As I Get Older, The Fussier I Get About How I Live My Life

For a Good Beach Clean Up You Need Plastic Bags to Toss The Rubbish Into.

Let me list some of the ways in which I annoyingly make life harder for myself - and everyone around me - as I get older and more conscious of what we put into ourselves, and what we put out into the world. And yes, I am irritating myself with this, but I’m doing it anyway.

1. I ask where the meat came from. I eat very little meat these days, and when I do, I want to know where it came from. I refuse to deny anything from my diet, but what I do consume, I want to consume consciously. Were the pigs happy while they lived? Did the chickens roam freely and eat delicious grassy bits that make them and their eggs taste delicious? Why did you cut off the fat? That’s the best bit! (all these lessons learned from Richard Bosman, the Boss of Bacon - currently celebrating 10 years in the business of sustainable cured meats.)
2. I check the SASSI list of endangered seafood. I mean, as above. When I do eat it, I want to be bountiful and sustaining. Also tasty. Don’t look at me like that, it’s not my fault that the Red Stumpnose is on the red list! Let’s have snoek instead. Grreeeeeeeen, baby, green.
3. I check the recycling labels and I get super angry at all the wasted plastic. I have started to eat tinned soup again, because the soup in plastic packets can’t be recycled. Are you joking? Who still does this? Yes, I’m looking at you Woolies. So much of your plastic is non-recyclable. WHY?
4. I don’t have a plastic shopping bag to throw a wet towel into. Or take to the beach to do a walk and clean up. I mean, pesky, but also I’m pretty proud that I have only acquired two plastic bags in six months of daily and weekly shopping – both of which I have reused to literal death. And recycled.
5. I take 90-second showers and I check up on my app that you do too. If you shower in my house, you do the on-off-soap-up-on-off-scrub-on-rinse-off thing. We learned it during the great Cape Town drought of 2017/18 and it’s a good way to know you aren’t wasting water. I have a smart water meter and an app and I’m going to use it to make sure you follow the rules too. BOOM.
6. Obviously I don’t use plastic straws. But I also don’t use paper ones either. We are really adult enough to manage to drink liquids without a straw, no?
7. I have a black travel mug for my tea. I have a pink one that goes on weekends away, trips and overnights. I have another one (branded Jason Bakery) for coffee that I take to coffee houses of all brands and chuckle as I ask them to please use my cup. To their credit, they always do. I find it super convenient and don’t think its hard, and sometimes your get money off. So do it!
8. I only use biodegradable sheets masks to keep me looking young – thank you The Body Shop Drops of Youth. I’m so sorry, I just won’t use the ones you’ve given me that are going to clog up the ocean and kill a small sea creature.

My Travel Mug Goes Everywhere With Me. From Parow to Alaska.

Everything on this list is slightly annoying for someone. I know that. But I also know there is so much more I could do, and it’s a non-negotiable to do whatever small thing you can, to try an make up for the damage that we have inflicted on this planet. Especially my age group peers. We’ve been around for five decades; the least we can do is help out. Maybe there are some ideas in the list you can also adopt? As you know, sometimes it’s a little bit fun to irritate others.😀