Make Good Places
I'll start this article with a disclaimer to dispel any debates about individual action versus systemic change: collective systems shape individual lives. Our economic system shapes the nature of our work and the quality of our lives; our food system decides what we eat, the conditions in which it is grown, and the impact it has on our bodies; our housing market determines where we live and how and when we rent or buy our homes; our transportation systems dictate how we get from place to place. And the unfortunate reality is that many of these systems in the United States aren't very sustainable. They take a tremendous toll on our planet.
Needless to say, living sustainably within the unsustainable systems that shape our lives can be difficult. Yet, there is tremendous power in individual action. How and what we consume signals our values, priorities, and hopes for the future. The way we live sets examples for those around us and creates a roadmap for a healthier, more connected, and regenerative existence. When people live sustainably, they heal and help local ecosystems, support small businesses that protect workers while shrinking and strengthening supply chains, and chip away at a culture of consumption that is detrimental to people and the planet.
Guidance on sustainable living has long centered on a few select aspects of life, namely transportation and recycling. Individuals who are concerned about climate change are told to walk and bike instead of driving, and to abstain from flying completely. Transportation is a tricky ask, though. Many of us live in car-dependent suburbs and cities; public transit and safe biking infrastructure is lacking across the country, and we live in a global society where we have friends, family, and jobs all over the world.
The rise of recycling has given companies license to produce inordinate amounts of plastic, which ultimately cannot be recycled effectively. Plastics contain additives and binders that make it impossible to reuse in other products after its initial production. Other materials, like glass and metals, lend themselves to recycling because they can be melted down and reused again and again without losing their functionality. While I embrace recycling whenever I can, the focus has to be on minimizing our dependence on single-use plastics and poorly packaged products.
This guide to sustainable living will not ask you to sell your car or refuse to buy an airplane ticket ever again. The Make Good Places approach to sustainable living focuses on high-frequency activities, our habits, and consumption.
Food
- Eat organic, local food as much as possible: Join a CSA and/or CSF (community-supported agriculture and community-supported fishery, respectively) and go to a farmer's market whenever you can.
- Eat a plant-forward diet: Meat consumption is one of the most significant contributors to an individual's carbon footprint, and we have more control over the food we eat than, say, how much we drive (which is dependent mainly on where we live). Minimize meat as much as you can by embracing fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and certain seafood. While commercial fishing damages ocean health, regenerative ocean farming seaweed, mussels, clams, and oysters can help heal our waters. Plus, plant-heavy diets are healthier for you.
- Compost: Diverting food from landfills is one of the highest-impact actions you can take when trying to live sustainably. And there are lots of ways to compost: composting services, aerobic composting, vermicomposting, countertop composters, or compost piles outside. There are plenty of options in The Library.
At Home and In Your Yard
This is Make Good Place's bread and butter. I believe that real, meaningful, mutually beneficial solutions exist at the intersection of climate and design.
Outside
- Eliminate the use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers: Pesticides and herbicides do not discriminate when it comes to how or what they kill. When we apply them to our lawns, they wipe out everything they come into contact with, not just the mosquitos or mealy bugs we're trying to eliminate. And when those chemicals inevitably enter our waterways, fish will ingest them and, in turn, make the people who consume the fish sick. Similarly, fertilizers (even "organic" or "healthy" ones) result in excess nutrients entering waterways and causing algae blooms, which remove oxygen from water and suffocate aquatic life.
- Plant natives: Suburban sprawl, with all of its manicured lawns, demands tremendous amounts of water and synthetic chemicals to maintain. Grass lawns have also made it exceedingly difficult for wildlife to survive because it's ecological dead space. Instead, rip up your grass lawn and plant natives. "Natives" refers to any plant that has historically grown in a certain climate and played a part in a productive ecosystem. These plants require no chemical inputs and very little water to thrive. They also provide critical year-round food and habitat for wildlife, both of which have dwindled in the face of urban and suburban development.
- Collect rainwater: Regardless of climate, collecting rainwater helps manage stormwater and reduces water consumption during dry periods. Rainwater collection systems can be large and complex when trying to collect and clean water for a whole-home system, but even small-scale water collection for your yard helps the planet. One note of advice: you cannot drink the rainwater you collect, and you cannot use it to water plants you plan to eat. You can find some options in The Library.
- Provide habitat: In addition to a wide variety of native plants, creating opportunities for habitat can go a long way in regenerating local ecosystems. Consider bird baths, bug hotels, birdhouses, and bat houses for your yard.
- Garden: Whether it's a window box, a single potted tomato plant, a vertical aquaponic system, several garden beds in your yard, or an entire food forest – plant a garden. Growing your own food connects you to your climate and the natural world, localizes even a fraction of the food you consume, and offers plenty of health benefits.
Inside
- Embrace plastic-free, nontoxic cleaning and personal care products: Consumer goods often contain toxic chemicals that harm both the planet and the people who consume them, causing severe health concerns from their point of manufacturing until they end up in landfills. Worse yet, most of them come packaged in plastic, which contributes to our growing microplastics crisis. Consider replacing your laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoos and conditioners, and household cleaners with healthier alternatives that come in plastic-free packaging.
- Install LED bulbs: If you have any incandescent bulbs left in your home, it's time to switch them out for LED bulbs. They're more efficient, emit less heat, and last longer. I recommend investing in circadian light bulbs so that your light bulbs can mimic the colors of the sun as it rises and sets (warm in the mornings and evenings but bright and cool in the middle of the day). For bonus points, consider installing motion sensors in rooms like your mudroom or laundry room.
- Install energy-efficient appliances (when your existing appliances die): Our appliances claim a large portion of a home's total energy use, so buying Energy-Star Certified refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, washers and dryers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, and other appliances reduces your home's carbon footprint.
- Electrify Your Home: While electrifying your home is a gradual process, you can see if renewable energy sources are available for your home at any time via on-site solar or renewable energy sources. There are plenty of tools available to walk you through both renewable energy sources and holistic electrification processes: Rewiring America, Wild Grid Home, and the Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
- Repair and reuse what you already own: Sometimes, the most radical acts are the simplest ones. In what is known as planned obsolescence, companies design their products to fail or break earlier than necessary and then make repair intentionally difficult. Choosing to spend the time and money required to repair goods is deeply sustainable. If something ever is beyond repair, consider repairability when choosing a replacement.
- Buy secondhand goods: We live in an age of mass-produced, disposable, fast furniture. None of it lasts very long, and too much of it ends up in landfills. Invest in secondhand and vintage furniture instead. These pieces are more unique and of higher quality. Even more critically, they don't require new materials to be extracted for manufacturing. The Library has a growing network of vintage vendors that make it easier to find cool vintage pieces for your home.
- Renovate and re-design your home responsibly: Renovation projects often result in many materials and products with years of useful life ending up in landfills. Furthermore, the new materials people use to replace everything going to landfills are toxic. If you're taking projects on at home, opt for low-flow plumbing fixtures, avoid vinyl and plastic products, invest in efficient doors and windows, install a programmable thermostat, increase insulation throughout your home, seal doors and windows, use healthy paints and wallcoverings, and find deconstruction and resale services.
- Reduce dependence on single-use and disposable products: The less we throw out, the better. While there are times when paper towels are necessary, consider investing in reusable products, including rags, cloth paper towels, and linen or cotton napkins.
- Install a clothesline: Dryers take an enormous amount of energy to do what nature does for free. Installing a clothesline inside, outside, or both will help you reduce dryer use.
- Make Your Technology Last 7 Years: Apple seemingly introduces a new iPhone or Macbook every few months. Most of us cannot survive without our smartphones and computers, but we should use what we own until it breaks– or for at least seven years. When you do have to buy a new piece of technology, consider a refurbished model.
We can’t buy our way out of the climate crisis. Ultimately, we must consume less and buy less. But we all use stuff every day. Our belongings determine the kinds and qualities of activities we enjoy each day. We live and work in designed environments that impact our well-being, for better or worse. Creating intentional spaces in which to spend our days is one of the greatest joys and opportunities in fostering better health and well-being.
So, if you are going to buy something, make it meaningful. Make it impactful. Make it good. Buy vintage, buy handmade, buy local.
There are simple ways of navigating more ethical consumption. Avoid impulse shopping as much as possible. When you do need to make a purchase, use a process reflected in the flow chart below:
Travel
As you may know, air travel remains an enormous component of our oversized carbon footprints. Cars are not much better, but I'm not going to tell you to go crazy here. Do what you can. Walk or ride a bike whenever you can. In the long term, you can consider renting or buying your home in a place that offers public transit and is conducive to walking and/or biking. When your existing car dies, consider purchasing an electric vehicle. Minimize your air travel.
But many of us fly only a couple of times a year, if that. Yet we all eat three meals per day–and we consume all year round, too. When changes like transportation feel insurmountable, focus instead on the food you fill your plate with and the products you bring into your home.
Additional Resources For Sustainable Living
The Make Good Places Library has vintage vendors and sustainable products for your home, but there are lots of resources out there to foster
Websites:
Books:
- The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions by Greta Thunberg
- Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle: Why Individual Climate Action Matters More Than Ever by Lloyd Alter
- Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Doug Tallamy
- All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Katharine K. Wilkinson (Editor) and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (Editor)
Concluding Thoughts
A guiding question when embracing sustainable living is one that was posed by Matthew Desmond in Poverty, By America:
Who benefits?
In other words, does a purchase make you complicit in a system or an organization that exploits people or damages the environment? Or does your purchase keep your neighbor's business afloat? Does it support an organization that gives its employees healthcare, parental leave, safe working conditions, and other union protections? Does it divert materials from landfills or support marginalized and underserved communities?
Everything we buy is comprised of materials that must be extracted, manufactured, assembled, and sold. Ecological health, environmental stability, and human lives are shaped by how we consume and how we choose to live. Make one good choice at time, as much as you can.
Make Good Places operates at the intersection of consumption, home design, and climate change action. It is a resource for the growing community of DIYers and professional interior designers creating happier homes that are healthier for people and planet. The Library makes vintage shopping, repair and resell services, and ethical consumption easier while The Guidelines help people implement actionable, healthy design strategies. Join the community and start healing the planet, starting at home.
