurt!
Continue to aim for less packaging, more whole food purchases
Striving for packaging-free shopping has its challenges, particularly with the higher costs at bulk stores compared to supermarket bulk buys. It's a tough switch, but I'm on the lookout for better-value bulk options to keep improving. Meanwhile, my pantry saw 50-100 tins of beans, a clear sign I could lean more into soaking and cooking beans myself to cut down on waste.
Excitedly, a new yogurt maker from Christmas is my next step towards DIY yogurt, and we're aiming to reduce our reliance on high-impact dairy products like cheese and butter. I'm exploring alternatives like nutritional yeast and avocado to maintain flavor without the environmental footprint.
Goals!!!!
OK let's tighten those new goals up and keep a list for keeping up the good work -
Food Prep & Plan: Weekly meal prep on Sunday afternoons is key for managing a busy schedule. It ensures we stick to our food goals and simplifies work lunches and post-karate dinners.
More Plant-Based Meals: We aim to reduce dairy and incorporate more plant-based dishes while keeping low-impact meats like pork and poultry as options. Going fully vegan isn't feasible for us right now.
No New Fashion: We're committed to not buying new clothes, entering the second year of this sustainable practice.
Connecting with Nature: Last year's shift to more outdoor activities like walking, cycling, and hiking has been rewarding. It's a weekly reminder of the beauty we're striving to protect.
Keep it up: So much good progress was made - composting, walking to more places, changing food and purchasing habits, this goal is about sticking with it - even when there's been a minor slip up.
For 2024, it's all about upping our plant-based game, getting crafty with food prep, and keeping fashion sustainable. We're embracing homemade yogurt, aiming for less dairy, and finding joy in nature every week. It's about making those small changes that, bit by bit, add up to a big difference. Here's to a greener, more sustainable 2024 for all of us at Mid Green Family! 🌍💚
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