The year is 2020, and the weather is rapidly changing around the world.
It is warmer, stormier, wetter, drier, and forests (our dear lungs) are on fire. Overall, it is apparent that the Earth has something extremely important to say, but who is listening and who really cares? It seems that no one wants to take the blame.
Working with a sustainable lifestyle designer can provide great insight and inspiration for living a sustainable life.
Citizens blame corporations for degrading the landscape as they are providing inferior, impossible to recycle products. Companies believe that they only want to sell more – in the name of growth and keeping the economy growing. It is hard to believe, that our common future is all about greed… There is a lot of joy to be found in between nothing and sacks of riches.
Those who find us here, at ForestCreekMeadows, care about the environment, some regard it an awful lot! If you’ve found us amidst the fluff of dancing kitties on the internet, know that it was a connection meant to be.
In the past, we wrote more about ecological consciousness and eco-minimalism and those topics are as important as ever, as we face an uncertain climatic future. But, there are plenty of minimalist blogs to read, to glean inspiration from.
Living with less is one way to approach sustainability, though it doesn’t cover all you need to know on how to live a sustainable life.
So, we just have to ask, what does living sustainably mean to you and your family? How does it affect your small, desiring-to-thrive business?
Stop and ponder that thought for a moment, then read on.
The path to a sustainable life
Living simply – and well – as it turns out, isn’t all that easy. Though with time, and a little bit of help from experienced sustainability mentors, it becomes less complicated and a lot more fun.
See, we’ve been where most people still are. Consumers from birth, with few ideas on how to make life exciting without constantly shopping or being entertained.
When we moved out to the countryside more a decade and a half ago, our lives changed for the better. It was then and there in the Great Plains of Hungary, that we learned to live in harmony with nature. Growing food, raising animals, foraging for wild nutrients, embracing the seasons and gathering skills to start our sustainable wardrobes. With the birth of our daughter, our desire to live more gently on the Earth grew stronger still.
Now, that we are homesteaders in Romania, and with the goal to plant native trees far and wide to help lower carbon emissions worldwide, it is time to take the act of living sustainably a step further. In essence, we are here to help courageous others take the same leap of faith to live fulfilling, sustainable lives.
Benefits of working with a sustainable lifestyle designer
Working with like-minded people in the real world, is becoming more of a rarity these days. In part, it has to do with ecologically minded people traveling less, and less far. We have chosen to give up flying, in favor of public transportation, we don’t even own a car – yet we live out in the countryside!
And in part, it also has to do with the ease and ability to work online, and meet people from around the world without commuting, sharing valuable knowledge, wisdom along the way.
As it was mentioned, choosing to live a sustainable life isn’t always easy. In fact, in can be downright complicated! Companies are always trying to make quick sales with new “eco-friendly” products, people are arguing whether it is “more” sustainable to be eating meat or to be a vegetarian, and the whole issue of ecological clothing seems to be underrated.
How to navigate all the twists and turns of living a sustainable life? Where do you turn when you have questions? Well, forums are one place to start, but you’ll find a lot of ambiguous answers there.
In life, if you really want to grasp the reality of a certain topic, hiring a coach is one effective way to get you through it. Whether it be for increasing your online business, dealing with eco-anxiety, or simply learning how to live sustainably and well.
Working with a sustainable lifestyle designer you will be able to:
Unclutter your mind – and your home!
Clutter gets in the way of life, and most of it isn’t anywhere near sustainable! This includes old-unworn clothes, furniture, toys, tools, books and more – the list goes indefinitely on.
Humans tend to hold onto items, even as they are gathering more of the same. If you have clutter issues, gaining a minimalist mindset can help unclutter your home.
Learn how to dissociate from the newness of objects, and replace only what needs replacing with sustainable alternatives.
Clear all that space in your home, and your head, allow new opportunities for growth await you.
Ask lots of questions
Working one-on-one, two-on-one, or family-to-family, with a sustainable lifestyle designer will give you hours and hours to talk all about the successes and difficulties of living sustainably.
Conversations can run the gauntlet from fast fashion to technology, with some reminders of taking a much needed digital detox in between – suitable for all ages.
We may even talk about a sustainable diet, hand soap, washing the laundry, preparing a garden, preserving food, raising animals, crafting by hand. Everything is related to living sustainably, go ahead and ask away!
Learn from first-hand experience
Our most minimalist experience was moving to Scotland with the 3 of us, and 2 backpacks full of our most treasured belongings. We’ve been called brave and courageous for such an act, though we’d like to believe that anyone can make the same bold moves.
For example, if you are a city person with an innate desire to move out to a homestead, go ahead and do it! Just make sure to have the right mindset and ask the essential questions first.
Living a sustainable lifestyle is for everyone, why is it so hard to get some onboard? We willingly open up the conversation to talk about struggles with family, gift-giving and receiving.
Establish a work/life balance
When work takes over your life, it becomes more difficult to make eco-conscious decisions. First, there is the commute in traffic, then the take-away lunch wrapped in plastic, the disposable coffee cups, the trails of paper and bathing in Wi-Fi. It can all feel so overwhelming!
By the time you come home, you don’t want to think about dinner, let alone working out in the garden, or preserving your own food for later in the year.
And what about happiness?
Whatever happened to her?
If you feel that you are constantly rushing through life – slow down! If you need help with making ecological decisions to make life at work and at home so much better, consider working with a sustainable lifestyle designer, who can help redirect your energies and set you on the right path to living a simpler life.
Keep on track with making sustainable decisions
Thinking about going plastic-free or zero-waste?
How do you keep up with all the options and trends out there? Not by following Instagram, that is for sure. Buying “more of the good” will not get the world out of our overconsumption problem. Only we can dig ourselves out of it.
If you ever feel like shopping has you in a tailspin, consider working with a sustainability mentor to keep you on track with your purchases that benefit both you and the Earth. It is often nice to have a back-up person to help you decide whether you need – or want – something new.
Live free from guilt
When you choose to live sustainably, and take all actions within your power to do so, a certain amount of guilt may still creep up from time to time. Especially where and when children are involved. As parents, we don’t want them to feel left out, or left behind. Sometimes it is hard to say no. No to plastic toys that all their friends have, no to balloons, no to senseless party favors. But you, as a parent, grandparent or caretaker, has the ability to bring sense to living an ecological life. Be inspiring!
There is also the fear of ruining nature and exploiting resources from future generations. But it does us no good to live with these negative thoughts.
Instead, do something positive about it.
Stop buying new clothes for a year.
Make your own earthing sandals.
Start growing your own vegetables.
Raise your own goats, chickens or ducks.
Go plastic-free in the kitchen. Then the bathroom, the living room, and the whole house.
Do good things for yourself, that benefit the Earth in return and you will be rewarded greatly.
Reestablish a love for nature by working with a sustainable lifestyle designer
You don’t need to work with a sustainable lifestyle designer to (re)discover a fondness for nature, you only need to get out and explore the great outdoors for yourself, sometimes all by yourself. However, you can take cues from those who already live and love life outside, in any weather.
When you truly feel the positive attachment to nature – the ants, the bees, the birds, the call of the fox and the wolves – all those around you will take notice and give more thought to the way the sun shines through the branches, to the way the wind blows their hair, how the snow feels underneath their bare feet.
To live sustainably is to have the deepest affection for nature.
If your greatest wish is to live sustainably, yet your questions and apprehensions outweigh all the answers, we can help.
Join us for 3-months of weekly sustainability coaching calls to speed up the process of living more simply than ever before, or join Cheryl in a quieter space, for introverts only: Sustainable Lifestyle Design for Intellectual Introverts.
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