Photo by Antoine GIRET on Unsplash
Many of us are worried. We’re worried about the shrinking glaciers, chemicals in our food, factory farming, toxins in our water.
I’m worried too. When I see the images of trash islands and rainforests clear cut for cattle grazing I want to pretend it’s not real. But it is real.
The problems are so vast and seemingly unsolvable that it makes you feel hopeless. The politicians stand there with their hands in their pockets and shrug their shoulders. They say the right things, and then they roll back protections on our waterways and national monuments.
If we can’t even get our leaders to act, what’s a regular person supposed to do?
And what can one person do anyway?
Well, I think one person can do something. Maybe not everything, but something.
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Since those aforementioned politicians aren’t going to act on behalf of the environment, we, as consumers, are going to have to do it. We are going to have to use the power of our wallets. It’s really the one place we can all, as individuals, make an impact. We are going to have to decide to buy less stuff, to buy better stuff, and to support the companies that believe the same thing. There’s a reason it’s called the “Almighty Dollar”!
Turning around this environmental clusterfuck is going to be a long journey. We’re gonna need to make some changes. Changes are scary and inconvenient, and they require effort. Ugh. I get it. Who needs more of that in their life?
But you know what? It doesn’t have to be that bad. We can make small changes in our buying habits that will have an exponential impact over the course of our lives. What if we bought a glass storage container that lasted the rest of our life, rather than a plastic one that has to be replaced every few years? What if we shopped at second hand stores more? What if we avoided single serve yogurt and bought a 32 oz container instead? What if we just didn’t buy that cheaply made toy that our kid is going to get bored with in two hours?
Seems doable, right? Small changes. One little thing a day.
There’s a philosophy I live by: 1%∞. One percent infinity. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better, just one percent every day. But before you know it, all those one percents add up to something real.
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I’ve been pretty responsible about my choices for ages—carrying reusable water bottles long before it was cool, bringing my own bags to the grocery store, avoiding beef for almost 30 years.
About five years ago I had the first glimmers of my business, Elevated Lifestyle. I found myself looking to buy certain things and only finding cheap junk that I would end up replacing sooner or later--what my husband calls “future landfill.” I thought, “I can make this, and I can make it better.”
So I started with one unusual product, a fruit fly trap that looks like a nice ceramic jar. I threw my first one on a wheel at my local ceramics studio, and a few years and several revisions later, I’m selling it on Amazon. I’ve added sponge holders, ring holders and spoon rests, and continue to design new products. But all products must pass three tests:
- They must be beautiful
- They must be useful.
- They must be long lasting.
I’m also looking for other products that meet these criteria and hope to inspire you with them on this blog, inspire you to “Buy Better Stuff.”
Long story short, I’m on this journey to make better stuff and to buy (or not buy) better stuff. It’s all I can do. It’s not everything, but it’s something.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey.
~Sarah