why?

I am the Lazyst Environmentalyst because I do all of the following. I’m working at changing these things and crossing them off as I improve my sustainability. After writing this list I realise I have nothing to be smug about!

garden

• I have three cats and they’re free to come and go from my house and garden. They all have collars with bells which stop their slaughter of native birds. They still catch mice, but that’s ok with me.
• When Sheeba the dog and I are out walking, I pick up her poop with a plastic bag provided by the local council.
• I wash Sheeba with a toxic flea killing shampoo. I also give her a monthly flea killing tablet (that prevents heartworm and intestinal worms too). I thought using flea killing shampoo was overkill and I tried some other shampoos, but then she got a fleabite, because the flea tablet only stops flea reproduction. Now I’ve gone back to the flea shampoo.



• I have some lawn that is irrigated twice a week in summer. It’s turned off right now for winter. Some of the reticulation is for my vegetable garden.
  Update: I’ve connected a weeping hose to my rainwater tank to irrigate part of the vegetable garden.
• The size of the lawn has decreased, replaced with garden beds for more yummy vegetables and native plants. I’ve also removed agapanthus and ferns and replaced them with drought tolerant locally native plants. This is a work in progress. The latest addition includes a pond which I hope will attract frogs.



• I use metaldehyde snail bait on my garden. I now use iron chelate snail bait. It is certified as an organic farm input by the UK organic certification body, but NASAA refused to certify it because of a disagreement with the manufacturer over the name of the active ingredient – bureaucracy!

food

• I buy some food at a supermarket. I am buying more things from Absolutely Organic, my local organic produce shop, and my local independent fresh produce shop.
• I eat meat about three times a week and dairy products every day.



• The fruit and vegies I buy are not organic. Only some of the fruit and vegies I buy are organic. I buy locally grown fruit and vegies in season from an independent fresh produce shop and I grow some of my own.
• Sometimes I have to compost food because it went bad (does the composting mean I’m not wasting it?).
• I use a straw for my mid morning drink. After reading that Green as a Thistle Vanessa stopped using straws, I realised I should too.

consumption

• I use paper towels and paper tissues. They are not recycled made from recycled paper & not rebleached, so I compost them after use.
• I stopped getting get a printed receipt when I use an ATM.
• Sometimes I get plastic bags when shopping. I then re-use them for bin liners so they are not biodegradable.



• Sometimes I buy over-packaged goods, altho I do try to buy a larger package if available.
• I buy too many less products that are made overseas, probably in sweat shops.
• I drive my car too much a lot less than I used to. I catch the bus to university every day, except when I sleep in, miss the bus and have to drive my car.Update: I used to fill my petrol tank once a week. I’ve decreased this to 45L per month.

  Update: When it’s not raining, I ride my bike to the train station – getting exercise and cutting emissions.

house

• Sometimes I leave lights on when I don’t need them.
• Some of my light bulbs are incandescent. I’ve replaced more than half of them with CFL bulbs as they die but the toilet light has been going for more than 2 years so far.
• I watch too much less TV than I used to.
• I turn off the TV & DVD player with the remote control.
• I leave the radio in standby because it loses the preset stations if turned off at the wall.Update: I tried turning it off at the wall, but this just stopped me from listening to the radio and I missed all that music.
• I leave the phone charger turned on at the wall.
• There are two microwaves in the kitchen.



• Towards the end of the week, the fridge isn’t full, which decreases its efficiency.
• I don’t recycle as much as I could. My local council has a Single Bin Recycling process and I was always sceptical of it. After reading an article in The Economist it might not be so bad, but I’m still not convinced.

cleaning

• I use a clothes washing detergent with phosphate. I found a clothes washing detergent without phosphate or petroleum derivatives. (made by the same company that makes my dish washing detergent) I can now put the grey water from washing on any plant in the garden.
• I just discovered the clothes washing detergent and dish washing liquid I use (made by the same company) both have petroleum derivatives. I tried making Crazy Mumma’s recipe for dishwashing liquid but it went off in the too-hot weather because I used fresh lemon juice.
• One of the cleaning products I use has chlorine. I now clean the stove, sinks and bathroom with baking soda and vinegar and a squeeze of lemon after. And vinegar for mopping floors and cleaning toilets.

bathroom

• Periodically the bathroom sink drain blocks and I pour in caustic soda. The drain hadn’t blocked since last summer, but it did recently. I put in baking soda and vinegar, waited a bit and then used the plunger with hot water. I repeated this the next day and it worked – no more caustic soda.
• My showers were too long. Update: I installed a Shower Saver, which allows me to easily turn off the water when I’m soaping and shampooing. I also collect the cold water while waiting for the hot to come through the pipes.
• My toiletries and cosmetics have numerous nasty ingredients and are manufactured far, far away. I replaced my toiletries and cosmetics with Australian made ones that use plant-based ingredients. Trying different ones led to some disasters, but I got there in the end.



• The bandaids I use are plastic and used to be wrapped in plastic. They are now wrapped in paper and held in a cardboard box.
• I use disposable razors.
• I use disposable tampons. I use a mooncup.
• I use toilet paper made from recycled paper & not rebleached, but it’s packaged in plastic.Update: I use the empty packet as a bin liner.

This page was inspired by the Closet Environmentalist.