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Living Lighter Checklist: Some Ways to Up Our Game in Simpler Living

Sep 30, 2021 09:30AM ● By Ronica O’Hara
Glass jars of various dry foods sitting on counter

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Minimalist Simplicity

  • Buy only what we truly need
  • Prune clothes and books
  • Declutter, category by category 
  • Repair, don’t replace 
  • Purchase for quality, not quantity
  • With each new purchase, give away something old
  • Choose paperless receipts
  • Digitalize books and movies
  • Use a budgeting app to lower expenses
  • Reduce food waste
  • Go slow: slow food, slow fashion
  • Consider moving into a smaller space
  • Unsubscribe from catalogs and retail emails
  •  Give away clothes not worn for a year
  • Re-examine social commitments
  • Use reusable tote bags for shopping
  • Eliminate duplicates
  • Drive less and walk, bike and ride mass transit more

Ecological Simplicity

  • Eat more plants, less meat
  • Grow our own food
  • Compost food scraps
  • Go plastic-free in the house 
  • Conduct a home energy audit
  • Install solar for home energy
  • Use green cleaning supplies
  • Save water with toilet and shower eco-devices
  • Air-dry clothes
  • Switch to an electric or hybrid vehicle
  • Buy quality clothes in natural fabrics
  • Recycle whenever possible
  • Buy pre-used items
  • Use reusable bags and food containers
  • Make DIY beauty products and cleaners
  • Volunteer for local eco-activities
  • Boycott products that endanger wildlife
  • Campaign for environmental policies and candidates

Conscious Simplicity

  • Spend on experiences, not stuff
  • Minimize shopping online and offline
  • Detox social media accounts
  • Scale back TV and cable
  • Savor nature with a daily walk
  • Plant trees locally
  • Volunteer often
  • Commit to a cause
  • Use holistic medicine practitioners
  • Take a personal growth course
  • Meditate or pray daily
  • Explore yoga, tai chi or a martial art
  • Take up a creative pursuit
  • Explore the local area
  • Sign petitions or organize drives
  • Get involved in a worthy cause
  • Invest to delegitimize fossil fuels and deforestation
  • Donate to worthy environmental or social causes

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Less Stuff, More Joy: Ways to Live Simpler and Lighter on Mother Earth

How to turn to simpler, sustainable, conscious ways of living molded by our personal values through minimalist lifestyles. Read More » 

 

In-Print National Content Conscious Consumption October 2021
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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