"it doesn’t take a new year to make a new habit"
With the arrival of a new year, and new decade, I thought I would share with you my new ‘new year resolutions’ for 2020. Well, the ones relevant to all things living a more conscious lifestyle anyway. If I’m completely honest, most of these were implemented during last year, because it doesn’t take a new year to make a new habit, right? However, some have seen me be more committed to than others. So, let’s just say that 2020 is going to be a year of increasing that commitment, as well as maybe implementing a few new changes along the way.
The first one also ties in with a more personal goal outside of my eco-friendly changes, and that is to cut down on my consumerism. This is something that I began towards the start of last year and was incredibly surprised at how much money I was able to save each month by doing so. Consumerism (in my opinion) has a huge impact on our natural world. People buying things they don’t really want or need for whatever reason, only to no sooner discard of them creating an unnecessary amount of waste. We’ve all been guilty of this. I found myself spending a silly amount on clothes without need, only to see me still grab for my favourite oversized t-shirts and jumpers (most of which I’d up-cycled *stolen* from my boyfriend’s wardrobe). The unnecessary purchase of fast fashion items; most of which have now either been donated or sent to fabric recycling banks.
And then there are the random “that’s cute” purchases as well. I’m terrible (or at least was) for spending in stores like Homesense or TKMAX home. How many cute little trinkets does one person need?! It’s such a waste of materials (and money) that in most cases can’t be recycled. For me personally, this is the area that needs the most work, so I have set myself a challenge to not purchase anything homeware related unless I absolutely need it. And by that I do not mean, “I need this mug because it’s just so cute!” (mugs are my kryptonite). I mean really need it. If it doesn’t serve an immediate, necessary purpose, its staying in the store and I’m staying well away! My reduced purchasing has already been well adopted in the clothing department; however, I give myself a tiny bit more leeway with this one. I can hold my hands up and say that right now I don’t NEED any new clothes, but I won’t deny occasionally seeing something that I simply fall in love with. In which case, I go through the
following procedure:
1. Leave it a week to see if I’m still thinking about it
2. Make sure It works with items I already own
3. Pray it’s still in stock
If it’s not I tell myself it wasn’t meant to be, and that it’s the universes way of telling me it would have either looked terrible or I wouldn’t have used it as much as id convinced myself I would. The key to this though, is to stay well away from shops…and that includes online browsing! After all, you can’t miss what you don’t see.
Branching off the above point is my next resolution (again implemented last year) and that is to make the clothing purchases I do make as ethical and sustainable as possible. I want to be 0 fast fashion by the end of 2020. This I don’t think will be too difficult, as I have already ceased all purchases from most well-known high-street and online stores that don’t at least have a sustainable / ethical range.
I have loved seeing the coverage that fast fashion began to receive towards the end of 2019. I really would encourage more people to try and cut down on their fast fashion purchases and opt for a more sustainable alternative where possible. However, I do of course appreciate that the low price tag of many fast fashion retailers makes shopping a lot more affordable for some. In which case, maybe initially start by simply reducing the number of purchases you make. Ignore the endless sales and online discounts sucking you in for more unnecessary spending. Keep your pounds in the bank and reduce your consumerism footprint.
I also find that fast fashion items lack consistency when it comes to quality and are very hit and miss. This year I want to focus more on quality over quantity, making sure to keep my purchases as environmentally friendly as possible whilst doing so. This doesn’t necessarily require breaking the bank either. High street stores such as Mango, Zara and H&M offer sustainable clothing ranges that will help reduce your fashion footprint. I plan to do a post covering fast fashion a little more in-depth to explain exactly what it is, and highlight the damaging effects it has on the environment. This post however, is meant to be a more light hearted read, so with that lets move onto the next point.
Going cruelty free. This is a lifestyle change I again made a little more than over a year ago, and since beginning it, it’s been super easy to stick to! I began by implementing it into my makeup, which was incredibly easy. I find that a lot of brands are now emerging as cruelty free and/or vegan, with many long-established brands following in their footsteps. My reason for going cruelty free was simple. Makeup is a ‘luxury’ item that is not needed for me to survive, but by purchasing certain products I was fuelling the lifelong suffering of an innocent animal for my own vanity? “This is about the fact that every day that I apply my gold goddess luminescent blush, some poor innocent little animal might be suffering for it”-if you know, you know. But back to a serious note, my cruelty free journey easily made its way into my skin and hair care routine, all of which are now fully cruelty free (at a very affordable cost might I add, with no compromise on quality or performance). Last year also saw cruelty free alternatives making their way into my household cleaning and laundry products, which is an area I want to full cover by the end of the year. I’m currently trialling a few cruelty free dental products, so I have no doubts that it won’t be long until I can tick yet another area off towards conquering being 100% cruelty free.
Now for a resolution that is going to require a little more effort than those previously mentioned, as it covers such a broad range. That being said I’m really looking forward to tackling it! That is switching to eco friendlier alternatives. Of course, I’m already there when it comes to having a reusable bottle and coffee cup, but as I mentioned before, there are SO many areas that can be covered by eco friendlier alternatives that I have yet to address. I’m talking cleaning utensils, food storage and general household items that I know could be switched up for something a litter greener. If anyone has any suggestions to help in this area, please leave them in the comments below!
The next one is to study hard. There are so many areas that I want to challenge myself to further my knowledge in, from fungi identification, to species project management. Alongside that is to write more blog posts! I really do want to focus my efforts on a lot more consistency this year when it comes to uploading new posts for people to read. That being said, whilst I have a good number of ideas for future posts, I would love to hear any suggestions you may have down in the comments section below.
So that’s it. My 2020 resolutions. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this light hearted post, and maybe gained a few resolution ideas for yourself. Until next time, keep Patching up The World your way!
Meg x
*Jeans and Coat are from Zara's Join Life Collection- Made from recycled materials*
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