How Social Distancing Can Help You Live More Sustainably
By: Rachel Lewis Curry
Tags: Self, Environment, Lifestyle, Sustainability, Social Distance

How Social Distancing Can Help You Live More Sustainably

While living more simply, you’re also being more sustainable — which is good for you, and good for the planet

Let’s get one thing straight. Social distancing is not fun. A global pandemic is anything but peachy. Still, there’s nothing wrong with finding a silver lining in the clouds. As an environmental advocate who’s slowing down for the sake of all of us, sustainability is it. As it turns out, sustainability and social distancing interact in some compelling ways.

Using what we have

When we think about what’s really essential and what’s just nice to have, we tend to shop less and use what we have more. This goes for the can of vegetables in the dark recesses of the pantry just as much as the forgotten trousers in the closet. Simpler recipes reign, and yesterday’s styles reignite.

Bringing our own bags

Prepping for a trip to the grocery store now feels like preparing for battle. We’ve got the gloves, the mask (albeit homemade) and the sanitizer, just in case. We’ve got the credit card in our pocket and a pen for touching the keypad. Most importantly, we’ve got our own bags, which we’ll fill ourselves whenever possible. No one else needs to touch them.

Patching holes

We don’t need new jeans. We need a nice denim patch to iron on the inside. We need to fix what we have, not replace what could have easily been repaired. Going out is no longer the simple, convenient route. Repairing is.

Keeping a conservationist mindset

When there is only so much toilet paper to be had, we use less — or switch to a paperless bidet altogether. When there is only so much bread, we make our own, no production lines or plastic bags required. We are conservationists when we need to be.

Pivoting toward food growth and preservation

I write this with my spinach seeds planted and my cabbage on the road to fermentation. I write this with my granola freshly baked and jarred. Today, we are reminded of the importance of growing our own food and preserving what we have. We are reminded of the value of produce, and we must honor it.

The age of DIY

We can’t access masks, so we make them ourselves (or, in my case, we pay a teenage girl in the neighborhood who’s saving up for college to make them for us). We can’t go out just because we ran out of lens wipes, so we make our own cleaning spray. We sew reusable cotton rounds instead of buying a fresh bag of disposable ones. We do it ourselves, boldly and with gusto.

A smaller, gentler footprint

By driving less and walking more, our carbon footprint slims to stunning proportions. By staying within just a few miles of home, we make space for flora and fauna to thrive. We walk with calloused toes on living mulch with space for pores to breathe.

Building habits now for a more sustainable future

Habits are easier built than broken. As I return to my sustainable roots, I aim to use that to my advantage. By using this time of social distancing to make sustainability my norm, I hope to redefine my future — our future — beyond convenience.