Summary:
Living alone can be daunting, but it´s also the perfect opportunity to control your impact on the environment. This article suggests steps you can take to be single and green.

Details or Sample:
Living Alone: a Golden Opportunity to be Green

Kermit the Frog wasn’t thinking of the environment when he pondered the hardships of being green, but he did come to the conclusion that it was a good thing. Thirty years later, so have we, because as he pointed out, “...green’s the color of spring...big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree...” And these days, we all realize that these are the things we’ll lose if we don’t mend our ways.

But how many of us really do anything about it? Habit, image, advertising, expectation, conformity... All these exert their own almost irresistible pressure to believe that more is better and big is best, and it takes a committed parent to resist gruesome visions of childhood ostracism when faced with the plea that “everyone has..” whatever the current trend may be.

Which is why living alone is such a golden opportunity to do your bit for the planet.

To some people, living alone may seem like the ultimate hell, with overtones of loneliness, loss, or even failure. But like most things in life, attitude can turn negatives into positives, and in terms of the environment, living alone is an absolute winner. Because really, how much does one person actually need? If you’re being honest, the answer is almost certainly “not nearly as much as I have.”

Given the forces that have gradually maneuvered you into this state of over-supply and over-consumption, coming to terms with the idea of less may mean a serious rethink. Take your time. You may have spent your life so far catering to other people’s tastes and requirements as well as your own. You may have fallen prey to the pressures of keeping up with the neighbors or changing with the times, or the consolations of retail therapy. Whatever the reason, your previous self deserves respect for its efforts on your behalf at the time.

But times change. Accept the past with gratitude, and realize that you now have the delicious freedom of being answerable to no one but yourself. Embrace it. Revel in it. The planet will love you, and it may be the most empowering thing you ever do. But before you psych yourself into an orgy of impulsive and liberating clutter-clearance, there are a few things you should bear in mind.

First and foremost, never dispose of something you love, however bizarre, trivial,
sentimental, useless or unused it may seem and however stupid you may feel for keeping it. If you love it, it’s part of you. Giving it away is a very bad idea, and you’re bound to regret it. Put it back on the shelf and move on.

Secondly, if you’re disposing of something you know a friend, relation or neighbor covets or would find useful, offer it to them first, or if it’s valuable and you need the money, give them first option. Not everyone has your new and enlightened attitude to possessions, and finding yourself the target of their resentment, however unjustified, is not part of the plan.

Thirdly, if you’re keeping clothes on the off-chance of losing/putting on weight, don’t bother. You probably won’t, and if you do, they’ll be outdated anyway. The same applies to styles you’re hoping will cycle back into fashion. They might, but the outfit you had at 30 isn’t likely to suit you at 60, and what’s more, you can guarantee there’ll be some subtle but essential variation to the modern version that marks your treasure for what it is – a has-been.

And lastly, despite the promise of technology, paper accumulates with a speed that leaves you and the planet breathless. Yes, you may need to keep financial records for a while in case the IRS gets nosy, and most of us have documents worth preserving for historical reasons. There will also be cards, letters, programs and the like that come into the category of things you love. But that aside, there’s still likely to be a forest’s worth of out-of-date paper just begging to be recycled. Do it.

Beyond that, view everything with a ruthless and critical eye. Do you really like the lamp you bought when orange was fashionable? Will you ever play Trivial Pursuit again now that Joe’s taken his sorry self to Alaska? And the spectacles you wore ten years ago – are they really of use now, even as a backup? The corn popper, the milkshake maker, the extra linens, the second TV, the spare dinner service you had to have and the ugly present from Auntie Flo that you kept out of guilt – do you really need them now, or do they sit there like lumps of the past and obstacles to the future? Be honest, here. Wouldn’t it feel better to have the space?

How you approach this project depends on you. You may choose to attack it with a random gusto that leads to temporary chaos, on the principle that you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs. On the other hand, you might prefer to be systematic, taking it room by room or category by category. Whatever the method, the outcome will hopefully be the same: a lot of stuff that’s of no use to you is about to find a better home.

However you choose to dispose of this surplus, the benefits are obvious. If an injection of cash would be helpful, look at the avenues available in your area and online. Someone is certain to need what you don’t, and both of you will come out ahead. If money isn’t an issue, then charities and charity shops are the answer. Need here has a whole different meaning. Don’t underestimate it. Either way, as best you can, you and your ex-possessions are helping rebalance the world’s resources.

But for you personally, this is only the tip of the iceberg. By de-cluttering your home, you’re giving yourself the personal space to grow, rather like a plant when the surrounding weeds are removed. And as a one-person household, you’re in a position to make that new space the cleanest and greenest on the block.

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