Like I’ve found out over the past 4-5 years, you’re really never going to get anywhere you want to be without goals.  Goals will give you something to focus on, something to look forward to and something to keep you in check when you really just want to do everything but something that relates to your goal.

For me, keeping myself accountable to my goals is done by writing them down – you can see the past 3 years of goals (including this years goals) on the site.  Even though I dont write down every goal that I have for various reasons, I do write down most of them on the site.

Im curious to know though, what are all of your goals in terms of sustainability?  Do you want to grow more of your own food, or perhaps walk or bike more?  Do you want to save a bit of money by changing out your old, inefficient home products like light bulbs and shower heads and replace them with new ones?  Or is there something else that you’re more focused on?

I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Sometimes readers write in with questions and I answer their email, but occasionally I feel like they may not be the only one having that problem.  This is one of those times, when elizabeth is asking about composting.  (also, if you’ve got a question, feel free to email me)

Elizabeth writes in:

I have a sustainability question for you – composting in a suburban environment. My neighborhood isn’t very compost friendly – you have to have a fence to do so in your yard, and (1) we’re planning on moving in the next few months and (2) putting up a fence costs thousands of dollars! Do you any ideas for a “covert” compost in a suburban area – one that might fly under the radar, or be mistaken for something else?

Thanks for writing in Elizabeth.  Composting is something that really is not that difficult to do, though it does get more difficult if you’ve got a small space.  I’ve lived in a few apartments, and never really was able to get composting going when I lived in them, but I do know there are a few ways that you can do it – and they my be easier to do than outside composting because the heat is regulated inside (my compost heap froze this winter).  No matter if you do compost inside or outside you can still compost the same things (no meat, no dairy).  One suggestion that I would make though is get a small bucket or pail or something (typically, I use the paper bags that come with our fruit shares and just throw everything in the bin, bag and all) to put all of your scraps in.  I was using a small pail at one time, but the dog chewed it up, so I found something else.  Keep it near your garbage pail so you make sure to put all the compostable food waste in there and the rest into the garbage.

Essentially your only option for apartment composting is worm composting (sometimes called vermicomposting).  This involves having a place for your compost, filling it with worms and letting the worms do their thing.  When the worms eat  all of the scraps, they poop out some awesome stuff (for plants, not people) that is really nutrient rich and can be used as fertilizer for your soil.  Typically, the best types of worms for the job are earthworms, specifically the red wigglers, but the red earthworm and european nightcrawler will also work.  Since you dont live in an apartment, you may be able to go a bit bigger than this, but I’m not sure how much.

You can probably get an old garbage pail or something and apply the same principles to this, but I’m not sure how that will work out.  One option is to build a “worm farm” like DIY Natural worm farm.  This is a cheap and easy solution, and you could probably leave it in a discreet place in your backyard and the neighbors wont even know what it is.  That particular worm farm you may be able to build with stuff you already have laying around the house, but you’ll probably have to buy some worms for it.  It uses the same approach (and the same worms) as the apartment style, but it’s a bit bigger and can be stored outdoors if you wish.  I’m not sure where you live, but if it’s near wildlife of any kind, you may want to keep the lid on it or leave it inside.

Readers: Have you been wanting to do more DIY/sustainable projects but feel limited based on your living situation (rent, apartment living, etc)?  Are you interested in composting like elizabeth? 

A lot of the time that I’m thinking about sustainability, the cost is one of the first things that come into mind.  There are a lot of great sustainable things out there, but some of them cost a whole boatload of money.  Some of these expensive things will have a pay back period (time it takes to recoup your investment) in the tens of years, if the item ever recoups cost before it needs to be replaced.

The thing with sustainability for most things though, is that it’s cheaper over the long term.  Some of the things you may buy will be more expensive at first, but will be made of a higher quality material and will last much longer, lowering your cost of each use.  Not only are you saving money over the long term, but by not buying something that will need to be replaced in 4 years, you’re keeping garbage out of the landfill.  So, if you’re focused on sustainability, look into high quality items that will last a while – they may be initially more expensive but will most likely be cheaper in the long run.

Over the last 10 or so years, one thing that I’ve noticed at the store is a whole boatload of new “green” products coming out, that are supposedly better for the environment in some way than their “non-green” counterpart.  Of course, the company doesnt really go into detail about why it’s greener, they just say that it is because it uses (or does not use) some ingredient.  Of course, this “green” product often comes with a nice price increase over the non green item, lots of times north of 10%.  I feel like a lot of people are concerned about the planet and want to do the right thing, so they purchase this product that claims to be greener, feeling like their extra money has done some good.  Typically though, the product is just called green and is only marginally better (or not at all) than whatever they non green version is.

One of the best parts about green cleaning solutions (and other green products) is that you can be much more sustainable and use less harsh chemicals if you simply make the product yourself!  I didnt do much of this up until two years ago because I thought that it was difficult, but it really, really isn’t.  Most cleaning solutions can be made with vinegar and water, and perhaps something else to make it smell good, and you can get vinegar for like 1.50 per gallon, where a normal sized bottle of green cleaning solution is like 4 bucks!  Depending on how much you use, you can save a ton of money making your own stuff!

Sustainability isnt just about buying the product with the expensive product with the green label.  Most times, you can save a truckload of money while trying to be more sustainable at the time of purchase as well as over the product lifetime.

Readers: Do you find green products to be more expensive as well, and does that prohibit you from buying them?  When you buy them, do you know why they are greener than their counterpart?

Simon and Marielle

Simon and Marielle blog at Sustainable Personal Finance under the aliases Mr and Mrs SPF.  They burst onto the scene with a hugely popular series (365 Green Tips).  They chronicle their journey of trying to balance their strong environmental ethics with their pocketbooks and responsibility they feel towards the rest of the people on the planet.   The main goal of their site is to prove that being environmentally friendly does not need to cost a whole boatload of money.  The topics they choose are varied like they are here, but they bring a fresh perspective to the space.

I really like the way these two write, though I will say that when I read about the 365 Green Tips I was pretty sure that they were out of their mind because that is a lot of work.  They’ve been very active in both the financial and green communities, and I cant wait to see where they end up at the end of 2012!

Miss T

Miss T writes over at Prairie Eco Thrifter, and is a self described prarie raised woman.  She detests waste of any kind: time, money or resources.  She has flat-out rejected the consumerist culture in North America, instead opting to live frugal, healthy and green.  The reasons that she lives by those principles is because she values every breath, and wants to live a prosperous life on a healthy planet until she takes her last breath.  She’s very aware that we are all on a personal journey, and is looking to help anyone interested interested in turning over a new leaf and living a frugal, green and organized life.

Miss T started blogging in 2010, but really came on to the scene and found her voice in 2011.  Her work is always thought provoking and provides a refreshing viewpoint from the normal blogs.  Her voice is one of knowledge that you can trust.  She’s been where you are and was able to slowly but surely create a life that is full of fun, healthy personal relationships, environmentally actions and an ample pocketbook.

Andrea

Andrea runs the site Frugally Sustainable, and talks about her journey re-learning (and teaching) forgotten skills, focusing on what is important during lean times and finding happiness.  She’s also trying to escape the consumer culture and focus on sustainability by recycling, up-cycling, ecologically friendly and centered around her home.  Her favorite things are her garden, farmers markets, cooking and hanging clothes out to dry on the line.  She’s trying to become more frugal and sustainable so she can depend on no one, enjoy time with her family and appreciate what she does have, rather than have other people focus on what she doesn’t have.

I’ve been keeping up with Andrea for a while and have really enjoyed the things she’s been up to lately.  Her voice is always unique, and her readers submit some great projects for the “Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways” series.

Matt & Betsy

Matt was one of the first bloggers I really got to know when I started, and I’ve been following him ever since.  I got to know his work at Debt Free Adventure First, but now he is focusing on DiyNatural, a site to help you save money and increase freedom.  He always writes with a passion that shows you he is 100% certain that what he’s working on will be a great help to everyone involved.  After getting tired of additives in his food and cleaners, he decided to start doing more things himself and learning new ways to do simple things.  About a year ago, he brought his wife on, who is very sharp and really enjoys sharing everything she knows about home remedies, and they have been on fire as an awesome team ever since!

Matt and Betsy love empowering and inspiring others to save money and live more sustainably.  After Matt grew tired of the rat race, he chose instead to follow his calling to help people increase personal freedom and joy by focusing on debt aversion and investing in skills.  Their mission in life is to empower you by supplying information that increases freedom, joy, and meaning in your life.

Even though it does not seem like it at the time, there are repercussions to every single decision that you have to make, no matter how small.  I call these ripples – it’s like when you throw a stone into an unmoving body of water and it creates ripples that typically make it to the edge of the body of water in every direction.  Not only is this the truth for the environment, but it fits right in with your finances as well.  

Lets consider a regular gallon of milk that you are purchasing at the store.  No matter what type of milk you buy (regular/organic, whole/nonfat) you’re saying that you are alright with everything that went into making that bottle of milk.  You are ok with how long it traveled to get to your grocery store (then to your home), that you are happy with the production method of the milk (which is usually pretty standard industry wide) and that you are happy with where and how the animals that provided your milk are raised.  Not only this, you’re saying that you’re ok with things that may (or may not) have been put into the animal (or almond or rice) before they were milked, and that you are ok with the things done to the milk (such as pasturizaiton) before you bought it.  Unfortunately, it’s not just as simple as wanting something to put on your cereal or mix in with your hot chocolate.

In another example, lets consider something that you happened to rummage out of a pile marked “free” or something that you found on the side of the road that was most likely destined for the dump.  Obviously, whoever put it out there did it for two reasons – they didnt have a use (or want to find one) for the item any more or they didnt want to go through the hassle of selling it or trying to find someone that did want it.  Instead of this thing getting hauled off to the dump, you’ve decided that you can use it for something and toss it in your vehicle.  This obviously stops the item from ending up in the dump, but it also saves you some money because you didnt need to buy whatever it is new.  The lack of a new purchase will keep 1 unit of whatever resource from being taken out of the ground or from cutting down a tree or whatever the case may be.

Lets start off with finances.  Sure, the habit of getting a beer or two every day after work (and maybe a few more on friday) will only cost you a few bucks with tip, but over the course of a year, that can add up to quite a bit of money – probably close to 1,000 if you’re pricing beers around 3 dollars (which I understand is cheap in some areas).  Of course, you’re not just losing money – you’re losing the time that you spend at the pub, perhaps an hour or two per day.  There are plenty of other things that you could be doing with that hour – exercising, finding ways to earn more money, spending time with the people you care about, and probably all the other things that you talk about wishing you had time for while you were at the pub.  Not only that, but you could be doing long term harm to your body by exposing yourself to alcohol that frequently, but you’ll never know about that effect until later, when something may go wrong.

In terms of sustainability, think of something you purchase.  For an item that you plan on using quite a bit every week or every month, it would probably make sense to spend a bit more on a higher quality piece of equipment (see the cost breakdown in sustainability and the new saucepan).  You’ll be using it a lot, and it will be built to last, so you wont have to pay for it over and over like you would if you bought something of lower quality, and you also wouldn’t have to continue going to the store to pick up a new one.  Every time that you make a quality purchase, you’re preventing yourself from future annoyance, constant frustration when it doesnt work, multiple trips over your lifetime to buy a new one.  You’ll help the earth quite a bit with this strategy as well, because you’ve stopped all of those ones that you would have bought from getting bought then thrown away quickly because they were defective.

Every action that you take has an effect – it’s up to you to find out what that effect is, and decide if the effects are worth it to you.  Of course, you may have to work to find the effect, but there will be one.  Once you find it out, make the decision that you’re most comfortable with, and make sure to take everything into account (environment, finances, your inner compass). If you do that, you’re well on your way to sustainability.

The tenets of sustainability series is off this week – it will be back next week.

A while ago, this was mentioned on a post on the simple dollar (you can read it here).  As he points out, sometimes frugality can cross into hoarding, and occasionally it does.

In my own life, I try to buy and own as little as possible.  One reason for this is that I’m poor, and I don’t really have the resources to buy things that I don’t absolutely need.  In the current state, it leaves me ample resources to pay off my debt, and in the future, those resources can be devoted to saving for things I do enjoy (like going on vacation).  One of the other reasons that I try to buy as little as possible is that I hate to clean up things (ask my roommate – I’m horrible at it).  I figure that the less things that I do own, the less that I’ll have to organize, clean up and take care of.

One thing that has helped me keep from buying as much is that I have moved frequently.  Most of this was associated with being a student (I moved 6 times in as many years).  Knowing that I would move again in 12 months (or less) also really put a damper on buying things as well.  During those 6 years, I bought a handful of things that were really a pain to move, but nothing else.

These minimalist aspirations fit in fairly well most times with my effort to live in a sustainable manner.  Buying less stuff is one of the best things you can do to help the environment.  Instead of recycling or reusing an item, it is best just to not buy it at all.   However, sometimes this push towards minimalism clashes with my effort to live in a more sustainable manner.

One thing that is important to sustainability (and me personally) is to do it myself.  Fixing things that break myself stops me from buying a new one (saving me money) and I get a great amount of enjoyment out of it as well.  This is also good for the environment, because whatever I fix doesn’t get produced again (if I bought another one) and doesn’t end up in a landfill.

Unfortunately, this is where the clash really happens.  To fix a lot of stuff, you need tools (on occasion) and you need random odds and ends + duct tape (a lot).  While I try to do as much stuff as I can myself, I’m really limited  by the amount of tools I (don’t) own.  At this point, I’m really not sure if I want to buy any more tools yet, as they are just more things that I have to find a spot for and take care of, etc.

Readers: Do you practice any of these tips or do you prefer to live a different way?  Have you noticed similarities between sustainability and minimalism?

Like I’ve been saying before on the site, I think it’s time for H and I to start a garden (practice what you preach and all of that).  So, for the last 2 or so months, I’ve been figuring out how to do that as green as possible.  After getting the book Building with Second Hand Stuff (non affiliate), I started to get a plan and get excited about the garden.

I figured that I’d save some money and use reclaimed wood for a few reasons:

• I wanted to do this as cheaply as possible.  H and I will move at some point, and I wont be able to take these with us to our new place
• This would keep wood out of the landfill or other trash dump site
• Reclaimed wood is pretty easy to work with

My first thought on this was to dig up some old railroad ties, as they are laying around everywhere here in town and on sides of road that drive on a lot and use those.  Unfortunately, they are soaked in creosote and very very heavy.  Slightly discouraged, I kept looking in ditches on the sides of roads and found some things a few times that would have worked just fine, but were too heavy for me to pick up myself.

At this point, I still  had no idea how much spare lumber I would need and where I would store it all, not to mention how big my garden beds should be.  Of course, I wasnt deterred by this and just kept looking.

After a while, I ended up finding some old pieces of fence with a sign that said “Free” on them while I was on the way home from the gym one morning.  I decided that I’d use that, and a few days later went by and picked up 1 section that was 6′ by 8′.  Right now, it’s sitting in the back yard waiting for me to figure out exactly how I’m going to cut this up and turn it into my garden walls.  I’m thinking that I’ll cut it 18″ tall and against the fence grain so that it will look like a mini fence wall around the garden, but I’m not totally sure about this quite yet.  I havent yet planned my garden area, but it looks like I’ll have around 35 feet worth of fencing for the border, which I think I’ll make 2 boxes with and use the fence as the back wall for both boxes.  Im going to be making two boxes so that I wont have to walk all over the place and reach all over the place.

Right now, I’m hoping to get these in sometime in march when then weather gets marginally better.  Hopefully that will give the dog enough time to get used to that not being her area anymore, but who knows how she’s going to take it.  I’ll give an update when I start cutting the fence and finish my plan.

Readers: Have you ever used reclaimed wood?  Where did you get it from, and what did you use it for? 

For those of you (probably no one, but I’m being through) that are not familiar it stands for Do It Yourself.  This applies to everything that you can think of, but it’s crucial to sustainability.  One of the reasons that DIY is key to sustainability is because you’re typically reusing things for those types of projects.  The do it yourself not only applies small construction projects, but also to eating, cooking, cleaning and everything else that you do on a daily basis.

One of the most sustainable (and probably easiest) DIY projects is to build a garden.  Most estimates suggest that the food that you eat for dinner travels an average of 1,500 miles before it hits your plate.  For example, the other day H came home and said that we need to go to the store because I need a pineapple for something at her job.  Keep in mind that this is wyoming and we are in the dead of winter (a mild winter, but winter none the less).  Pineapple don’t grow in the state (I dont think, though you may be able to do it in some areas) so I told her not to expect to find one at the store.  Needless to say, I was pretty shocked to find a whole shelf full of pineapples (on sale, no less) at the store.  The tag said that they came from chile, clearly nowhere near wyoming.  This little pineapple has traveled quite ways to get here, on a ship and a train and maybe a truck, using fossil based fuel the whole way, and emitting pollutants.  Of course, I’m not saying that in your garden you will be able to grow pineapple, but this applies to a lot of other fruits.  For a more sustainable solution, try growing food yourself – you’ll be able to save some money and cut back on your food miles.

This doesnt need to stop at vegetable production either (though admittedly for a lot of people it will).  You can raise your own meat and make your own cheeses as well – you’ll need some land to do it, but it is possible.  DIY isnt just for food, either.  You can DIY anything and help out the planet because you’re typically using what you already have or you’re using resources that you paid for, which will encourage you to waste less. You may get more out of a 2×4 when making your own bookshelf than a store or large manufacturing plant would have gotten out of the same piece of wood because for them the smaller portions arent easy to deal with and cost too much.  You can easily find a use for it if you do a whole bunch of products around the house though.

The best part about this is that becoming more sustainable wont cost you much here either.  All you need to DIY things is a willingness to learn and ask questions.  Most of the things that I’ve started to DIY over the last few years the recipes (and ideas) have come from the internet.  It’s cheaper in almost all cases, as well.  Aside from that, my favorite part of DIY is knowing what goes into your stuff – when I bought my own laundry soap, I had no idea why there were phosphates in the soap, and now that I may my own, there arent.

Readers: What do you DIY around the house (and in other areas) to become more sustainable?  Do you think it is better than buying from the store, or not?  Why or Why not?

This post is the third post in a multi part series on sustainability.  These posts are meant to be guidelines on how to make more sustainable choices in your day to day life.  Enjoy!  You can find  the series here. 

This post is the second post in a multi part series on sustainability.  These posts are meant to be guidelines on how to make more sustainable choices in your day to day life.  Enjoy!  You can find  the first post here.

You may think this is an odd spot to start, but after giving careful consideration I think that knowing what you’re willing (and not willing) to do is key to make you as sustainable as you want to be, and no more sustainable than you think you should be.  If you go too deep into it, you could very well find yourself doing things you dont think are worth your time.  You’ll quickly become resentful and feel like you’re forced to do things that you dont even care much about, such as sprinkling your old coffee grounds on the plants, or walking 8 blocks in bitter cold and sustained wind, all to further your goal of “being more sustainable”.

You dont need to do crap you dont want to do to become more sustainable.  I find this happening a lot in my own life.  I live near the downtown area in my city, and have to run errands down there occasionally over lunch.  Not too long ago, I had to go to the post office to drop some things off.  I started walking over there, and the wind was probably sustained in the 40mph range, with gusts in the mid 50mph range.  I got about a half a block before I turned around and got in the truck and drove the few blocks it took.  While this obviously wasnt the most sustainable thing I’ve ever done, walking over there and being miserable the entire time would have really annoyed me.

The best part about becoming more sustainable is that there’s so many options you can really choose what you do want to do and what you do not want to do.  As my dad always says, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”, and this is true in this situation as well.  If you’re concerned about the amount of energy you’re using around the house and are not interested in unplugging everything after you’re done using it because you think that’s a pain and dont want to have to plug it all back in later, dont worry about it.  That’s not going to kill all the polar bears.  Try doing something else instead, like installing a programmable thermostat, or getting new, more efficient windows.  These things (once paid for) take no extra action on your part aside from initial set up, and you dont have to mess with a plug 15 times a day.  They’ll still reduce your energy consumption (most likely much more than stopping vampire draw).

Once you figure out what you’re willing to do, keep trying new thing things, eventually, you’ll find your lower limit for sustainability – or perhaps once you get the low hanging fruit you’ll be interested in heading further down the rabbit hole.  Of course, maybe you wont.  What you need to figure out when you decide you want to be greener is how far you’re willing to go.  Once you get to this point, you can head off in as many directions as you want.  You can tackle your personal energy consumption, personal transportation, food sources, and anything else you can think of.