So, this past Christmas, my first since starting this blog, left me with such an uneasy feeling due to the massive waste involved. We have been making many changes to our lifestyle, throughout the past year, so I thought this Christmas was going to be the one. Without being fully authoritarian about everything, I thought we were going to be having a pretty environmentally friendly Christmas – How wrong I was!!
I’ve been thinking about it a lot and so, having left it a few weeks before writing this down, here are a few reasons how I failed so badly:
- Lack of preparation / planning
- Food
- Leaving certain jobs to others
- Not being more vocal in voicing my concerns and preferences
- Lack of non plastic gift alternatives for kids
- Not being willing / able to convince kids of my aims
- Bloody wrapping paper!
- Using existing non eco friendly disposables that had been already purchased
Lack of preparation / planning
The second half of last year was a very busy time for me in both my work life and personal life. The times I should have been making little plans and setting certain paths in place, I was constantly putting them on the long finger. We usually add a small few Christmas decorations to our collection, which is growing over the past 10 or so years. I had intended sourcing a few natural ones this year and over time replacing everything with better, more environmentally friendly Christmas decorations over the next 10 years. My intention didn’t make it to planning phase, so as you can probably guess, it didn’t happen.
Food
Partially due to lack of planning, I also got sidetracked by the offer of discounts on Turkey and Ham, for Christmas Dinner. My aspiration would be to use high welfare meat products where possible. Because of the specialised nature of high welfare meat and the facet that it is often raised to order, it needs to be ordered well in advance.
Due to the rush and ever increasing to do lists associated with December, this preference of mine was just outright forgotten. For now, while my choice is to remain a meat eater, the source of this meat has to be a priority consideration and those producers that are doing the right thing have to be supported.
There were a number of other cases, where the part of my lizard brain that sees a bargain takes over my decision making, which resulted in a few less than ideal purchases.
Leaving certain jobs and decisions to others
As with most relationships, we share tasks and responsibilities. I was quite happy to not have to deal with certain things, but as it turned out, in some cases, 2 heads would definitely be better than one. Making the correct choices in every aspect of life is bloody hard and I have never once pretended to know it all. This one really leads on to the next one …
Not being more vocal in voicing my concerns and preferences
It’s one thing coming up with amazing aspirations, but the reality means that, in my personal situation anyway, that a lot of other people need to be factored into the decisions. Personal aspirations are not necessarily those of your wider circle of influence. It can be hard to get your hard felt beliefs across to people, without coming across as overpowering or controlling. Even though the pace of change needed is far, far higher than what is happening, most people need to be coaxed into the beginning of this change of trajectory. If you come over too strong, it may turn people against your ideals. Generally, the most effective way to convince people is by your actions and allowing them to see the benefits of doing things the right way for the environment.
Kids
Not being willing / able to convince kids of my aims
Having a 7 year old and 4 year old girls, really ups the difficulty level associated with buying ethically. By August, most kids already know what they want for Christmas. The guilt of working so many hours away from them, combined with not wanting to disappoint them on the bestest morning of the year, usually results in heaps of plastic toys in one corner and heaps of rubbish, ready for the bin, in the other. From such a young age, kids know what they want, so it’s much more than changing their mind at Christmas. It’s really about a mind set and takes constant reminders and incentives for them to know what’s best and out motives for what we do.
Lack of non plastic gift alternatives for kids
Bloody wrapping paper!
Using existing non eco friendly disposables that had been already purchased
Often a declaration by someone that they “don’t want anything for Christmas”, for some bizarre reason, means the exact opposite! However, when I say it, I actually mean it.
Now before I completely castigate myself, there are a number of things I did fairly right.
- Most of our veg was grown at home, with much of our other food was produced and bought locally
- Most of the chocolate purchased was Fairtrade and from companies with good welfare practices
- We used a real tree, sourced locally (where at least 1 other was planted in its place) and reused it in our garden as a raised bed for our garden and the branches for mulch and a bug hotel.
Other Things I Could Have Done Better?
What are your thoughts? How did you fare last Christmas and what are you doing to make the next one greener?
Recent Comments