365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

Now this is what I call making good use of your roof. It is full of solar panels. As I was curious how many there are, I counted them: 17 times 63  which is 1071. Wow, impressive!

In the beginning of my Challenge (#40), I tried a block of shampoo to replace my plastic bottle.   After using this block a while, I realized it doesn’t work as well as I first thought, so I went back to my usual shampoo.   But I remained unhappy with the plastic bottle, so I’ve tried different blocks until I found one that does work well for me!  

Renaturalization. I see it more and more often,  meaning that for example the natural flow of a stream or river is restored instead of the straight line that was created years ago. This is better for biodiversity and I think it looks better too.

When I buy milk, I prefer to buy milk in a bottle.  These bottles can be brought back to the shop and reused. Much better than having to throw one with plastic.

We all feel we aren't good enough to some extent, so I made this to remind us that we're good enough and to love ourselves the way we are. And do you want to fold beautiful gifts as a book folding artist too? Here I teach all you need to get started:  https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/upcycling-books-course

On one of my cycle tours, I passed a field with pigs. They enjoyed walking around through the mud. And I also immediately noticed that the have houses made from old glass containers. A great way to upcycle them!  

A picture is worth a thousands words: you're never too old to care for nature. How wonderful!

After buying a ticket to go to the football stadium, I found out that you can also use the ticket to travel by public transport for free. So I went by bus instead of for example car.

Do you have any cardboard boxes or packaging materials that you want give away? I love the initiative of Box Giver , an online marketplace for exchanging packaging materials:  you can reduce waste by donating your unwanted packaging to someone in need #ad https://boxgiver.com/

A good friend told me proudly that she planned to replace the broken glass of her smartphone camera by a new one, instead of buying a new smartphone. And as you can see, she did well and it all worked out.  

You know why we are a good team? Because we act from all around the world, meaning we can make a positive difference for our planet 24/7. Together we can achieve more!

When finishing baking pizza in the oven, the warmth in the oven can keep the pizza warm.  But after having finished the pizza, I open the oven the let the warm air flow out and heat up the kitchen.

I've fallen in love with this path! Look at how beautiful the colors of the different types of moss are. And a creative way to use natural resources to create environmentally friendly art. Wouldn't environmentalism be a great successor of impressionism, realism, etc?

Many years ago, I used to wear my hair sometimes in ways that required me to use many hair pins.  As I hardly ever use them these days, I have many excess pins.  So, when a friend told me she needed a few, I decided to give her some of mine.  This way, she didn’t need to buy new ones.  

This sign summarizes why forests are so important:  The forest filters the air and removes harmful dust and environmental toxins.  But if the forest's tolerance limit is exceeded, they cause permanent damage to the forest,  especially if there isn't enough rain at the same time.

During crafting, I often only need a little piece of paper in a certain color.  At first, I need a new piece of paper.  Instead of throwing the left overs away, I keep them in a folder for later use.  This saves me a lot of new paper.

The third year of my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge has started! Here, you can see the rocket that has allowed me to make it such a successful project: Three pillars, with wealth and health as foundation, and some inspirational aspects that I keep in mind on my journey.

Whilst traveling on the train to visit my parents, I enjoyed the pasta salad I made the day before. When I finished, I had some salad sauces left. I decided to drink it make sure there were no leftovers.  

After I little accident in the fridge, I had to clean one of the shelves.  Instead of leaving it in the fridge and clean it there, I took it out.  By cleaning it in the sink, I was able to in the meantime close the door of the fridge.

Nature is clever as it has a natural mechanism against food waste: here you can see that not all tomatoes are ready at the same time so that we can eat them bit by bit. If they would be ready all at once, there would be too much to eat at first and not enough at last.

For emergencies, I have some food in stock.  It lasts a long time, but of course, eventually also these are outdated.  So occasionally, I go through all the tins to check the date.  When it is outdated, I eat it and replace it by a new tin. 

Gratefulness and love.  That's what I feel when crafting something for someone else.  Here, I fold the pages of a book that will form a pattern,  feeling it every single page. And as a bonus:  when it's finished and they see the result, they probably feel the same way too.

One of my friends lost a lot of weight. I suggested that he could bring his suits to the tailor. He did. Now they fit well again.

What gets us to our goal quicker: 1. making many small changes that can be scheduled and bring us closer or 2. creating a complex plan that gets us there faster, but remains a dream? Yes 1. That's why your daily contributions to a healthy planet are so valuable. Thank you!

It has happened to me in the past that I cooked way too much pasta.  To make sure I don't have to throw anything away, I now weigh it, so I can cook the exact amount I need.  

Did you know that moss can help you find your way? That's because moss prefers to grow in the shadow. This means that it grows on the north side of trees (or south on the southern hemisphere) as on the northern hemisphere the sun is always east, south or west.

When using my tape, I noticed that it is rather broad. So I decided to cut it in half, so that I have double the length.

What do you see when you look at this ivy? I used to see a plant that is impossible to get rid of. But by reading an educational sign about it, I learned that many animals find in ivy a great place to live. So, now I see a plant that deserves its special protection!

A while ago, I learned that the rind of a watermelon, the white part, is edible as well.  I researched what I can do with it and started with water-melon-water.  I just cut away the outer layer, chopped up the remainders, blended it, and added water.  Nice!  

Yay, times are changing! I found this car charging at a very unexpected spot: on a parking area next to a forest. This means that driving a car with electricity from #sustainable sources becomes more and more common.

As I told many times before, I love to eat pizza.  The tomato sauce comes in a glass as you can see here.  I have started scraping the remainders of the sauce out of the glass to reduce food waste.  And I’ll from now on keep the glasses.  I don’t know yet what I’m going to use them for, but I’m sure they will come in handy.

Do you have a favorite wine? If yes, did you realize that its taste will change when climate changes? This is because the taste of the grapes depends on for example temperature and the amount of rain. So, when taking action for our planet you also help to save your wine.

When getting water from the stream to water my plants (#283), I noticed a toy. I decided to take it out, as it otherwise probably drifts off, eventually arriving in the sea or becoming buried at the bottom of the river.  

When an alien tells you: "We grow plants that nature depends on, harvest them once a year and look at them for a week. Then we throw them away or burn them." What would you think? Doesn't make sense, right? So, let's sing this Christmas: let it grow, let it grow, let it grow.

Earlier I wrote that I am not using a napkin for lunch (#123). But at home, I sometimes do need one. I used to use one of these paper ones. But having the little towel now (#113), they can be napkins too.

Do you feel like giving up? Then don't, as success can be just around the corner: Here you see my first wake-boarding tries (yes, you can laugh). If I'd given up after the fifth try, I would have concluded: I can't do it. By not giving up, I proved the opposite: I can do it.

Because of the good weather, my friend suggested to go and have an ice cream and test the new shop who sell vegan ice cream. I got chocolate and it tasted really well, just as good as non-vegan ice cream.  

In the last 1.5 weeks, I've been house-sitting my friend's place. While away for her honeymoon, I've been taking care of her plants. She not only has flowers, she also many fruits and vegetables. I'm impressed by her efforts and grateful for being allowed to eat them as well!

As I eat bread for breakfast, I often have breadcrumbs left on my plate. As I don’t want to throw them away anymore, I now eat them as well.

What a wonderful rainy day! I very much enjoyed myself with a cup of tea in my lap: I've been watching these plants swaying in the wind imagining the left one celebrating with arms up in the air and the right one playing a tone of music every time a raindrop touched a leaf.

The daughter of a dear friend accidentally let her banana and apple fell on the ground.  They decided to keep it and give it to their horse later that day. My friend told me that taking the picture giving the banana didn’t work out as the banana was gone so quickly. They loved it and no food wasted!  

Abillion Green Award I'm very grateful to have been awarded with the Emerald Certificate "in recognition of valuable contributions to the environment and fight against climate change". Thank you Abillion Green, I very much appreciate this!

I recently left the office last and noticed that several lights were left on. So I walked through the office to turn off the remaining lights.

Think about a time in which you did something for yourself. How long did you feel good about it? Now think about a time in which you chose to do something for someone else. Again, how long did you feel good? I bet you felt good longer doing something for someone else. So...

On one of my walks, I walked past this sheet that was about to fall off. It has been there for a long time and it doesn’t look as if the owner will come along to clean it up. So, to prevent it from falling down into the stream, I decided to rip it off and put it in a bin.  

What comes to mind when you think about paper? For me it's trees. But have a look at this paper factory. It has its own powerhouse as the paper production process requires a lot of energy. And a lot of water as well! More good reasons to use as little paper as possible.

I sometimes want to fill my bottle under a tap that is too low. In that case, I fold my hands around the tap and bottle, so that all the water flows into the bottle instead of next to it.

This is a relic from 21 years ago. A huge area was damaged back then by a hurricane blowing over with 200 km/h (124 miles/h). But nature is amazing: this catastrophe has positive effects in the long run: the forest has recovered and even larger biodiversity than before!

One of the people who did my course on reducing waste came up with the idea to make money jars from old tins. But as I have even more old pizza glasses, I created several of them. They look great and I realized that I can even calculate the rough amount by weighing these glasses.  

Are these berries safe to eat? I was shocked when I realized that I don't know. This means I can't use natural resources that are available and have to buy fruit in shop instead. This shows how disconnected I am from nature even though I'm a nature lover! How about you?

Someone gave me this little net for scrubbing during showering. Much better than a plastic one!

This sign is worth taking a closer look at! It says "Unpopular inhabitants" and lists beasts that aren't threatened with extinction yet. They replicate themselves quickly and are well-camouflaged. So as visitor we are asked to bring them back to their natural habitat: the bin