New series of blog posts! Discover in an interview how to opt for a more sustainable and eco-responsible way of life thanks to the testimonies of those who try it. Today, the floor is at @l_engraineuse .
When did you decide to opt for a more sustainable, more eco-responsible lifestyle?
I didn't wake up one day wanting to go green.
Ecology grabbed me, gave meaning to my life, and above all, it gave me fulfillment in a completely new way, giving me the wings to invest myself in it a little more each day. I had already had the concern for a long time to eat well, therefore to cook fresh products and I had learned to recycle paper in 6th grade, at that time it was still uncommon!
But it was really the discovery of permaculture 5 years ago that made me switch definitively to another life. I just wanted to know how to grow vegetables in my garden, and I discovered a whole philosophy of life! Permaculture is the philosophy of taking care, care of the living, care of humans, care of oneself. It can be applied in all areas of life, personal and professional. The steps followed one after the other, everything suddenly seemed coherent, natural!
Each new practice calls for a new questioning, a new positioning, the alignment happens gradually. That's what I really like, there is a permanent progression between concrete practices and reflections that feed off each other. Taking care of my soil in my permaculture vegetable garden has led me to love life in all its forms, to the desire to do my part to preserve the environment, to be fully aware of the impact of my everyday gestures. Waste, consumption, energy, food, I put everything back together!
Fortunately, I am supported in my approach by my family. There are 4 of us at home, my teenagers and my husband willingly follow what I put in place, and are sometimes driving forces for new ecological practices, we walk together. When I look at my daily life today, it's obvious that it's not everyone's, but everything fell into place step by step, very naturally!
How does this translate into everyday life?
We often imagine that the ecological daily life is difficult, time-consuming, that it is a return to the past. On the contrary, I find that my ecological daily life fits perfectly into my life as an active woman, it is simplified because it frees itself from the constraints of consumption, it is detached from attention to the material and concentrates on the moments, on the relationships, about feelings. Here's to the mood!
To concretely describe a day, it starts in the morning since there is no more shampoo or soap in my shower. I then use homemade toothpaste and deodorant. I dress in second-hand clothes that I choose from my minimalist wardrobe, 50 pieces in all. My meals are vegetarian, I cook them myself (or with my family!) with fresh, local and organic products that I buy locally or that I grow - intense joy in harvesting my crops in my permapotager! -. I go to work by tram and I work on my refurbished computer!
There is almost no more waste at home: I do my shopping in bulk to remove packaging and I have installed a vermicomposter in my kitchen in which we deposit food scraps. I make my household products: detergent, cleaning spray, vinegar-based dishwasher tablets, sodium bicarbonate, Marseille soap. At home, consumables are washable and reusable, beewraps, washable cottons, tawashi have replaced single-use items! The minimalist decoration of the house is made of objects found, transformed and even diverted from their initial use: there is nothing new!
What is the most complicated point you face in this matter?
What's complicated for me is sometimes feeling very alone in my approach when I see that it's so easy to switch to an eco-friendly lifestyle, so easy to change some habits for others that are much more fulfilling. and above all so in phase to respond to the climatic, societal and environmental issues that we are experiencing.
I would like to convince so much better because personally, I feel so happy since I am aligned with my ecological convictions that I wish the same fullness to everyone! This is also the reason for my blog L'Engraineuse and my accounts on social networks: I sow my seeds of ecology!
What advice would you give to get started?
To get started, just get started! Invent the green life that suits you, there are so many ways to do it. Your approach will not be perfect the first time, it is not for anyone! But the idea is to start seeing life in another way, to feel our responsibility and our power as consumers to change things.
But still, what can be super motivating from an economic and ecological point of view to start with, is to do your own laundry! For 1 liter of water, dissolve 40 g of grated Marseille soap (the green one!) and when the mixture has cooled, add 1 tablespoon of baking soda. No more plastic detergent cans in the laundry room, and welcome the liter of detergent for a few cents! I like !
And as the detergent keeps well, you can prepare a large quantity and have peace of mind for many weeks: as far as I'm concerned, I prepare 8 liters each time!