365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

In several courses I did, examples were given of people who seemed to have become successful overnight. Was their success a coincidence? Maybe not considering the work they did the years before and the theory in the picture. That's why I take sustainable actions today to make a huge difference tomorrow.

I recently realized my drain got clogged. As I refuse to use chemicals to clean it, I started with taking the drain apart and clean the tubes. I admit it was disgusting at times, meaning it was very worth it. And for the bit I can't take apart, I use baking soda and vinegar.

Last year, I shared that I let it snow with my sustainable actions (see video: https://youtu.be/ghjYvAMeZ_k ). I like extending this analogy that one snow flake my not be easily visible, but that many of them make the scenery beautiful.

After having posted about using sapindus mukurossi shells instead of detergent (#41), I got the suggestion that you can also make detergent using chestnuts. So, I gathered some, cut them in small pieces, put them in a glass of water and waited several hours. As the chestnuts are quite hard and I cut my finger whilst chopping them, I decided that this is not my favorite alternative.

In my online course on how to get the most out of your bin ( https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/reducing-waste-full-course ), you can apply your new skills on waste reduction by suggesting me how to avoid throwing away tins. I like this idea of a pen holder. It was really easy and I think it looks great!

Instead of buying a postcard, I decided to create a few postcards with papers from an old magazine. It was fun and I feel that a hand-made card has even more value as I‘m thinking about the person I‘ll be sending it to during crafting.  

Today, I'm sooo happy: out of the blue, I received a message from Twitter that they unsuspended my account! In this video I explain what happened. I'm so glad to be back and continue my daily posts for you also on Twitter!  https://youtu.be/6RabRn2GpPY

I am using toothpicks to be able to clean my teeth properly, especially the molars at the back. Using dental floss used to be a pain. But throwing away one toothpick a day is generating too much waste. So, I asked my dentist to show me how to properly use dental floss. From now on I can use this instead and save plastic.  

Yesterday, I did administrative tasks, which involved a lot of copy and paste. As I hate copy & paste, I automated this task, so that next time it only takes a few seconds to do and is error free. Do you also have boring copy & paste tasks (e.g. getting data from one format in another, or extracting data from a website) that you have to do daily/weekly/monthly and you'd love to get rid of? If yes, please feel free to reach out to see whether I can help you by writing a script.

A while ago, I found a long gray hair on the ground. As due to Corona no one has visited me recently, I realized it could only be mine. And indeed, recently, my partner found my first gray hair on my head. As I believe becoming gray shows that I get wiser and it is more environmentally friendly, I won‘t dye my hair.  

In this picture, you can see my notebook with today's tasks. As you can see, I'm using different colors: blue for marketing, light brown/gold for making a living, red for administrative tasks that I want to get rid of as soon as possible, purple for studying/learning something and green for leisure. By using different colors I can see with one glance whether my day will be balanced. For example, if there is no green, I want to make sure I plan a break; if I see gold/brown, I may want to prioritize this task, etc. It has helped me to spend my days well for a long time now.

This bee wrap is made by me and my friend. We bought beeswax and coconut oil, which we melted, mixed and put on a cotton cloth. It was great to do, and now I never need a plastic bag for my bread anymore. If you don’t want to make it yourself, you can also buy it.  

A large part of my sustainability work is for free, because my main goal is to make a huge positive difference to our world. However, being self-employed, I also need to make sure that I make a living. If not, I won't be able to keep up my work in the long run. That's why I'm offering - for the time being - some services on Fiverr, a freelance platform. These services are related to things I'm doing often anyway, such as converting subtitles from one format in another. Today, I'm really happy to have completed my first order. It was a small order for only a few dollars, so what I celebrate most is that I'm learning to also take care of myself by earning money.

As I received a lot of positive reactions to the Sustainability Masterclass, I have scheduled a new date for the Sustainability Masterclass straight away. So, would you like to: be able to save money and time by taking a shortcut to your goal,  be able to consider new and even better solutions to reach your goal,  be more likely to prevent certain issues to occur in the first place, and/or  be able to take new possibilities into account that you never thought of before? If yes, then join the next Masterclass on: Friday March 19th at 4 pm CET You can find more information about this Masterclass and book your seat here: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/masterclass And be quick booking your seat because there are only a few spaces left! And if you know others working on a sustainability project who are interested in this event, please feel free to forward this invitation.

I‘m surprised that I didn‘t come up with this item before, as I have heard many times before that leaving devices on standby requires a lot of energy. I guess it‘s because they don‘t use much, but when continuously using a little eventually makes a lot too. That‘s why I switch my devices off. Also, it saves me hours at work, as I don’t have to earn this wasted money.  Would you like to spend less hours working and still have the same amount of money too? Or do you want to have more money with the same number of hours at work? Then this course will give you a kickstart: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/start-saving-money-short-and-full-course  

Last year in April, I shared that to be able to come up with my ideas, I need a clear mind. As with the sky: the fewer clouds, the more light, the more clearly I can see. So, I keep my mind clear by e.g. eating healthily, resting enough, doing sports, mindfulness and clearing limiting beliefs. However, this weekend, I realized that I didn't pay enough attention to mindfulness and resting recently. So, I changed this and feel much more refreshed again.

I don’t have a car as I usually go by train, by bike or walk. But occasionally, I do need a car. In that case, I use car sharing. Apart from environmental reasons, I really appreciate not having to take care to maintenance, insurance, etc.

4,5 months ago, I quit my full-time job to be able to dedicate myself full-time to sustainability. When I spoke to Feline Beuming 3,5 months ago (see video), I told her that it felt right to take this step. Today, I still feel it was absolutely the right decision, even though every day feels like a roller coaster ride and many things don't go they way I hoped or expected.

Whenever I receive a lovely postcard, which I don‘t want to throw it away and keep as a happy memory instead, I stick it to the wall in the bathroom. This way, I have great wall decoration and it feels as if the people are close.

Today, I traveled by train to a place I have been before. However, I took a different route. And what I love about new routes is that I always learn something new. This time, it was the idea of putting solar panels on a fence. I'm glad I was quick enough to take the picture so that I can share what I learned with you.