8 Steps to Regenerating Your Life: Sustainable Living

Now more than ever, it is critical for us to begin taking an honest look at where we are willing to shift our lives in order to regenerate our communities and create true sustainability.

I’m not really sure when my journey as an environmentalist began but, I figure it’s time I start sharing my knowledge and experiences (consistently haha).

If you’ve been following my journey, you know I have dabbled in many areas of subject matter. From health and wellness to spirituality, all things nature. Hence the reason I am dedicating this space to all the things I am passionate about, because it is all connected. If you are new to this side of the internet; welcome!! I pray that you will find something of value during your time here.

Through this platform I intend to bring it all together… Exploring the intersections of healing, nature, spirituality, and land stewardship we will cultivate a community of mindful Earth-keepers. In this collective. we are not afraid to think outside the box, or do the work that needs to be done for lifestyle regeneration to occur.

Are You Ready To Regenerate Your Life?

If you are beginning your journey towards sustainable living and want to have lasting change/results; it is imperative that we revisit the past. Take a look back before land and people were colonized, take a peak into how you were raised, and be willing to take an honest look at how you live currently. This will allow you to get clear on what sustainable living means to you. All of these things will help you regenerate the way you live!!

Give This Exercise A Try:

If you are not familiar with the ways/ practices of indigenous people/communities before the 1500’s, I encourage you to head to your local library and do bit of research. Their ways were nomadic, symbiotic, and minimalistic. This will give you an idea of how we should strive to live. Channel your inner child and make a fun project of it. Be sure to come back and let us know what you uncovered down in the comments!

Next; grab your journal and reflect on how you grew up. Were you educated on sustainable living practices? What do you wish you had been taught more about? Did you know where your trash went after the garbage truck picked up? Take some time and think about how much or how little you were connected to environmental considerations.

Lastly, take some time to think about what sustainability is. What does it mean to you? How do you wish to realign with it, and what are you willing to sacrifice to live more sustainably.

In today’s society it may seem next to impossible to live sustainably. TikTok has so many trendy things to buy. Fast fashion keep producing the cutest outfits. Work now requires a commute and all of our food is wrapped in non-recyclable non-compostable materials. This journey is not for the weak but it is very possible. With a bit of mindfulness and intentionality you have the capacity to lower your carbon footprint in an impactful and sustainable way.

8 Steps to Regenerate Your Lifestyle

People often ask me what step by step method I took to regenerating my lifestyle. So… Let’s get into it!!

Step One: Observe

The process of observation will allow you to see where you are living out of alignment with sustainability. The first thing I noticed was how much trash we produced; it was ridiculous, truly. From there I began taking note of what was in the trash. We were eating so much processed foods, it caused us to send several bags of trash to landfill every week. Next up was food waste… While I had the desire to cook healthy meals for me and my family, there was always something that would keep me from doing it and I’d have to throw the fresh produce in the trash. And then there were the paper towels… We used an over-abundance of them; and they were the expensive ones too. For spills, candle making, and everyday hand wiping the amount of paper towels we use to use was wild.

This was the beginning of how we lowered our carbon footprint. I made a running list of thing we did that I felt was unsustainable, and over time I worked to find solutions to said habits. Something as simple as turning the water off when brushing your teeth or leaving the fridge door open can lower your footprint significantly. As you make your observations, try not to get discouraged or overwhelmed by where you need to readjust and create new habits. Lifestyle regenerations is a journey, and if we wish to have lasting impact that is truly sustainable, we must take our time on this adventure and enjoy the process of learning a new way to be.

Step Two: Rethink

What type of consumer are you? This step in the process calls us to ponder upon the type of consumer we would like to be, while giving us opportunity to set goals that align with your sustainable vision. Are you the type that invests in fast fashion but you ride your bike to work? Do you shop small and barter with people in your community? Rethinking gives us the opportunity to get clear, honest, and realistic about how we are willing to show up on this journey towards the regeneration of our lifestyles. Realistically, many of us will not reach a net zero carbon footprint, but we can offset our carbon footprint if by being mindful and intentional along this journey. Sit down with everyone in your household, see where compromise and accountability can come in to help you create the most sustainable household/community possible.

Create Sustainable Living by Calculating Your Carbon Footprint

Step Three: Refuse

Refusal was; and at times, still is the most challenging part of sustainable living for me. All of our lives, we have been conditioned to consume. The more, the better… The bigger, the better… We tend to buy things because it’s trendy rather than buying out of necessity. Refusing consumption is one of the most radical things we can do. Consequently refusing to take part in consumerism, you reduce what would eventually become waste. In turn, this forces corporations to produce less or, more sustainable goods. Refusing consumerism, it’s a win for the environment and our bank accounts!

Step Four: Reduce

With reducing waste; I found it to be one of the most challenging yet fun steps in the process. It allowed me to take what I knew we needed to improve upon and create an avenue for developing more sustainable practices. For example; we do continue to purchase paper towels, but we hardly ever use them because I make unpaper towels and use those instead. This step also developed my sense of mindfulness. Before I purchase something, I think about how it will impact the environment. In my experience, I found that as I strived to reduce the waste we were producing, I was also reducing the amount of money I was having to spend. This journey will call you to tap into your creative nature. It will call you to be resourceful and find new ways to do things and I; quite honestly, enjoy the challenge.

Step Five: Reuse/Up-cycle

I am obsessed with reusing as a way to reduce our waste. I have this thing for jars; my jar collection is absolutely insane! To me, reusing things I already have offers away for me and my family to get creative. Our pasta sauce jars get up, cycled to jars for food ingredients that we buy bulk. Our Oui yogurt jars become cups for little ones, or we find little trinkets to store in them. In addition to that, I created the cutest herb garden for our kitchen with our used terracotta yogurt cups. This is just a few examples of how we reuse things. I am realistic and know that there are some things that will go to landfill. We try to use them as many times as possible before we do send them to landfill or even to recycling.

Not so fun, fact: only about 15% of the material
that is sent for recycling, actually gets recycled.

Step Six: Recycle

Recycling is a part of the hierarchy that most people utilise but tends to be the least effective way to reduce waste. There are a number of reasons as to why this happens. Because of this I tend to suggest using recycling as a last option unless you can deliver materials to a recycling station inn person.

Step Seven: Rot

This by far is my favorite way to reduce our waste!! When we allow things to rot, it gives us the opportunity to work with and return things to nature. Vermicomposting is the way I always tell people to let things rot. As a Worm Farmer, I am a bit bias when it comes to what type of composting you should do; but there are a number of options available. If you find yourself interested in composting your waste, the main three ways to compost are; thermophilic composting, bokashi composting, and vermicomposting. Be sure to take some time to do a bit of research on each of these options to decide which one will work best for you. Should your interest be peaked by composting with worms; get at me, I got worms for you lol!

Step Eight: Repair

If I can be honest, this is one of my less appreciated part of the process. I love a good DIY, and always have the passion to fix things when they break, but honestly… I typically end up replacing and donating the broken item for parts (depending on what it is). Repairing things typically takes longer than what I have time for, however, if you are handy and love a good fixer upper, the repair option will likely be a great opportunity for you to tap into on your journey towards sustainability.

In conclusion, by using these steps for sustainability, you will have the freedom to regenerate the way you live and become a better steward over the land where you reside. As I continue my journey towards being the best Earthkeeper I can be, I hope that you will join me. Let’s cultivate an environment that is healthy for generations to come. Before you go; feel free to let me know where you are on your journey; as well as, what you want to learn more about down in the comment box, I would love to hear from you.