I swear that my blog is not a fleeting thing and I apologize for the lack of sustainable content but…. I’M MOVING! It all happened so fast (settlement is exactly three weeks after I found out that my offer was accepted) so I kicked it into high gear to juggle work and preparing to move into my first home. My first thought, after “what did I just get myself into?” was “how can I do this in the most environmentally friendly way?”
If it can’t be reduced, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned, or removed from production.
Peter Seeger
The One Where I Bought my First Home
My senior year of college was the first time I had truly lived in my own space. for the first three years, I shared one room with two other people and a bathroom with too many people. Senior year I moved into a little two bed, one bath apartment with one of my best friends. It was situated right next to the local 24 hour diner that was perfect for those 2 A.M. milkshakes. I kept telling myself that that was the last time I was going to pay rent. I was so adamant that I wanted to buy a home after college, and not pay the outrageous D.C. rents, that many of my friends were going to end up paying. I wanted something to call my own and I wanted to build equity. After months rooming with my mom and searching for the perfect starter home, I finally found it!
I know I haven’t done one of my ‘Simple Swap’ posts in a while, but I figured I’d keep to what is currently relevant to my real life and dedicate this post to:
Easy Ways to make Transitions to a New Home more Eco Friendly
With a new home comes new furniture. Instead of buying everything brand new from the big box stores, try searching for one of a kind pieces at local antique/vintage shops or other second hand stores. Many of them are small, local businesses, and in supporting them, you are also reducing waste and reusing the furniture that you rescue! I found almost all of my large furniture (entry table, entertainment center, two gorgeous mirrors, kitchen table, sideboard) at the Potomac French Market.
The sideboard definitely needed the most work but the other treasures only needed a screw or a fresh stain. Now, my new home has amazing statement pieces that have a great story behind them and will hopefully stay with me for years to come.
As you can guess, packing can generate A LOT of waste. Since I am only going a few miles away, which makes this a lot easier, I am trying not to buy any new vessels (i.e. boxes) to transport my possessions. I’ve been lucky, because with many of my neighbors being home, they have been cleaning out their homes, and because they knew I was moving, they gave me a lot of old plastic containers, suitcases, etc. I packed all of my clothes and bedding into suitcases that were coming with me anyway, and have been wrapping more fragile items in old newspapers and recycled packing materials. I had to purchase a large recycle bin for my kitchen and I went right ahead and filled that up with smaller items too.
If you are going longer distances and need to use more boxes and structured materials, or your neighbors aren’t conveniently giving away old plastic tubs, try asking your local businesses for their leftover boxes. With all of the shipments that they get in, they are sure to have boxes that they can save for you. You can also find boxed from brands like Eco Enclose which have recycled, recyclable, compostable packaging. They are great for small packages for friends to moving boxes for your next great adventure.
My last sustainable tip for moving (as of right now) is to reduce your carbon footprint as much as you can! As I mentioned, I am only moving a few miles away from where I currently live, however, I am not going to take car load after car load to my new home. After I make settlement, I am going to go over and deep clean the condo before all of my belongings get there. Each trip, I am going to take a car load, but only because I am going there anyway. I have also arranged a U-Haul for one day so I can move all of my big items and everything else that hadn’t made it in my other trips over there. Even if you are moving yourself, reduce your carbon emissions by renting a truck for a day, or even an afternoon, to help cut down on the back and forth of local moving.
And now for the sustenance part of the post!
Mint Pesto Zucchini Noodles
I had an abundance of mint from the Farmer’s Market and I didn’t want it to go to waste so I made some fresh ‘zoodles’ and made a veggie centered meal.
– Use fresh zucchini and spiralize them yourself. I used half fresh and half frozen zoodles and, as you can guess, the fresh ones were 100000x better.
– Add some protein for a heartier meal! I added some chicken sausage but salmon, chicken, or a tofu substitute would work great!
Well folks, that’s all I have and I promise I will be back with regularly scheduled content soon! Stay up to date on my daily adventures to a more sustainable life by following @sustenanceandsustainability on Instagram!
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future posts, drop me an email at hello@sustenance-and-sustainability.
*Disclaimer: This is the first post that I haven’t had a second party proofread. It looks good to me… But no one thinks their baby is ugly so…
Sustenance and Sustainability 