Covid: How I learned to Reduce My Use

The one thing Covid-19 helped me do was to reduce my carbon footprint. Along with the rest of the world, my daily routine changed a lot, almost over night. Many of the things I used to do every day, which contributed to my carbon footprint, ceased to exist. So, reducing my carbon footprint was pretty easy. I didn't really have a choice. My goal for the remainder of 2021 is to see how many things that became part of my Covid-19 routine, which resulted in minimizing my carbon footprint, I can reasonably sustain.

Pre-Covid, I had three jobs. I lost all three during the first lock down. My crazy commute disappeared entirely. That added up to a lot of miles and toxic emissions I was no longer polluting the world with. I felt I was constantly in my car trying to get from one place to another. In a blink of an eye, that stopped entirely.

There will obviously be a time where I will find work again, and that job will likely come with a commute. However, Covid allowed me the time to develop new skill sets and hone the skills I already have. I was able to open my mind to new career paths. I will never work three jobs again. I'm looking for jobs that would allow me to work remotely, in hopes of keeping my miles of driving to a minimum. I did go back to one of my three jobs twice a week. It's eight miles from my front door. That is still a massive decrease in how much I was driving my car pre-covid. I think I can continue to reduce my driving without much of a conflict.

I'm lucky to live in a small town where everything I absolutely need is within walking distance. I don't really NEED to drive anywhere, unless I'm taking a weekend away. I actually did that a lot during Covid. I learned that taking the train was often cheaper than gas plus the hotel fee for parking my car. And train rides are fun. I will be mindful of situations where driving might be easier, but do my best to choose to walk or ride my bike whenever possible. I'll take the train when I want to get out of town.

I reduced my use of plastic by an incredible amount purely by circumstance. I couldn't really afford to be lazy and get delivery whenever I wanted anymore. I started to cook for myself a lot more often. I could no longer just run out to get an iced latte, which was a regular habit. The amount of plastic packaging and containers I was using was slashed by 80% at least, maybe more.

I learned a new skill and discovered I preferred my own cooking as opposed to take out. Plus it was a much cleaner and healthier way to eat. Cheaper too. I still cave for Door Dash once in a while, and I am a bit embarrassed to admit how often I was consuming plastic, packaged foods before the pandemic. I also lost 20 pounds as I greatly reduced my food delivery whims. If that isn't a win-win situation, I don't know what is.

I definitely think I can keep this new, healthier way of eating for me and our planet on track. I did a visual of how much plastic I was using on an average week before Covid, and it was A LOT. I have always hated the taste of any beverage in a plastic bottle, so I was already choosing beverages that came in a can or glass as often as I was able. Stopping the food delivery madness and daily latte was not only good for the environment, but excellent for my waistline AND my bank account. Ya, I think I can continue down this path pretty easily.

I'm not really a girly-girl type, but one trait I do have is my love for shopping. Since there were no stores open or places to go, buying new clothes didn't really make sense. I'm a browser. I really missed just window shopping. I had been a seller on Poshmark for years, but rarely bought things on the app. Poshmark is an app where you can sell your old stuff and buy other people's unwanted items.

I've had mostly excellent experiences with Poshmark, and the quality of the clothes I have bought has mostly been great. I don't think I'll ever buy NEW new clothes ever again. Plus, the discounts are amazing!! You can sell your unwanted things and use that money to buy other things you want without shelling out cash from your bank account. It's like a built in fashion allowance. I only allow myself to buy as much as I sell.

I have eliminated "fast fashion" from my lifestyle entirely, and my closets are a lot less cluttered these days. Instead of being filled with stuff I haven't worn in years, my closets are filled with clothes I love to wear. When I get tired of wearing something, I'll put it up for sale and trade it for something that's new to me. Why buy new things when there are perfectly good "pre-owned" items out there?

Those are definitely the top 3 ways I have minimized my carbon footprint over the last year (and counting). All of them are changes that I am confident I can keep as part of my post-covid routine. When I did the visual experiment with my pre-pandemic use of plastic, convenience foods, I really saw how big of a difference just ONE person can make by changing ONE thing in their life. Imagine if 100 people did that?

Aside from the big three, Being home all the time caused me to pay closer attention to my utility bills. I became the "lights off" enforcer in my house. Did you just leave the bathroom light on? Turn that shit off! I haven't really seen a dramatic decrease in my bill, but my awareness of my usage has increased ten fold.

So there you have it. Three major ways I have minimized my carbon foot print that I can see myself doing for the foreseeable future. The adjustment period wasn't even that hard, and I actually had a lot of fun trying new things in the kitchen. As awful as Covid is, I'm happy that it forced me to live a healthier life. Not only for myself, but a healthier life for our planet.

I hope you found this helpful or enlightening, and that it might inspire you to try and change something in your life. Over time, the smallest change, might make a huge difference in our future.

Until next time, dear readers, be kind to your selves and one another. Take care of yourself and our precious planet that we call home. If you enjoyed what you read please give me a heart or share it with a friend. If you feel so inclined, you can leave a tip, but that's never expected. Lets ALL make it our mission to leave this planet in a better state that when we first arrived. We can do it!