Culture

Considering a Sustainable Lifestyle? An Expert Shares Everything You Need To Know

Discover effective ways to start living sustainably through a holistic approach.

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when living sustainably, however, it is in fact doable once you familiarize yourself with the lifestyle. Los Angeles- and Austin-based sustainability expert Jhánneu can vouch for the practice as she originally started her journey through minimalism three years ago.

“I began to start living with less and was intentional about what I was bringing into my home,” she tells us. According to Jhánneu, the majority of minimalism principles go hand-in-hand with sustainability. “Once I began to think more about where my products came from and became more intentional about how I was living my life, I decided that living a more sustainable and low waste lifestyle was for me.”

Over time, living sustainably became second nature to Jhánneu. “Sustainable habits that you will find me doing every day are using toothpaste that comes in an aluminum tube, shampoo bars and using reusable makeup wipes,” the content creator says. “For the kitchen, I compost all of my food scraps by putting them in the freezer and then dropping them off at a local community garden once it’s full. I also use reusable towels instead of paper towels and use stasher bags instead of ziplock bags.”

Below, Jhánneu shares how you can start to live a sustainable lifestyle, the misconceptions of the practice and more. Read on for our full conversation.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jhánneu (@jhanneu)

What is sustainable living?

Sustainable living is all about sustaining yourself and sustaining the planet. When we think about sustainability, we think about not using plastic or recycling, but I like to take a holistic approach to it through my content. From self-care to how to reduce your waste, you have to look at it from all angles.

Misconceptions about the lifestyle

That it’s expensive and complicated. No one is ever going to be perfectly zero waste unless you are living off the grid. But I would say start small, change one habit, which eventually leads to two — so on and so forth. You will also see that not using single-use products anymore will save money in the long run.

Five ways to start living sustainably

The best way to reduce your waste is to stop buying things that you don’t need. So ask yourself before you make a purchase, “Do I really need this item?”
When you decide that you’re looking for something to purchase, see if you can find it secondhand first.
Start by reducing waste within a certain area of your home. For example, you can start with the kitchen and stop using Ziploc bags, and instead use reusable silicone bags, etc.
Look at the items that you use that are single-use and disposable and find reusable alternatives. Places like Grove Collaborative and Thrive Market have a great range of sustainable options that can help you get started.
Remember that living sustainably also means practicing self-care in whatever way that looks like for you.