How I Started To Live More Sustainably

Dish Kitchen was founded just about a year ago, with the mission build a sustainable company.

However, the irony for me was that I was not really eco-minded at home (at the time).  Sure, I recycled, used reusable bags and even bought reusable metal straws (which I did because I didn’t like the paper straw replacements out there!)  But that was the extent of it.

As Dish Kitchen grew, and we became laser focused on our eco-mission, I realized just how non-eco-friendly my own house was, so I decided to make a change.  But how would I start?

As luck would have it, I met Deanna, the owner of the Good Bottle Refill Shop, when we were set up next to each other at the Madison Farmers Market.

I purchased my first reusable home products that day, and shortly after that, I visited the Good Bottle Refill Shop in Maplewood (inside the General Store Coop). 

Making the decision to transition my home felt very overwhelming.  How was I going to stop using all these products I have used for, well, for my entire life?  Deanna was an amazing guide.  She had so much knowledge, had done SO MUCH research, and was very approachable.  What I loved most was that she had no judgement and didn't try to sell me things I wasn't ready for.  Rather, she encouraged me to take one step at a time, and try different things.  After all, she knew first-hand what it’s like to make these changes- she did it!  And, it led her to start Good Bottle so that she could share her knowledge and help others through their own transition.  

As I started making small changes, I was honestly shocked at the amount of waste I could have been avoiding all these years.  What now seems so obvious, back then was not even a thought in my mind.  And now I cannot even believe how much of that stuff I used to buy!  

In addition to my product changes, I also started to compost with Java’s Compost.  OMG, the food waste I had been throwing in the garbage all those years?  YUCK!   Now, instead of putting multiple garbage bags out twice a week, sometimes there are weeks I don’t put ANY GARBAGE OUT!  

OK- So what’s out and what’s in?  Here are the transitions I have personally made over the last eight months or so…

So that is my current status, but the journey will continue.  This type of lifestyle change does not happen overnight, and there really is no end.  There will always be new ways to live more sustainably as the world around us evolves.  It is up to us individually and as a collective community to make small changes over time to help treat our Earth better.

And if you want to learn more about what YOU can do now in small steps to live more sustainably, here is a program I learned about from the Madison Environmental Commission’s newsletter. www.takethejump.org

“You’ll make an impact: Government and business do have most responsibility, but science shows that in wealthy countries everyone needs to make these 6 shifts within 10 years.”

Java's Compost