Sustainability Playground

Get rid of me if you can!

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Climate change is real. If you aren't experiencing it now, chances are some people in the other side of the world are. And soon enough, it will be your turn. Skeptical? Drag this widget away from your sight. Get rid of it. Sure enough, you can't. Just like you can't deny climate change.

3 Areas to start living more sustainable

Reduce eating meat and focus more on plant-based diet.
Plan ahead when grocery shopping. Buy seasonal/year-round/local ingredients rather than out-of-season or imported ones. Buy in bulk with reusable containers/bags.
Do meal prep, batch cooking as much as possible.
Optimize each ingredient, produce less food waste, and compost properly.

Refuse - Reuse - Repair - Recycle
Carry on reusable items (utensils, water bottle, shopping bags, etc.) and refuse disposable items while on-the-go.
Reuse containers whenever possible in the kitchen. Use both sides of a paper.
Before giving away or trash stuff, be sure to repair them and wear them out.
Recycle should be the last resort of the cycle because there is a very small percentage of items get recycled each year (there are too much stuff to recycle already!) and the rest of them sent to landfills. Clean and dry your recyclables before putting in the recycle bins.

Focus on its quality over cost. Quality will help save money in the long run.
Focus on its materials. Are they sourced/made locally and ethically? Are they compostable/biodegradable or recyclable at worst?
Focus on second-hand items whenever possible.

Resources to help you get started

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Scoop Marketplace

Scoop Marketplace, a zero-waste grocery store based in Kirkland, Washington. It's where you can buy dry food ingredients in bulk e.g. beans, flours, powder, rice, salt, sugar. Household and self-care products are also available.
You can order products online and request for shipping service or go pickup at the store.
Green stuff, Scoop's recently launched podcast also offers content that helps you walk more gently on the planet. You'll learn fun tips and gain more knowledge about zero-waste lifestyle from the host, Scoop founder Stephanie Lentz.

Out of the Box

Out of the Box is a refill van based in Sammamish and Issaquah, selling bulk household, cleaning, self-care products.
Customer within the service area can request for delivery service where the van will visit your home and refill products with the containers you provide.

Zero-waste Chef

Zero-waste Chef, Anne-Marie Bonneau, shares so many ways to preserve and cook food with the least amount of food waste left behind. Check out her Instagram and website and explore your topics of interest.
She also just launched her book, The Zero-Waste Chef Cookbook.

Minimalist Baker

All things vegan cuisine! Recipes for savory food, desserts, sweets, drinks, loved by a ton of online fans and are rated very high.
Abundant resources, information, and support forum for each recipes make it even more fun, enjoyable, and effortless for vegan enthusiasts.

Ecosia

Switch to use Ecosia, a search engine that plants trees.
Read blog posts about the attempt of making the planet greener and local people live better.

What are your approaches?

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Rank the following activities based on how likely you can achieve them by dragging them up or down.

Top = Easy! I can start doing this right now.
Bottom = Unlikely. That's still difficult to do/I can't prioritize it yet.

Bring reusable bags to the grocery store every time.
Speak at a climate change Zoom event.
Make plant-based milk at home instead of buying store-bought.
Read books about sustainability/climate change.
Join an event/discussion group about climate change/sustainability.
Join a protest about climate change.
Keep your leftover food at the restaurant in your own container.
Shop at farmers' market every week for fresh produce, etc.
Only buy dry food ingredients from a zero-waste bulk store.
Convince someone to live a more sustainable life.