Heading out? Here's how to do it with people and the planet in mind

[Celerity]

https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/thoughtful-living-out-and-about/



What does your daily routine look like? Perhaps you start the morning with a workout and a coffee from your local cafe. You might head into an office or studio before picking up a sandwich from a nearby shop for lunch. Or does it involve taking kids to school and a grocery run while working from home? For many of us, no matter where we live or what we do, our schedules involve leaving the house at least once a day. Getting out and about is so integral to our lives that we barely give it a second thought – except we should. As soon as we step outside, we’re making an impact on the planet, whether that’s through CO2 emissions or by generating waste. Even the smallest movements we make – hopping on the bus to take you from A to B, for instance, or ordering a flat white to go – have ramifications on the world around us. Thankfully, there are many ways we can be more mindful when going about our daily lives. From the transport you take to the shops you support and the places you visit, here are four ways you can do better when whiling away your day outside your home.



Getting Ready

Before you go anywhere, ask yourself the following: have all appliances been flicked off at the socket and lights at the switch? It might sound simple, but many of us are guilty of leaving the likes of our laptops on charge as we run out the door. And as well as saving electricity, turning electronics off properly saves money too. In fact, the average UK household wastes 40kg of CO2 and spends £65 a year by leaving appliances on. A tip for those who regularly find themselves in a rush: consider getting a standby saver or smart plug, which allows you to simply switch everything off in one go, as you go.



It’s also worth making sure you have everything you might need for the day ahead. Heading out to meet a friend for a caffeine fix? Pack your reusable coffee cup. The UK gets through 2.5 billion disposable ones a year – and only one in 400 gets recycled. There are so many beautifully designed reusable cups to choose from, but here at The Modern House HQ we use Husk Cups, which are cleverly made from organic waste. Likewise, don’t forget your reusable water bottle. The numbers surrounding single-use plastic-bottle waste are staggering: UK households use more than 13 billion plastic bottles a year, 7.7 billion of which are for water. In fact, the average person in the UK will use 150 plastic water bottles a year – a statistic you can crunch by carrying your own.



Travel Right

It’s perhaps no surprise to learn that, according to a UK study published in June 2022, the transport sector emits more greenhouse gases than any other in the UK, producing 28 per cent of our total emissions in 2020. It’s important to question, then, your preferred way of getting around. For many of us, it’s on the road. In fact, another report revealed that road transport makes up 22 per cent of total emissions of CO2 in the UK, which not only majorly impacts global warming, but also results in poor air quality, noise and congestion. What is somewhat more surprising, however, are the 2019 findings that announced more than 60 per cent of journeys between one and two miles were made by motor vehicles. And did you know that out of the 34 million on our roads, 28 million are cars?

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[JMCKUSICK]

1. Great Post

I can't think of things that I'm less mindful of than my computer etc... when I leave.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. K&R! Thanks for this important reminder