But also it's not that bad

I was feeling pretty bad about this blog post because, at the end of the day, things are not that bad. I always say Zero Waste is a journey, not a destination, and the fact that I haven’t been “perfect” at it recently doesn’t mean I’m not trying or still doing my part with the means and the time and energy I have right now at this particular point in time.

There are other things that have changed since moving into Sid which are sustainable and eco-friendly, so I feel like they make up for less sustainable practices I have adopted. 

1. Not showering that much
   I’ve mentioned this both in my bus morning and night routine: I no longer shower every day. Surely that’s saving some water.

2. Not flushing the toilet
   We have a chemical toilet in the bus, which doesn’t require water for flushing. I still flush in public toilets though!

3. Water consumption in general
   Having to be extremely conscious of how much water I consume in the bus made me very aware of how much water I consume other places, too. I have noticed I turn the tap off more often than before when I use public toilets, I only boil the water I need at work, and I have developed a strategy to wash the dishes that involves using less water and I apply it in regular kitchens too.

4. Solar panels
   We have the option to plug in but we’ve only done it once when our truck batteries died. Otherwise we are 100% off grid and our batteries charge from solar or when we drive.

5. Reduced appliances
   It’s hard to say by how much we have reduced our power consumption as opposed to living in a house, but we definitely have less electric appliances than before: we have no vacuum, no kettle, no blender, no rice cooker.

6. Cycling more
   Since we mostly park quite close to town, I’ve been cycling or walking heaps and haven’t been talking the bus that much.

7. Rubbish mindfulness
   Even though all our rubbish originally goes into the same bin, we are still recycling and disposing of our rubbish mindfully.

If anything, bus living is making me more environmentally conscious, so I guess I was just being a bit to hard on myself.

Does anyone feel like they have to be “perfect” all the time when it comes to low waste? In spite of knowing there is no such thing as perfect, I struggle with this and I often put way too much pressure on myself. I would love to know what you think!