In 2020, I made a pledge to try and use more sustainable products when possible and cut down on single-use plastics. While I made great progress to these goals, in 2021 I am renewing my vow and taking it one step further. I am going to share with yall the good bad and ugly so that you can start taking steps to be more sustainable, too.

Remember we just need a few people doing it imperfectly not a lot of people doing it perfectly.

Why do I want to be more sustainable?

I mean can you really think of a reason not to be? I love this big beautiful planet and I want to make sure it stays beautiful and healthy for years to come. I want to take my kids on the same trails I love and spend summers on the same beautiful beach I grew up going to.

Change is constant. Change is the ONLY constant in our lives. We are constantly evolving as humans and so is our way of life. Think about all the things we did 50 years ago? How many of those do we still think is a good idea today? Smoking, no seat belts, diets high in sugar and processed foods, fax machines…

Turns out a lot of things we do and the products we buy are not that great for the planet or even economically sustainable. So what do we do? We change. We see this change happening in everything thing we do from Q-Tips to ski gear and everything in between. Twenty years from now, we will all be using totally different products that have a different effect on the world, and I’m sure some we will realize isn’t that sustainable either.

The point is change happens and you can either resist it or surrender to the flow

Humans are not the end all be all. We were not put here to tame and conquer the world (and its creatures). We are stewards of this planet. I want to do my part to protect and preserve it.

What This Journey Is Not

• Let’s get a few things straight, I am going to mess up. I am going to end up at Target and impulse buy something. I am going to get things wrong. Please call me out – kindly – this is a learning experience for me and for you.
• This is not a boycott on all non-sustainable brands – I think 2020 proved that your voice matters. Me choosing not to purchase from certain brands who’s supply chain or choice of materials is not an all our boycott. Brands are beginning to understand their role in protecting our environment. They see how unsustainable these practices are not only for the planet but their bottom line. We can ask these brands to change, to be more thoughtful, and to re-think their strategy. When I can, I’ll share how you can take action weather a tweet or signing a petition.
• I am not going vegan. I like meat, I am going to continue to eat meat. If you come at me with your stats on why everyone should be a vegan I’ll come back to you with all the stats on how devastating that would be for animals and our planet in the long run. I 1000% agree the way we raise livestock is not sustainable and we desperately need to change. But we also have to change how we grow vegetables (and textiles) too. Remember change is constant and we need to reexamine how we do everything through the lens of sustainability.

My Sustainable Goals For You and Me

1. Find more sustainable products, tips, and trick that I love to share with you
2. Eliminate the waste me and my household produces
3. Inspire you to do the same

I hope that my journey inspires you to make small changes and simple swaps in your life too. Becoming more sustainable doesn’t’ mean you need to buy all new stuff. It starts with becoming more conscious of what you buy and the waste you produce. From there reading the label, doing research, and asking questions will start to come naturally.

I’m In! So what’s next?

This is not only a personal undertaking but a blog undertaking. Introducing this new vertical is a work in progress. I always want my content to be educational and helpful and with this subject even more so. While I could probably spend 6 months planning this out, I just need to start, cause there is never a perfect time to start – right? Right!

Monthly Themes: Every month will be a new theme – a room or area of life I’m trying to make more green. I’ll share those tips here either in a round-up post or a post that goes in-depth. I will also share my journey on stories – follow me on IG here and check out the hashtag #GreenMTBelle = get it!

Promotion & Collabs: I hope to partner with only sustainable brands, this could be going local vs national, someone with a clean supply chain, or a company working towards more sustainable packaging. They might not be perfect but remember we just need people

Consuming Less: I make money when you purchase from my links, therefore it behooves me to share more links to more things in hopes you will make a purchase from them. Trying to be more sustainable really flys in the face of that. Being sustainable at its core means buying less and buying only what you need (and love).

But I think you will turn to me more often as a resource if you know you can count on me to do the research and share the things I have tried and loved. And if you feel that trust you will make a purchase via a link and hopefully, there is an affiliate program that will generate me some money.

YOU: You are part of this, tell me what you want to learn about? Tell me how you are doing it or how you are failing and lets do this together.

Check out my Sustinablity highlight to see what I have started doing so far and be sure to sign up for my email so you know when a new post is up!