If you’ve ever downplayed the efforts you’re making to live greener because there’s things you know you’re doing that so aren’t eco-friendly, then this first episode on my *new* Eco Chat Podcast is for YOU!
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So last week I met an amazing business mum in a group mastermind I’ve joined. We started chatting about our businesses and just life in general and before too long she said “oh, I’m not eco at all!” She went on to list all the things she hadn’t done, like mentioning the fact she never got around to using cloth nappies on her kids.
The funny thing though was the conversation swung to just general living and she started talking about her chickens and pretty simple lifestyle on a rural block out of town and it dawned on me….. “You’re more Eco than you think”! I mean, food waste alone makes up around 40% of the waste from Australian households and when you keep chickens you eliminate that pretty much altogether!
I told her just that and she had a giggle and went on to say how the ‘all or nothing’ approach of many in the eco space really turns her off. Like so many people I chat to, she said she knows we all need to change the way we live but she doesn’t want it rammed down her throat. Actually, she put it more bluntly than that but in short what she kind of said she wants to live more sustainably… on her own terms……. and in her own space…. without judgement…
But our chat got me thinking a bit more. We often downplay the efforts we’re making and feel guilty about the stuff we’re not doing (like not using cloth nappies) but we forget to focus on the awesome stuff we are doing (like keeping chickens).
It’s human nature to dwell on our misgivings, rather than our wins, but I really want you to focus on the great things you ARE doing. Give yourself some positive reinforcement every now and then, rather than beating yourself up and going on a guilt trip. You’ll then be more inclined, and be in a much better headspace, to take the next step in your eco journey.
Just like yo yo dieting doesn’t work, Eco Perfection isn’t sustainable either …… I’d much rather you be 80% eco-friendly all the time, then bouncing between 100% eco for small chunks of the time and 20% or less when you throw the towel in because it’s too hard to maintain.
So over to you.
I’d love you to take a moment to focus on the aspects of eco-living that you’re doing really well. What have you got nailed into your routine so well that it’s a habit. And conversely, what areas are you hoping to improve in coming months?
Please share below or take a photo of what you’re doing well and tag me in Instagram at @lauratrottadotcom ! I’d love to see!
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Laura Trotta is one of Australia’s leading home sustainability experts. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering, a Masters of Science (in Environmental Chemistry) and spent 11 years working as an environmental professional before creating her first online eco business, Sustainababy, in 2009. She has won numerous regional and national awards for her fresh and inspiring take on living an ‘ecoceptional’ life (including most recently winning the Brand South Australia Flinders University Education Award (2015) for the north-west region in SA and silver in the Eco-friendly category of the 2015 Ausmumpreneur Awards). With a regular segment on ABC Radio and with her work featured in publications like Nurture Parenting and My Child Magazine, Laura is an eco thought leader who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. A passionate believer in addressing the small things to achieve big change, and protecting the planet in practical ways, Laura lives with her husband and two sons in outback South Australia. 
