This week’s green tip is all about being green by having less. I’ve been really into minimalism as a lifestyle lately and I think it is very easy to relate to sustainability. In another article, I talked about a series of podcasts I was listening to on the topic of minimalism that I encourage you to check out. I am currently about to embark on a thirty day challenge from a different group of minimalists. I have looked into a few of them because I find that month long challenges are a really great way to dive into something and form new, healthy habits while breaking old, destructive ones. I have actually found many adaptations to this challenge, but I chose the one that looked like it would work best for me.
How is minimalism relevant to sustainability? In so many ways! Sustainability simply means living a lifestyle that can be endured. Think about it. If you keep adding clutter to your life it will really start to pile up; it isn’t sustainable. Minimalism is a way of connecting with what is really important to you and getting rid of the rest. This looks completely different for everybody which I think is a really beautiful aspect of it. It’s sustainable because ultimately a minimalist would consume less material possessions and switch those out for “consumables” (like experiences, foods, hobbies). In decluttering, it is ideal to donate as much as possible so what you don’t need or want can go to someone who could benefit from it more than you did.
Here is a link to the 30 Day Minimalism Challenge that I am taking. I have also included a few links below to other versions of the challenge. I encourage you to look through them and think about one that might work best for you. Let me know how it goes in the comments!
Other 30 Day Minimalism Challenges:
- http://www.theminimalists.com/game/
- http://minimalismissimple.com/challenges/30-day-challenge
- http://into-mind.com/blog/2015/01/01/30-day-minimalism-challenge
Written by Mariah Greico, Class of 2018
Image by Tara Creel
Nice article. Minimalism forever 🙂