How Small Acts of Sustainability Can Set the Tone for the Year

Welcome back to the Notenook in 2025. As always, it feels strange to write this new number each year. Nonetheless, here we are, and I'm excited to explore my favourite subjects this year with you —sustainability, books, travel, and personal development.

Although I created a vision board, compiled a list of 25 for 25, and wrote down some resolutions, today I will focus on a different subject to set us up for a successful 2025. I would like to encourage you to think about small acts of sustainability you can implement this year. Instead of the usual "big resolutions," focus on small, practical actions that you can adopt in your daily lives to live more sustainably. To start, I will share five ideas and highlight which ones are my top priorities for this year.

#1 Reduce Food Waste

Okay, you might think this is nothing like a small act; this is one of the big challenges of our time. Yes, true, but let's break this into small actions.

• Shop your pantry: You will be surprised what you can find in your pantry - tea, beans, spices, sauces - I've found it all. You may have to get a bit creative with some of the recipes.

• Clean out your fridge: That's something I did recently. We all think the more we have in the fridge, the better. But the truth is, the more we have in our fridge, the less we know what we have. Two weeks later, you discover a Tupperware with a piece of chicken in it that has fallen behind everything, and now it smells horrendous.

• Order smaller portions at restaurants: I often take home leftovers from my meals at restaurants, knowing that I will throw them away in 3-4 days. So, I'll try to order smaller portions and take less home (and eat more haha).

• Plant a small mini garden: Grow your own herbs or vegetables. If you only have a small balcony, focus on your favourite herb and vegetable. Then you have two things that you no longer have to buy and that are always available.

#2 Bring Your Own Coffee Mug

You might be rolling your eyes because you have probably read this already five times on my blog and 10 times on my Instagram account. But takeaway cups are such a big problem (if you wonder why, read my post here), and it's one that we can solve quite easily. Bring your own mug or drink the coffee while sitting down. So I challenge you all to reduce your to-go cups. It doesn't have to be 0, but less is already better. Because in Vancouver we're looking at 2.6 million coffee cups per week.

#3 Buy Second-Hand Clothes

We currently have enough clothes on this planet to dress the next six generations. When I read these statistics, I was shocked. How can it be that we have so much clothing on this planet? I don't want to open a can of worms; this topic could fill an entire book, and maybe one day I'll write a blog post about it, but I think we can all agree that buying secondhand clothes would be a good idea.

If you're not comfortable going to thrift stores, how about Facebook Marketplace or Poshmark? These are good platforms to buy clothes and - in the case of Marketplace - even toys, furniture, sports gear, and other things.

#4 Save Water

My job is focused on water sustainability, and I couldn't write this post without encouraging you all to use less water or, at least, be more mindful of water. Here are a few ideas:

• Take shorter showers

• Don't leave the tap running when you're brushing your teeth or cooking.

• I also have two glass bottles of water in the fridge that I use for drinking. This way, I don't open the tap every hour to fill my glass (and possibly leave it running to make it 'colder') but use my glass bottles.

• Collect gray water from your sink or water that has been sitting too long (e.g. in a glass) and use it to water your plants.

• If you want to do something bigger: Install a water meter to get access to water data.

#5 Do a Personal Sustainability Inventory

When it comes to sustainability, we all face different challenges in our daily lives. What is a challenge for me may not be a problem for you. I recommend checking yourself and taking stock. Where could you improve and make a difference?

• Do you drive too much? A bike share subscription or a public transit card could be an option.

• Do you eat too much meat and would like to implement a more sustainable diet?

• Is recycling a challenge for you? Why don't you start there?

• Do you love beauty and makeup? Why not look for brands that are better for the environment and animals?

• Do you create a lot of waste? Consider buying products with less packaging and making this a priority in 2025.

• Start composting.

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I'm interested in learning about your sustainability priorities for this year. Is there a small action you plan to concentrate on?