[PraNeel]

Some habits that I have acquired to do my bit:

1. Use cycle for all nearby errands. Helps in fitness, no petrol, no insurance, no maintenance and challan worries for two wheeler. Have a car for jobs not doable on cycle.

2. Carry a backpack (not laptop backpack) for daily errands. Helps cut on plastic carry bags.

3. Save, water electricity and purchase stuff only when necessary (clothes, electronics, furniture, vehicles)

4. Have a garden and some fruit trees planted outside the house which otherwise would have been cemented and used for parking. Helps in having fresh air and birds visiting our house and children trying to pluck fruits

5. Avoid pre-packaged stuff as much as possible. For example
- Extract ghee at home from malai
- Buy annual supply of wheat grain and solid spices and get them grinded from flour mill and at home. Saves plastic and ensures purity.

6. Reuse the plastic containers in some form and reuse the plastic carry bags as garbage bags.

7. Sell scrap to Raddiwala once in 6 months to ensure house is clean and stuff goes for recycling (plastic and metal)

8. Switch off the car if wait time is more than 15 seconds at traffic light or congestion.

9. At the annual Diwali cleaning fest, call the NGO and give them all the stuff which is not used any more (clothes, toys etc.)

10. Whenever going outside in car fill Copper water bottles and put it in bottle holders of car.

[Strider24]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I did a rough calculation for switching off 30 computers overnight. The total cost savings came to less than 3k for the year. So, not much a power saving.

I beg to differ on this. we should see this savings as a percentage of total energy bill. It may be small for one household but if done on a larger scale, will be huge. percentage will also depend on the wattage of electric equipment which are left on standby mode overnight, e.g. a 65 inch TV will consume more and will also save more compared to a 43 inch TV. I havent done any actual calculation yet but my last month's electric bill was 12% less without much change in consumption pattern. Sustainability ideas may be small but on a larger scale they can make huge difference.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

The second part of getting a cloth bag for every Swiggy order is counter-intuitive IMO. The production of more cloth bags is not a sustainable choice. Instead, switch to services that deliver groceries in containers which they take back (big basket for eg) and not use any bags at all.

I personally feel Swiggy and Zomato are a couple of businesses that need to be shamed in this thread. Convenience aside, they are bad for the environment, increase traffic and make people lazy. People order small quantities of food items, remember the old man ordering a single laddu in the ad, from nearby restaurants, for which the delivery person travels multiple kilometers burning petrol and waste a ton of packing material as well. The offers built into the app often make it cheaper to order using the app than walking to the restaurant next door. There should be some regulations like the minimum order quantity and the distance to the restaurant etc to make the services more sustainable.

I agree with you here, Swiggy's Instadelivery is bad for environment & I have written them an email suggesting to find a way to reduce the use of single use plastics in their delivery model. but I am sure this is a very low item in their priority list right now.
this service is only useful if used on emergency basis, else for usual purchase of grocery I do prefer to go out and buy it myself.

[Godzilla]

I really want to leave a green,lush, peaceful planet when I die.

Unfortunately, the last 50 years has been the most tragic for planet earth and our generation will be called "Trash generation" by future generations because of the Trash we generate. Especially India, I have gone to 8 countries so far, I can tell you that India is by far the dirtiest country in the world when it comes to waste management. I was surprised even similar GDP countries such as Phillipines has less visible trash in their cities and towns.

https://youtu.be/tf1VA5jqmRo

On the other hand, in terms of energy consumption per capita. Indians are much better compared to other nations.

1. Chinese made electronics: They fail within 1 year easily. I am conscious to buy only well made electronics. I would even say Iphone is better than android in this criteria. They make phones which simply work for more number of years. Recently bought a decoration light, mosquito bat at DMart which failed within 3 months of usage. My office gave me a cheap fitness band, which failed in 6 months. Many cheap headphones fail within a year mostly.

2. Children's toys: This is a menace, but very challenging to say No. I try my best to postpone/reduce.

3. A single person travelling in a 7 seater SUV to commute to work. I used to cycle to work for many years and when I see the traffic, It was painful to see many commuting solo in big SUVs.

4. Shopping: I see that with our stressed lives, we shop to feel good, order things in Amazon and flipkart. Do I really need it? Do I really need it now? Postponing is good for environment and the purse. Recently I wanted to order a sunglass, and I questioned what will I do with my existing sunglass? I better order only if the existing one is broken or unusable.

5. Kitchen storage: I see that most plastic containers in the kitchen hardly get used for 2 years and then thrown away. I am concious to buy good quality metal ones or glass containers.

6. Pens: I tried using a nice fountain pen for my writing needs. However now use Rorito Maxtron as I love it.

7. Yearly review of things I own: I do this KONMARI clean up every year. I let go off things (donate/trash). I feel this very important as I exactly know what I own and what purpose it serves. Whenever I add anything else, it is a concious decision as I know I will review it every year and let go of things which are not used/does not bring joy.

Highly recommend this book:
https://www.amazon.in/Life-Changing-.../dp/1607747308

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1-HMMX_NR8

8. Attire: This might be surprising. Did you know most Indian traditional wear is the most ecologically designed attire in the world. Meaning a Saree or dhoti can be used even if you become fat or thin. A cotton saree /dhoti after its first use becomes a cradle(thottil), then it becomes a nappy or a kitchen cloth and then discarded finally after its shredded into pieces. Unstitched clothing is one of the most ecological things you can come across. It is also known unstitched clothing is preffered by yogis and even in Mecca (as it aids free energy flow in the body).

Another aspect is many famous personality choose to wear only few things in their closet. E.g. Steve jobs, Obama, Mark Zuckerberg. Obama only has white or blue shirts. This reduces the amount of decisions he has to take on a daily basis.

https://www.businessinsider.com/succ...ay-2018-2?IR=T

This also helps ecologically as you dont need a huge closet. This mostly applies for men as women generally prefer to have more choices.

9. Groceries: Avoiding plastic water bottles is obvious one. However, there are times where we used to buy meat in tiffin boxes. I really wish there are many zero waste stories such as these. Even I realised that buying odonil cakes instead of the spray canisters will reduce landfills. Buying large quantity also helps.

https://wastefreeculture.com/8-zero-..._organic_Store


10. Minimalism: Try Packing party. I am not suggesting everyone turn into a minimalist, but I think it is worth trying as we might know how much of a hoarder we are. I guess everyone can tailor their own minimalism.

IT IS ALSO ABOUT UNDERSTANDING, THE QUALITY OF LIFE IS NOT BASED ON OBJECTS OWNED, BUT EXPERIENCES AND INTERACTIONS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tm-BwlTuQ4

11. People and Media: Avoid hoarders and show boaters. In India most stuff we buy is to keep on par with neighbours. We need a new car, coz it does not have sun-roof. We need a new TV coz it is not 55 inches. We all succumb to this phenomenon. One way to avoid this is avoid being friends with such people and if family members urge such things/impulsive buys. Invest that amount in gold or FD. I also see Credit cards and Amazon flipkart sales trigger us to buy more stuff. I also see that if I google a specific product, the ads keep popping up (tracked by big boss google/fb) related to similar products that people are almost reminded constantly till they buy that shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUyyS2rjpJY

12. Take part in cleaning drives as a family: This is paramount as it nurtures our family and children the need to buy and discard less and less stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFV9IquMXA

I know sometimes it is hard to clear our brains on how we are tricking ourselves to trash more.

Companies/MBAs are working hard to sell stuff, Finance/credit companies wants us to buy stuff, our partners love us if we buy stuff, Our day job involves us selling stuff or manufacturing them. The whole world is trying to sell you products that you dont need for the most part. It is hard to get out of this matrix, but I have atleast realised I am living in this matrix. In an ideal world all products should be designed to have maximum use such as wood/metal furniture that lasts a lifetime. Awareness is the first step to change. Good luck with your efforts!!

[Sheel]

Thank You for such a lovely and detailed post, you have covered almost all bits and I generally agree with most.

Originally Posted by Godzilla

One way to avoid this is avoid being friends with such people and if family members urge such things/impulsive buys.

This is something I disagree with. In my books, it is better to build a strong head / heart to pick things you need than want. I know, its very easy to say things, but, it took time for me too to resist the temptation despite having all means to buy something which I saw with a friend.

It is hard / difficult, but can be done . Once you win on this, it is easy. Be it food items which you want to avoid (cola / fries) or a fancy gadget / branded clothes etc.

[arunrajk81]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Maybe you could post a few pics in the gardening thread? Would love to see it. I just started raised garden beds a couple of weeks back for brinjals and chillies with basil and mint as companion plants.

Tomatoes are in the terrace. Following the twine, hook and clip system for them and seeing good results

Next bed i have planned for Okras and cilantro as companion.

Fruit trees are a plenty but plucking them is a chore

Being winter now, we don’t have many veggies to show, and our raised bed is almost empty with some beets and Peas left and was left uncleaned after last season. Fruit trees are pruned for the season and currently is in a leafless dormant state. We are trying to make those a dwarf trees due to the Limited Space. (Fig, Apple, Grape, Cherry and Persimmon).Our vertical Planter also has very less leafy vegs now.













The Tomatoes and Apple pics are from last season before Winter. We have some 3-4 varieties of Dragon Fruit Plants, some are grafted by me (Yellow on Pink stem) all are planted during 2020, and we are expecting some fruits later this year.















Another Grafting in progress is Mandarin and Mayor Lemon to Sweet Lime Tree which I need to wait for a month to see if it’s a success. Wife is working on seeds starting with Indoor grow lights to make it ready for next Season

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by arunrajk81

Being winter now, we don’t have many veggies to show, and our raised bed is almost empty with some beets and Peas left and was left uncleaned after last season. Fruit trees are pruned for the season and currently is in a leafless dormant state. We are trying to make those a dwarf trees due to the Limited Space. (Fig, Apple, Grape, Cherry and Persimmon).Our vertical Planter also has very less leafy vegs now.

Looks beautiful. Is that a black tomato i see?

And for some reason i thought you were in Kochi looking at COK (Kochi airport code)

[arunrajk81]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Looks beautiful. Is that a black tomato i see?

And for some reason i thought you were in Kochi looking at COK (Kochi airport code)

Its like born in COK, currently near SFO as a part of my work
Its black/purple tomato, (I don't know the real name), sometimes shows orange patches when ripe.

[Godzilla]

My office started this fun challenge. I highly recommend you try this.

This tool helps you calculate the carbon footprint and suggest you tips to make you greener.

https://zero.giki.earth/

https://giki.earth/about

Cheers!

[venkat_partha]

Batteries: How to extend their life

Many of us use batteries to power clocks at home and after a period of time, the clock slows down or stops. The primary cause is that the battery has run out of power or is not supplying adequately.

There is a way to extend the life of these batteries (at least for sometime) before you need to dispose of them.

Batteries provide power through chemical reaction. Over a period of time, some kind of barrier is created between the battery's anode and cathode. This is the primary reason that the battery stops providing adequate power.

To restore such batteries:

1. Bang the anode and cathode side on a hard surface a few times. (don't use hammer, have not tried it, but you can and let me know)
2. Similarly, bang the body of the battery a few times.

What I think happens is that the barrier between the anode and cathode is broken during this percussive maintenance and pathways for current flow is opened up.

Use the battery in the device to check, if still not working, dispose properly.

[Oxy]

Tried to use a tooth powder today for the first time in life. Didn't go well.

I don't mind not getting lather but the freshness itself is missing. Is it only meant to be used for massaging the gums and not as a toothpaste replacement?

[crashnburn_in]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

Very good and a much needed thread. Thanks for posting. Small habitual changes go a long way to help the environment than spontaneous random acts.

We always try to carry cloth bags for shopping and avoid polythene covers.

We carry steel water bottle and try to refill it in restaurants instead of buying new water bottles. Yes, it saves money too.

Agreed. Simple small life hacks and habits to slowly be more aligned.

I've had multiple Zojirushi steel coffee mugs (via Wirecutter Reviews) for water and herbal tea for a long time.

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Very good thread. We don't buy ghee outside. We make it at home. Pull out malai from everyday curd and store it for 2 or 3 weeks. Then it will be sufficient to make ghee for the family for the next 2 weeks.

Is this not quite a task and your milk source also needs to be whole with proper fat ratios to allow for it? Do you do so with A2 cows milk or buffalo?

Adding:

One simple paradigm I adopted was to avoid / minimize things made by Big Corporations and Companies with Brand labels and prefer it in Natural form or made by Nature.

For those more curious can watch some docus by Pollard on actual food & food-"like" substances.

e.g. Have an apple instead of sugar laden apple juice minus the fiber, the bulk or satiety - and that created an entire chain of impact for a less healthy product.

I'd prefer to eat a local sandwich over a Subway or similar long storage brand.

I'd rather find a small business with less chemicals in their product and then continue buying repeatedly. It takes quite a bit of browsing/ reading/ research but eventually keep repeating.