365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

To be able to survive ...  plants need to be pollinated. That's because pollination results in seeds that grow into new plants. As pollination by hand is very cumbersome I'm grateful for the animals that are happy to do this for us.  Bees. A good reason to protect them!

When traveling by car, I have learned that driving faster requires for the same distance more petrol/electricity. In Germany, there is – unless specified – no speed limit. But I’ve decided to nevertheless drive a bit slower.

This can come in handy! It's an app that recognizes plants based on a picture of e.g. their leaves. This one is by Pl@ntNet , a research and citizen science project on plant biodiversity. And you can contribute to the project by taking pictures!

When I send a box by post, I close the box using tape. However, when I don’t send it, I prefer to close it the way you can see in the picture, as this saves tape. When moving to another home having many boxes, this can save a lot of tape.  

Fascinating! During my cleanup, I pickup a tin, which revealed ants and cocoons.  The ants started carrying away the cocoons immediately, bringing them to safety. And did you know that ants can carry 10-50 times their body weight? That's as if I would carry about 1-2 cars!

Another way to live sustainable is to eat as much as I need, not more. My reasoning: when I eat too much, I need more resources from this earth than necessary.

My mum had a little present for me, which made me really happy! This grabber makes collecting waste a lot easier, safer and even more rewarding!

A long time ago, my partner brought a few socks back home that were given too him at a flight. As they have these anti-slip stripes at the bottom and are too big, I can‘t wear them in my shoes. And as they are very thin, I also can‘t wear them instead of slippers. But I realized I can wear them at night to keep my feel warm. And as they are long, I can tuck my pajama trousers in them too.  

We just forget ... ... how good something is for us when we haven't experienced it for a while. E.g. after 9 months, I remember how great it is to visit my parents. I see it as a playground overgrown by weeds. So, when living in a city, you may forget how much you love nature.

A while ago, a built a compost bin (#128). Since then, I’ve been gathering things that can go in there. So I’ve started composting my biological waste. Now all kind of animals can get some food there and the waste company doesn’t have to collect it.

Trees can live without humans, but humans not without trees. That's because trees produce oxygen through photosynthesis.  The pigment that make plants green absorbs sunlight. This is combined with CO 2 from the air and water from the roots. The result is sugar and ... oxygen.

Someone sent me a book in an old wrapping, so already reused it. Great! And I realized, that this wrapping can be folded into a box, so that I can use it again when sending something else than a book. I love it!  

Do you have a robot lawn mower? Then you can do something simple to save hedgehogs: only let the robot mow at daytime. This helps, as at night, hedgehogs look for food. When the mower comes, they roll into a ball instead of fleeing, so that they collide.

On the roof of the house where I live, solar thermal panels are installed. This installation allows water to be heated by the warmth of the sun. It saves a lot of energy and therefore reduces CO2-emission. An alternative is installing solar panels that convert heat of the sun into electricity.

Did you know that trees excrete substances (phytoncides) that keep them healthy, and that when we breath them in, we benefit from them too? They are good for our immune system and mood. That's one of the reasons why going to a forest lightens us up so much!

A while ago, I found a nice shoe rack outside, which was left by someone to be taken. As my old shoe rack was slightly too small, I brought it home. But the old one was still in good shape. I kept it to make a raised bed from it to be able to grow herbs (#518). I‘m looking forward to harvesting some basil and thyme.  

I just realized an interesting new perspective: Living longer when NOT doing something (e.g. smoking, polluting) if often unattractive as dying feels years away. But aging quicker affects us today. It is also called anti-aging cream not "look-young-longer" cream.  Inspired by this article:  https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2021/06/21/exposure-to-pollutants-increased-free-radical-damage-speeds-up-aging-per-wvu-led-study

I discovered something: these larvae growing up in a pot with water swim backwards! And the good news: putting a pot with still water outside apparently helps insects!

In #98, I described that I made some beewrap to store my bread. But after using it for a while, I notice that the beeswax got crumbly. This causes my bread to dry out quickly. So I have melted the beeswax in my over (before baking pizza, so I needed to heat up the oven anyway) and now it is good to go again.

I would love to hear from you: What is your biggest struggle when going zero-waste? Please leave your answer in a comment to this post.

Last year, I planted some herbs, flowers and vegetables. But as the name plates didn‘t stay in the right place, I eventually didn‘t know what was growing where. To do it better this year, I crafted name plates from iron wire that I found last year in a bush (#338) and old corks. This will probably work much better.  

I'm feeling so grateful! I had computer issues again; my computer didn't start. Instead of focusing on the problem and becoming frustrated, I focused on solving it.  Putting together several solutions I found, I got it fixed again. Thanks to all who shared how they solved it!

I have learned that it is better to switch off the heating when I’m airing the room, as otherwise the warm air vanishes through the open window immediately. Good to know, so I make sure I do so now.

The broken windows theory states that visible signs of crime encourage further crime. I feel this is true for litter too: visible signs of litter encourage further littering. as it's tempting to think "with so much litter, it doesn't matter when I add some".

Last year, I tried to grow some vegetables.  But because I didn‘t have proper name plates, I couldn‘t figure out which plant was edible and which wasn‘t. That‘s why I this year plant herbs in a planter. This way, I know exactly what plant grows where.  

Would you mind when making a dream come true takes a few years? I don't, as I also love working towards it. E.g. my PhD and first book took 4 years, my second book 3. And I still love the journey of my Challenge after 1,75 years, so I continue making this dream come true too.

Many wrappings are made of paper and plastic. I have been wondering how this works in the recycling machines. Reading a bit more on this on the internet taught me that it is important to separate as much as possible so that scanning machines can do there job properly. This wrapping is even designed for this.

Whilst sharing my ideas, I can't see when you translate them into action in the physical world. That's why I have trust:  I trust that having planted seeds is worth it and brings forth many flowers,  even when I might never see them grow or blossom.

This spider was drowning in my bath, so I rescued it and set it outside. Unfortunately, help came too late this time, but I‘m glad I at least tried. Hopefully I‘m on time when it happens again.

Have you set yourself a goal that you want to reach? If yes, I suggest to also dream about what will happen if you DON'T go for it. E.g. I have to go back to a job when self-employment doesn't work out. This gives me a new perspective and motivates me to make sure that won't happen.

Recently, one LED light and one halogen lamp (I couldn’t replace this one by an LED light) broke. As I’m not sure how to dispose them so that they can be recycled properly, I informed myself online. I learned that I can bring them to shops that sell lights, as they will be able to dispose them properly. So I will do so when I go there anyway.

Did you know that touching wood reduces our heart rate and brain activity? This causes us to feel more relaxed. (This effect does not occur when touching plastics.) So, tree hugging is not a bad idea at all. And the good news: it also works when touching wood in the house.

I somewhere read that it is a good idea to keep the seeds or pips from fruits, so that you can use them for a seed bomb. This means that I can just throw them into nature wherever I feel these seeds can grow to a plant, hoping a tree grows from them.  

FAQ: How do I start living more environmentally friendly? I recommend picking ONE habit or piece of waste and consider what you can do differently: so that you need less energy, water etc. or  such waste doesn't end up in your bin next time. Follow me on Twitter when you need inspiration.

I am wearing contact lenses.  And although I don’t dispose them in the toilet (#136) as I read some people do, I do need this liquid and the plastic containers. So by wearing my classes, I need less of them and therefore generate less waste.

"That is wrong!"  That is what someone said vehemently to me last week when I shared my point of view.  Instead of arguing I asked: "What is wrong for you?"  I'm glad I did as it turned out that he misunderstood me and even has the same point of view! Lesson learned: listen first.

During one of my cleanups, I realized that the glove had a hole in my right finger.  As I‘m only using the right glove during cleaning, I still have the left glove, which is fine.  So, to be able to use that glove as well, I decided to turn it inside out, so that it fits my right hand.  

Where I work, the toilets have paper towels for us to dry our hands. As I prefer not to use one, but do want to dry my hands, I decided to bring one of the tiny towels I made (#113). As it is so small, it fits in my bag easily. I’ll now put one in my bag permanently, as these paper things are in many other public toilets as well.

Do you want your voice for sustainability to be heard by corporations that impact your daily life? I learned from the founder of the Advance ESG community that anyone - not just investors - can help make sustainability a corporate priority through the shareholder resolution process that urges companies to become more socially and environmentally responsible. It's free to join and members help guide the direction of the organization through online polls.  Click here to sign up: https://www.advanceesg.com

As I don‘t have a car, I can‘t do this myself. But when I would have a car, I would make sure I can park it in a garage or a carport. This way, no rain, wind, etc. can cause the car to age quicker. This way, the cars can be used longer, so that fewer cars have to be produced and discarded.  

I believe bad weather doesn't exists, just bad cloths. As you can see, I could have made a better decision for cloths and glasses today! Have a wonderful, sunny day, whatever weather you're in!

In #77 I described that I have put a sticker on my mailbox saying that I don’t want advertisements. Nevertheless, I found these pizza leaflets in it. I decided to bring them back to the shop that sent them and give them constructive feedback. I hope this helps, because they move from my mailbox directly into my paper waste.

In one of my courses, I share how I save $695.80 a month living more environmentally friendly. It would be UNeconomic NOT to do this course for only $119 with money back guarantee!  Agree?  Then do the course here:  https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/start-saving-money-short-and-full-course

When I drink a pot of tea, I use a tea cozy to make sure that it stays warm for a lot longer. I have seen other ways to keep tea warm too, for example by using a tea light. But this would require 1 light every day one or two day, causes a lot more waste and is more expensive.  

Yesterday, I shared that I'm sending digital love to you through my tweets.  This time, I'll send physical love in the form of this postcard. As I made it, I only have one. So, I'll randomly select one of you who has spread the love by retweeting on Twitter and send it by snail mail. (Please make sure you follow me on Twitter too, so that I can ask your address in case you are the chosen one.)

What a wonderful compilation! Makes my heart grows twice in size! ❤️ Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: I hope you all had a wonderful day, I’m sending you hugs 🤗

From the bed I gave away (#112), I had a slatted frame left.  It was already standing around for a while – unused. Even though it is large, it wasn’t really in the way. But before someone else decides to buy a new one, I decided to sell this one.  It is perfectly fine, so I’m glad that it has become a second life.

Love is like ping pong. Every day, I'm sending love to you through my tweets. Last week, I received feedback that I'm with my posts a constant bright spot in her day.  By saying that, I got much love back! So, when you want to receive more love, start with giving some first.

I have learned that it is more energy efficient to open the window completely for a short time when airing room than to open it a little for a long time.  The reason is apparently that the small opening of a tilted window doesn‘t allow much air exchange and cools down the walls and furniture instead.  

Discussing climate issues makes a difference as talking/thinking changes our mental world. However, if I'd only thought about my Challenge, I wouldn't have changed my habits and you wouldn't have heard about it. That's why acting in the physical world is essential.

I have a bike that has a dynamo and a bike with a lamp that runs on batteries. Today, I decided to use the bike with dynamo to save energy.

Whenever I go to a shop, I bring a shopping list with me. First, it is faster to shop with one and second, I‘m not tempted to buy other things that are not on the list.  These are often impulse purchases, which means I would buy more than I need.  And when this is food, it is at risk of going off before I‘m able to eat it.  This way, I reduce (food) waste. And it also saves money.