It is fair to say that we have always been environmentally aware, but only recently have we really taken to thinking about our impact in everything we do. But the realisation probably didn’t come from the obvious places. It was actually a realisation that we had too much stuff. In 2011 we left Somerset to relocate to Oxfordshire for my new job. We filled a large removals van. There were only three of us (one a baby, smaller than the cat and who somehow managed to occupy every room in the house) and upon seeing the van completely full we were really shocked. There was no doubt about it. We had to get rid of stuff.
Then we came across the art of Kondoing via The Life Changing Magic of Tidying, the book by Marie Kondo that started the current craze that’s making this nutty diminutive Japanese house-tidier a household name. It says something about our society that a programme about tidying (essentially getting rid of stuff) is one of Netflix’s most popular programmes.
It’s useful to consider this ‘art’ as a way to becoming more environmentally aware. By realising how much stuff we own, is the first step to acknowledging the impact we are having on the environment from our excessive consumption.
There are a couple of great documentaries worth mentioning (both also on Netflix) that have affected us. The first is Minimalism: A documentary about the important things, created by Joshua Fields and Ryan Nicodemus. Similar to Kondo, but is focuses not on tidying, but on living with less stuff. It sounds bizarre, but getting rid of stuff really has made us happier. Not only that, but since started minimising we have reduced our consumption too. No longer do we spend hours in bookshops before buying a book we never read (that was definitely our weakness).
The other film is far more disturbing, and one of those rare films that I would recommend everyone watches. The True Cost is a shocking investigation into the global clothing industry. I challenge anyone who watches this not to think about the impact they are having next time they visit a high street clothing retailer.
Assessing our impact is uncomfortable. No-one wants to accept that their behaviours may be damaging to our health or the planet’s health. This becomes particularly evident when we are faced with decisions about lifestyle changes we are unwilling to make.
Helpfully, the WWF has developed a simple online calculator that although imperfect, provides us with a measure of the environmental footprint we have as individuals.
Check it out, it only takes five minutes, and you may be surprised at the results.
Eco Family Life 