Embarking on a journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle in the new year is not just a resolution; it’s a commitment to positive change. In this article, we explore a few practical and meaningful ways to kickstart or further your sustainable journey and make a lasting impact on both your life and the planet:
- Purge Your Inbox
Many of us don’t realize the environmental impact of our cluttered inboxes. There is a significant amount of energy that goes into all the servers and data centers that store all of those junk emails. So delete all the old emails that you’re never going to read or that you don’t need anymore – I usually approach this by using the search or filter features to highlight all the emails from a particular sender and then bulk deleting them. That way I don’t have to go through the emails one by one (making it a lot less likely that I will finish the task).
And don’t forget to unsubscribe from all those unnecessary and aggressive marketing emails that you don’t even remember signing up for in the first place.
This is a really rewarding task that I like to tackle periodically throughout the year, but it feels especially cleansing to start the new year with a clean and manageable email inbox.
- Declutter Your Closet
If you’ve been following along with Reboot Eco for a while, you’ve heard us talk about cleaning out your closet before. The Swap Studio has been open for well over a year and we’ve been doing Swap Parties for over 2 years, so ridding your closet of clothes that no longer suit you is not a new concept for us.
However, the practice of decluttering your closet isn’t only good for swapping and infusing new items into your closet, it’s also really good for reframing our approach to shopping and acquiring new items. By diving into your closet and determining what items you actually wear or what brings you joy (a la Marie Kondo), you can get a better grasp on what type of items actually work for you, and maybe avoid falling for all the ads that we are inundated by every day.
(Tough love: do you really need another cute summer dress that never seems to fit right and just ends up sitting in your closet with the tags still on it? The fact that it’s only $20 should be a deterrent, not a reason to get it).
- Goal Setting/Vision Board/Identify Priorities
Does the idea of a vision board have you rolling your eyes and associating it with horoscopes and crystals and palm reading? (This is for the skeptics, many of you know I never leave the house without my rose quartz and amazonite 😉 ).
It’s not magic – the practice of creating a vision board can be a really good visualization tool to help you determine your goals, intentions, and priorities on a broad scale or specific to a certain aspect of your life. And a visual representation can serve as a great reminder and keeps you focused, motivated, and accomplished. Level up the activity by bringing together a group of friends or family to do it together. Or keep it simple and create a digital version. Or just write out a list of goals and priorities for the new year.
The important thing is that identifying a few priorities/goals will make it easier to put them into action. The practice declutters the mind and reduces anxiety over habits or practices that you want to improve.
- Clean Up Your Cleaning Products
You all know that Reboot Eco is a safe space, a judgement-free zone, a place where you can come to learn about sustainable alternatives in a low-pressure environment. So forgive me for a brief moment of self-promotion, but it’s for your own good 😉
If you haven’t already, the new year is a great opportunity to switch over more of your cleaning products to the sustainable alternatives that are offered at Reboot Eco. They are effective and without all the toxins that are present in the brands on the shelves at your big box and grocery stores (yes, even Whole Foods). Never mind the added water and plastic. And, believe it or not, the majority of the cleaning products at Reboot Eco are affordable, in many cases more affordable than what you are currently using (and we’ve got a very generous rewards program that helps too!).
The best part? At Reboot Eco’s refill station, you can get as little or as much as you want. So it’s a great way to try out a variety of products and find what works best for you.
So stop by, ask questions, learn more, try some products, and make 2024 your most sustainable year yet!
- Acknowledge your Growth
When moving into to a new year with new goals and hopes and dreams, it’s really helpful and empowering to take the time to also recognize how far you’ve come and what you’ve already accomplished. If you’re reading this, you’ve already taken a big step towards a more sustainable life just by being open to and interested in what we’re doing at Reboot Eco.
Reflect on what brought you to us, what you are already doing to live more sustainably, and what you’ve learned over the last year. Congrats on being awesome, we love having you as a part of our community!
If you want a reminder of how well you’re doing or to share the word about Reboot Eco, check out our eco tote bags with a clever and encouraging message.
I hope these tips help you enter into the new year with confidence, hope, and ease. I look forward to a Sustainable New Year with you all!
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