What is sustainable living?

I honestly didn't know the answer to this question until I googled it a half an hour ago. So here is what wikipedia has to say

Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources and personal resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption, and diet. Proponents of sustainable living aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology and cycles.

After reading several blogs about best ways to live sustainably, I realized I was already doing or interested in starting to do a lot of them. Here is a list I compiled of things I'd like to work on or what I've already started during this year project.

• Become a minimalist. One blog said, "Buying less stuff means you are contributing less to the consumer/waste cycle." Another said "Downsize - smaller car, house, job. Become downwardly mobile." I like the sound of that.
• Cut back on paper towel use. This is something I really need to work on. I use paper towels for everything because I get grossed out when towels are dirty and won't use them.
• Cook in. Stop eating out. My roommate and I are really working on this at the moment.
• Turn it off. I need to get better at turning off lights and unplugging things.
• Turn off TV indefinitely- As you may remember from my past entries, I've been working on this already.
• Simple cleaning solutions. I like the idea of using simple things like baking soda to clean up.
• Use what you've got. This is something else I've been mastering while getting rid of all my belongings. One blog suggested "Get rid of two similar things for every new thing."
• Shop locally. My roommate and I have been purchasing the veggie bags from the local farmer, a service provided by my company. But we could stand to do more shopping at farmer's markets.
• Reusable bags.  We do our best to remember these whenever we go for a large shopping trip, but I need to make sure I have some in my car for those days I end up stopping by a store for something quick.
• Buy secondhand everything. This is another thing I really picked up on through my year. When selling awesome stuff on craigslist and amazon, it makes you realize you can also find awesome stuff there too.
• Line dry clothes. This is something I'd like to try more. It's a bit hard not having much room in a shared apartment, but it's probably something I'm going to have/want to do while I'm traveling anyway.
• Eat less meat!  Done and done! :D
• Quit buying bottled water.  This is a good one to remember. I usually have my metal reusable bottles with me, but every once in awhile I'll buy plastic, forgetting how bad that is!
• Try homeopathic remedies first before going to doctor. Even though I haven't done much research into medicines, I do feel some of the food research I've done falls into this category.
• Shorter, fewer showers.  The lazy side of me loves the idea of this! But I do also enjoy not smelling and having greasy hair. But shorter is something I can do my best to work on!
• Green burial.  This was something I'd never thought about, but seemed interesting enough to look into.
• Learn to sew. I can do a bit on my own, but this was something I'd been interested in working on during my year.
• No more elevators. Something I try to do when I can, but should make more of an effort into.
• Get dirty. I feel the call of soil in my hands. I don't have a garden or a ditch to dig, but I think this will be something I'll look forward to in my volunteer work abroad.
• Learn to forage wild edibles.  This is something I'd love to learn more about. It kind of falls into the 'being prepared for the apocalypse' theme I seem to have picked up lately.
• Wash clothes less and in cold water. Another that appeals to lazy Bethany. But again, it's a fine line to walk between sustainable and 'smelling like a hippy'.
• Green wedding.  Another interesting concept to ponder.
• Avoid buying things in styrofoam or plastic. Avoid unnecessary packaging and one-use plastic containers. This is a major one I want to work on. I buy things without considering what kind of waste they are producing. Although, I have moved away from buying produce at Trader Joe's for this reason.
• Organic foods. Something I've been doing much better at over this last year.
• Eat seasonally.  I began doing some research on this, but didn't quite follow up entirely. However, if you are buying locally, you will tend to end up only getting things that are in season.
• Reduce amount of processed food you consume.  Another part of the diet change I instituted this year. But I could still use more work.

And finally, one blog recommended the Y.E.R.T documentary to further explore this topic, so that is something I will look into seeing.

Man, there are a lot of links on this post.