365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

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.

Where I live, a lot of rubbish is separated to make sure that as much as possible can be recycled. One thing that needs to be separated is glass. I bring it to a glass container instead of throwing it in my bin.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I met Justin Lewis and Sia Vozovik from NatureHub. This week, they published the podcast with video of our chat: https://youtu.be/V9IFr4Cdk6Q As I love contributing through talks, podcasts, interviews, etc. more often, feel free to reach out when you organize an event or know someone who does. Short description of this video podcast: "Dr. Erlijn van Genuchten tells us how to implement healthy habits, reminding us about the importance of not being too harsh on ourselves and not expecting perfection. When we plan to run a marathon, we don’t go for a marathon on day one, right? We train gradually and grow slowly. This is a great analogy for sustainable living too! In this interview, Erlijn tells us how to save money through sustainable living. We discuss climate anxiety and ways to not feel that burning worry about the future." 

Instead of buying another washing basket, I decided to split one I already have by creating two compartments. For this „wall“ in between, I used a placemat that is unused, so that I didn‘t have to buy anything new.  

Are you in for a great experience during tomorrow's Sustainability Masterclass? If yes, sign up for your seat as soon as possible, as registration closes soon:  https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/masterclass Or are you not able to make it this time? In that case, I'm happy to keep you updated about future dates. For me it is easiest to do so by sending you my newsletter. You'll then also be informed first, so that you're more likely to get a seat. You can sign up for my newsletter here:  https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/newsletter I hope to see you tomorrow!

When eating my pizza, I sometimes feel full before I can finish it. I then enjoy pizza the next day as well. And as pizza tastes cold well too, I refrained from heating it up in the microwave.

Today, I met Marc Helwing, who told me about his fascinating project. He and his team are building a "recycling village" in which 250 tons of plastic waste are built in the walls of the buildings. The good thing is that this plastic can't harm the environment anymore and in this way is put to good use. In the picture you can see how this looks like. More pictures including a map of the village are available on their website: https://www.project-wings.de/en/projekte/#bj-projekte-tab-dorf .

I was shocked when I realized that the „hairs“ of the plastic dish brush became loose whilst cleaning my pan. I almost flushed them through the sink, so probably have done so already in the past. As these hairs are tiny, I wonder whether they can be removed by the sewage treatment plant. If not and they end up in the ocean, that would mean the ocean starts in my sink!  

Yesterday, I spoke to someone about trying out many different things, to find out that many things don't work out. That's why it helped me to look at this video of me the first time wakeboarding with a fast cable. It reminds me that it will work, eventually, one way or another :).

I shared before, that I love making pizza myself (#5). One of the common ingredients is pineapple, which I buy in a tin. In the tin however, is not only pineapple, there is also pineapple juice. I used to pour it away, but as I can drink it, I now pour it in a glass.  Learn more about how to reduce waste in this online course: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/reducing-waste-full-course

This weekend, I have been struggling to keep my mood up. The reason is that my Twitter account seems to be suspended permanently. The reason: I sent too many Merry Christmas messages, which has been interpreted as spam. When my account got suspended, the community had over 55.000 members (in the picture you can see me celebrating 50.000 in October). Apart from it being a huge step back, I really miss them and they really miss me. That is why I'm even more looking forward to the Sustainability Masterclass upcoming Thursday (February 25th, 4 pm), as I love interacting with you! If you haven't signup already, please do so here: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/masterclass

I had a little package for someone else. To indicate for who it was and to draw attention to it, I wrote a little note. For this, I reused an envelope as the open lid looks like an arrow pointing downwards. I hope the receiver understands this too :) I invite you to do my course "how to get the most out of your bin" about how to reduce waste, so that you can come up with more ways in your daily life to reduce waste too: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/reducing-waste-full-course  

In the last few months, I've been participating in a weekly masterclass. The first six times were part of a course, but as we all learned so much - both from our own and others' questions - we have continued our weekly meetings ever since. Please take part in next week's Sustainability Masterclass, in which you can pose your question to other participants and learn from their issues, so that you can have this great experience too: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/masterclass To give you the most value, only limited number of seats are available, so make sure you're on time booking your seat.

When getting things off the ground, I often choose to use a broom instead of vacuum-cleaner for several reasons: it saves energy and it is way more satisfying to see what I have gathered than when it is just gone. And, I don’t get entangled in the vacuum-cleaners cable.

About a year ago, I met Steven Feuerstein on Twitter. He told me that he was working on an app that helps users making healing our planet a habit through personalized daily action plans. As these actions are small, just like the ones I share on a daily basis, our work suits very well. And as we can achieve more together, we're collaborating. So, I'm happy to congratulate the Evry team with reaching this huge milestone of launching the app! You can find the app here: https://evry.app

I generally have many idea how to upcycle material. However, with these old flags, I can only come up with making a garland out of them. That‘s why I decided to ask other creative people in a Facebook group whether they have other ideas that I like more.  

"Together we can achieve more".  With this motto in mind, I invite you to take part in this Sustainability Masterclass, allowing you to connect and exchange knowledge and skills with other experts in the field.  You can find more information about this Masterclass, book a seat and apply for a sponsored seat here: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/masterclass Be quick because there are only limited seats available!  And please share with your network, so that others have a chance to join as well.

My partner knows a lot about lights. He installed on most places – wherever possible – LED lights for me, replacing mostly halogen lights. Compared to traditional light bulbs and halogen, LED uses about 80-90% less energy to produce the same amount of light. Also, LED lights don’t produce heat. So, I’m glad that I got these lights and I guess I’ll see the difference on my electricity bill next year.

I recently met Juan Villanueva on Facebook. He was looking for ideas on how to make a funeral more environmentally friendly. I shared some ideas after which we continued exchanging thoughts. Today, you can read the result in this great article! https://theveganreview.com/365-sustainable-decisions-erlijn-van-genuchten-sustainability-challenge/

I was cycling past a few cars. One of them had a lot of snow on the roof. As it didn't snow here last night, this car must have traveled here with snow from somewhere else. This means that the car carried a lot of extra, unnecessary weight, so that traveling the same distance requires more energy. That‘s why I would get rid of the snow before driving off.  You can find more ways how to save fuel in this video: https://youtu.be/l9reegMj3Kc or in my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge (e-)book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L3NWB9S  

When you have followed me on my blog for a long time or have read my (e-)book ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L3NWB9S ), you know that I love making pizza. The sauce comes in a little glass jar, which I used to throw away. These days, I keep them. As I now have so many of them (40), I decided to offer them on Facebook, so that someone living close by can make use of them. I have made three people happy, who will for example use them for storing spices.

I was inspired by one of my friends to use deodorant in the form of a cream. She told me that it is also very easy to make yourself. For now, I decided to buy it and give it a try. And it works really well!  

Tonight, I spoke to my parents using video-conferencing. I told them about many things that are going on at the moment, also the decision that didn't work out (about which I told you yesterday). In the end, we laughed, because - as is written in Dutch in the picture - "everything is going to be alright, if not then anyway".

I love playing board games. And apart from that I find it more fun than watching TV, it is also more sustainable (assuming that the board game is played over and over again).

Yesterday, I made a decision based on the information I had, which later with more information turned out not to be such a good idea after all. It made me realize that when I stop taking initiatives, I can protect myself from missteps, but it also prevents me from taking many more initiatives that do work. So, I decided to learn from it and keep moving.

In The Netherlands, Santa Claus is coming soon, and after that Christmas. This means present time. By giving vouchers for activities instead of objects, I do something good for our environment and make sure to have great times with those who are closest to me.  

Since the beginning of the Corona/COVID-pandemic, I have been enjoying the clear blue skies, without any white lines created by airplanes! And it shows me again that every disadvantage also has an advantage depending on how you look at it.

After having crafted the bookmark (#421), I still had many keys and material left. So after staring a bit longer at the keyboard, I decided to make a nameplate.  

When I don't see pollution, it doesn't mean it isn't there. Snow reminds me of this when it turned brown because of exhaust fumes from cars. So, I wonder: if the bottom of our oceans would normally be white, how brown is it already these days? What do you think?

Whenever I need a product that comes in a plastic bottle, I look for the same product in a glass bottle. Of course, this is not always possible, but when it is, I am happy to save plastic.  

February is zero-waste month in Asia, so a great month to reflect on how much waste we produce and on how to reduce it. Are you in? If yes, you don't want to miss this online course on how to reduce waste - or even go zero-waste if you want to - in a way that suits your daily life. Get started immediately here:  https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/reducing-waste-full-course

My windows have roller shutters on the outside. As I use them every day, and these belts have to pull quite a lot of weight, this one got worn off. To be able to use the belt longer before having to replace it, I stabilized it with nylon thread and tape.  

One of my coaches gave me an exercise today: to write down what comes to my mind for 10 minutes, non-stop and without correcting or reading back. During writing, it felt nonsense what I was writing and I had no idea what I was putting down on paper. But interestingly, when I did read back after these 10 minutes, I had two valuable insights!  Fascinating !

To make sure that the toxic contents of batteries are taken care of and don’t land in our environment or can even be recycled, I bring my batteries to a special battery disposal place. I found this box at the supermarket, so it’s easy when I go there anyway.  

Last year, I made flowers for everyone suffering from Corona/COVID. Unfortunately, this video is still up-to-date: https://youtu.be/7X3t4YdE9tY

Eating wraps is something I love, as it is quick to make and healthy as I fill it with mostly vegetables. However, there are too many wraps in one package, so whenever I eat it, I have a few left. I keep them in the fridge for the next time I eat them. This time, I didn‘t close the wrapping properly so that the last wrap dried out. I nevertheless ate it to reduce food waste. And surprisingly, it was really nice as it had become crispy.  

Today, I looked back at this post, which I shared on April 16th, 2020: "241 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I've already been asked several times what will happen after Day 365. I have some ideas but haven't decided yet. What do you think: Shall I continue?" I'm so glad that I did continue and love the idea of keeping it up for a lot longer!

When I wash my hands, I do so with cold water as often as possible. Only when I’m freezing will I use warm water to warm up. I do this, because warm water often doesn’t make a difference and therefore saves energy. And it saves water as it usually takes a while before the warm water arrives in the tap.  

I'm about to finish my second course on reducing waste: How to get the most out of your bin. I've added subtitles, so that when English is not your first language, it is easier to understand.  I'll also add subtitles in different languages. Would you like to help me by checking the translation in your mother tongue? If yes, please let me know, I'll really appreciate it!

Just before I quit my job in October last year to be able to dedicate myself full-time to this sustainability project, I brought back all the equipment I borrowed from my employer. One of the things was this trolley. As I used it a lot, they said they would dispose it. I asked whether I was allowed to keep it instead. Yes, they were happy for me to keep it. I‘m glad, as it saves me buying a new one.  

This week, a wonderful friend of mine told me enthusiastically that she had received a package with a box that describes how it can be used as well to motivate the receiver to reuse the box. And it also says that when you can't reuse it, you can send it back, empty, so that they can reuse it. I love it!

Today, it was great to get to know Andrea Kostrowski from The Climate Bet ( https://www.dieklimawette.de/en/participate ). She is leading a campaign which bets that they will win a million people by the next UN climate conference in Glasgow (November 2021), who will each save at least one tonne of additional CO 2 by donating 25 euros to selected climate protection projects and by doing other things to live more environmentally friendly. As I would love them to win this bet and like to support environmental projects at the same time, I participated and donated too.

When I am in a supermarket and have a choice to buy a product with plastic wrapping or without, I buy the non-plastic version. To carry the grapes in this case, I use a net (#39) or nothing at all. Saves me again a lot of plastic waste.  

When I‘m in a hotel that offers slippers, I tend not to use them. However, when I do, I take them home, so that I not only used them once before they are thrown away. I use these ones for guests or when I go to a friend and am a guest there.  

Today's meeting with Jenny Rosencrantz and Marina Nart was very inspiring and a great example that digitization and sustainability are closely related:  Jenny supporting companies in their digital transformation whilst taking sustainable perspectives into account (http://www.duoptimal.se), Marina supporting companies to implement sustainability (https://www.marinanart.com), and  me working as a trailblazer, speaker and coach in sustainability and working as a penetration tester / ethical hacker (http://www.SustainableDecisions.eu). And I love it to be able to combine these fields to come up with fruitful new ideas!

During shopping for the week, I decided to go to the counter to get the exact amount of cheese. If I had chosen prepacked cheese, I would have had to buy two, meaning more plastic, more waste and probably food leftovers.  

Today, my body is hurting all over as my immune system is doing a good job. The reason: yesterday, I received my second COVID-19 vaccine as part of a scientific study I'm participating in. I love to do things for several good reasons at once, which is the case with signing up for this study: I can support scientific research so that the vaccine is more quickly available for all of us. In case I'm in the real vaccine group (as opposed to the placebo group), I'm a lot less likely to become ill, so that I can keep my sustainability work up. The financial compensation helps me to keep going with my sustainability work.

To repair my tripod (#449), I tried again to use super glue and baking soda. However, I realized that the lid of the glue tube was stuck. Instead of throwing the tube away, I made a small hole in it and pressed the glue out of there. I was surprised how well it worked. The only thing that was not so easy was to get the right amount of glue in exactly the right spot. But in this case, that was no problem at all.  

I used to buy what I called "animal slippers" (the slipper on the left). They usually lasted one season plus a bonus season when I repaired to sole with strong tape. As this is not very environmentally friendly, I bought the ones you see on the right a few years ago. They still look almost brand new! If you'd like to learn more about how to reduce your waste too, you can soon enjoy my new online course "how to get the most out of your bin", available at bit.ly/3t4fmGD .

When I am in a supermarket or at home and need something from the fridge, I make sure to close the door as soon as possible. This keeps the cold in and therefore saves energy.  

I have been asked to add subtitles to my courses, so that also people who don't speak English well enough, can still do my course. As these subtitles come in a format that I can't use, I today wrote a little script to convert these in the right format. This will save me a lot of time and is less error prone. You can find more about my online courses at http://www.SustainableDecisions.eu .