Well it's official... the Green movement here in the United States has gone mainstream. What was once the province of crunchy granola hippie types trying to save the planet is now almost everyone's concern, and with good reason. Climate change, over-use of pesticides, other food safety issues, toxins in personal care products, air pollution, rising fuel and energy costs... all these things have taken a tangible toll on our environment and our health and wellness that we can no longer ignore.
While most people want to do the right thing, they don't always "walk the talk." With so much information and chatter out there on the subject, it's easy to see why. Whether it's confusion over conflicting ideas, perceived economic barriers to changing behavior, or simply a case of information overload, just figuring out where to start can be overwhelming.
From the outside looking in, being green seems complicated and hard to do. The truth is, with all the information that's out there and the many resources and new alternatives to help you do it, being green has never been easier!
There are so many little things you can do right now, that when done on a larger scale (i.e. adopted by many people) can have a MASSIVE impact on some of the daunting challenges we face today.
Here are 5 simple steps you can take to get started, or to deepen the work you're already doing:
1. Make a List of All Your "Eco Sins" and Pick 3-5 Areas You Want to Work on or Improve
Eco Sins (or Guilty Pleasures) are things you know you shouldn't or probably shouldn't do because of their potentially harmful impact to the environment or to your own wellbeing, but you do them anyway. None of us is perfect. We're all at different levels of awareness or willingness to make changes to our habits or lifestyles based on what's most important to us.
A simple first step is to identify specific habits or behaviors that you might be able to modify or eliminate relatively quickly. Start by making a list of your perceived "Eco Sins" with the goal of prioritizing and converting it into a checklist you can use to measure your progress.
Some examples of Eco Sins are things like driving a gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting vehicle; leaving lights turned on when you don't need them; eating meat more than once or twice a week; not recycling waste that is recyclable, etc.
There's no need to rationalize why you do these things, you just want to come up with a list to help you identify where you can do better. Once you have it, take a look at which ones you think you can easily change or eliminate. You'll be surprised how much easier it is to do once you have them written down on paper.
2. Convert it Into an Action Item Checklist & Prioritize It for Maximum Results
Prioritize your list based on one of two ways: 1) what's easiest for you to accomplish or 2) what's likely to have the biggest impact.
This is entirely up to you and the criteria you use to decide should be based on whatever motivates you the most. If you are results-oriented you'll be more motivated by tackling items that are measurable and have the biggest impact. Or maybe you feel a greater sense of accomplishment by crossing more items off your list faster, so focus on what's easiest for you to achieve in the shortest period of time.
Little things that can have a big (and measurable) impact typically fall in the categories of energy, fuel, and water consumption, and reducing your carbon footprint.
Less tangible or harder to quantify but equally important are things like food, clothing, and personal care product consumption, purchasing habits, recycling, re-using, and eliminating toxic exposures.
Just for fun, prioritize your list both ways to see how different (or similar) the results are. Seeing where they overlap may give you even more motivation!
3. Challenge your Beliefs About What's Possible and Be Open to Changing Them
This is where you have to go a little deeper with yourself to understand why you do something in spite of your awareness that doing it may not be the best thing for you or others.
It's important not to judge or blame yourself or others, while doing this. There may be many legitimate reasons for engaging in a behavior or habit --ranging from not knowing it was a problem to not having the resources or knowledge to change it. In some cases it could be laziness or apathy, or just a bad habit that's hard to break.
Remember that everything you do is a choice. Even not doing something is a choice. In any given situation you can think and choose differently. So what are some of your limiting beliefs that you can challenge right now to help you take action towards positive and meaningful change?
Don't make decisions based on assumptions. Get the facts first so you understand the real impact of doing your chosen steps and affirm that it's possible.
4. Set a Realistic Timeframe for Completing Action Items and Reward Your Self for Doing It
Give yourself a realistic deadline to accomplish this and be practical. If your deadline is too far out into the future then you won't be motivated to do it sooner and might lose momentum early in the process. If your deadline is too soon then you might lose motivation if you can't accomplish it fast enough.
Next to each item write down a deadline for completing it and how you will reward yourself for accomplishing it. When you've completed the top 3-5 items, move down the list and start on the next 3-5 items. As you get better at this and learn more about being green you may want to re-visit and re-prioritize your list.
5. Get Support and Enlist Others to Help You Do it
Changing any habit or behavior generally requires repetition over a minimum amount of time before it sticks but getting the support of friends, family, neighbors and co-workers is priceless.
Tell other people what you're doing and why it's important to you. Ask them if they would like to join you in accomplishing one or more of the items on your list. Inspire them to come up with their own list. Remember this is a process that starts with you, but in the end it's a movement whose success depends on recruiting as many participants as possible.
And don't forget to consult the numerous online resources available to you to help with the process and share them with everyone you know.
Some excellent resources include:
Green America (formerly Co-op America)
Tree Hugger
Planet Green
The Daily Green
The Green Guide
Sustain Lane
Pristine Planet
Carbon Conscious Consumer
Copyright 2009-2011 Dropwise Essentials
Donya Fahmy is the founder and owner of Dropwise Essentials, a San Francisco-based green business specializing in pure aromatherapy and organic plant-based personal care products that enable people to safely and effectively relieve stress, increase vitality, improve confidence, or manage their emotional state any time or place. An experienced writer, content producer, and Internet consultant, Donya transformed her avid interest in alternative health and aromatherapy into a business committed to making clean, safe, and sustainable products, as well as educating and empowering people to create low-stress, low-impact, toxin-free lifestyles.
Donya researches and personally creates all the products and unique essential oil blends that make up the Dropwise product line. She is an expert on safety in personal care products, green beauty and living, alternative health, and using aromatherapy to achieve maximum health and wellness. If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more like it please subscribe to the Dropwise Health & Beauty News Ezine by visiting http://www.dropwise.com. You can also find interesting and valuable information by visiting the Aroma Zone blog at http://www.dropwise.com/blog/