*** MY LITTLE SUSTAINABLE WORLD - CHANGES I DID FOR MY FAMILY***

Living in a city is such a boon. We get all comforts, the luxury of cities and we enjoy being influenced by the latest trends and traditions. I lived in a metro city for about 13 years. The city gave me so much. The exposure I needed for my work, the lifestyle that I like and the frill that makes life enjoyable, it had everything. However, I also noticed many high spots of pollution, ear-popping noises and lack of green spaces there.

Pollutions, hazardous chemicals and fumes, and excess use of plastic are bringing life-threatening health problems in most of the metro cities. We have already reached a point where we get warnings every day; about the exhaustion of natural resources, overly polluted air, chemically contaminated food, environmental imbalance and so much of plastic around us. Life is already at the peak of vulnerability.

Hence it is high time when we have to put certain efforts else the coming generation would be facing sustainability issues. Sustainability means avoidance of the depletion of natural resources to maintain an ecological balance. Hence, to lead a sustainable life, we should be back to those time when generations used as many natural and imperishable resources as they could.

A few years back, I saw a video in which actress Diya Mirza shared many useful tips about sustainable living. I took great inspiration from that video and started doing changes in my home. I involved my husband and son also, and after two years of efforts, we are close to achieving the balance.

Here are the steps that I took in my house to establish sustainability:

1. The biggest step as a family that we took was to relocate to a smaller city. After enjoying the life of a metro city for 12-13 years, we recreated our nest in a city which is still to reach that alarming level of globalization and scarcity of natural resources. We now have comparatively healthy air and lush green spaces around our house in the new city. My son can play in open as long as he wants. He can chase birds and butterflies. And when I showed him dung beetle, he was so amazed. We also have our own garden where we have flowers, vegetables, and fruits. Thus We feel closer to nature.

It was not an apparent decision for us as people generally move from smaller cities to bigger ones. We did the opposite. However, after a year in present city, I feel happy about my decision every day. Life is better, calmer and sustainable here.

2. The second step for a sustainable living was to reduce the use of plastic and switching to alternatives. It was not that difficult though. I started with discarding plastic tiffin boxes and bottles. While a lot has been said and read about the ill effects of the use of plastics, its usage is rampant all over the country despite the ban being imposed in many cities already.

I just bought glass lunch boxes for my husband and myself. And a steel tiffin box for my son as he is still too young to carry any glassware. Then we switched to metal and glass water bottles. Also, when we were moving to our new city, the got a valid opportunity to discard plastic storage boxes as many as I could. I bought steel containers when we shopped new items for the new house, and so far half of my house is plastic-free.

3. The third step was to stop buying packaged water. We carry our own water whenever we go. With these packaged water bottles, so much of microplastic goes in our body and in long run it causes life-threating problems. Carrying your own water requires just a bag that you are supposed to carry on your shoulders but it worth the effort. With this, we started carrying our cloth jholas for shopping. Supermarkets anyway charge us for carry-bags, hence carrying a non-plastic bag seems a fair deal. My mother reused old jeans and school uniforms for making cloth bags and they are super viable and unending.

4. One more thing that I did was to stop having anything in disposable plasticware (use and throw). Normally, when people organize any puja/jagran/bhandara, they distribute prashad in use-n-throw plates and cups. In offices also, plastic cups are used for tea. We already know that plastic becomes more harmful when it gets heated. The chemical that plastic containers release are probable carcinogens. Hence, there also I carry my box for prashad. People often roll their eyes when I hand over my dabba for prashad, but it is all fine with me.

As we kept on the above rules, they are now family customs. Vibhu (my son) is well aware that if we are heading out, we must carry our bag and water bottle. These days my husband and I are thinking about separating waste so that we can make get compost made out of kitchen waste. This will be the next sustainability step for us as a family.

There are countless examples throughout human history where we damaged our environment and seriously affected our own survival chances. Sustainability holds how to live in harmony with the natural world around us, protecting it from damage and destruction. We need to unite together and take effective steps to maintain the essential balance of natural resources, that eventually adds to a sustainable lifestyle. So, takes much-needed steps now only and give our kids a future sustainable world.
. #vibhuandmesay #MySustainableWorld #bumberry #babychakra #betterliving #familygoals #bbcreatorsclub