Sustainable subURBAN Living

When the panic buying of Covid-19 started sweeping grocery stores across the world, I realized how little I wanted to go to the store or buy consumables that we didn’t actually eat. It started a mindfulness towards sustainable living that I couldn’t go back on. Much to my husbands displeasure, I started re-using plastic ziplock bags. I would wash them and hang them to dry over our sink. While it wasn’t the most practical setup, I enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to buy ziplock baggies at the store.

Did I save thousands by doing that? HA! Not even close. I think a pack of 40 bags costs under $2. However, it spiraled into a thought of what else could I re-use, save, or extend the life of? And thus started my thirst for sustainable living in a suburban setting.

The Sustainable Living Question

The biggest question I feel like I needed to answer right away was, don’t you need tons of land to be TRUELY sustainable?

I don’t live out on acreage where I could raise chickens and have my own eggs. Yes, I know you can still do that in urban and suburban settings but my homeowners association won’t allow structures and probably not chickens. I have some things to navigate being in suburbia but I am determined to not let that affect my quest for making our life as sustainable as possible.

Even though I don’t have much garden space either, I have been looking for a local community garden plot I could tend to and grow our own produce during the summer. I feel like the key word for trying to be sustainable in a suburban setting is resourcefulness.

My Sustainable Living Checklist

While there are plenty of things that could be restricted simply because of practicability or location, there are a number of techniques and lifestyles I want to start incorporating into our life. Here is a micro-list of some ways I want to increase our sustainable everyday life.

• Start composting
• Make homemade candles
• Make homemade soap/laundry detergent
• Grow more vegetables/fruits/herbs between seasons (not just Summer)
• Eliminate as much plastic usage as possible
• Rethink sustainable clothing options including reusing/reducing/recycling clothing
• Rethink sustainable travel options

I hope to update you with ways I accomplish/think about these individual topics but would love to add to this list as much as I can. Please comment below!