Sustainable Living on a Budget

by Mary Imgrund Living ethically and sustainably is a privilege, in that not every household has the means or time to live according to their values; that being said, the idea that you can buy your way out of waste is a marketing ploy by companies who just want your well­-meaning dollars. It’s an oxymoron that you can buy more things to reduce human waste, and frankly the tenets of capitalism and collectivist action are often at odds.

It’s hard to wade through all of these sponsored posts, aspirational blogs, and lifestyle gurus to find out what works for you on your budget. It’s also easy to be discouraged. Personally, I began my journey towards sustainable and ethical living through my insatiable appetite for politics and environmental justice (though I didn’t call it that at the time). Being an activist isn’t just about reading the news or tweeting, so I began changing my lifestyle to better reflect my values. I did it through both undergrad and graduate school, and for a lot of that time, I had next to no money. Here’s my advice on how to do the same, no matter your budget.

1. The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good

The first and most important thing in this journey is to realize that no one is perfect, and just making an effort to stay informed and be an advocate, in any capacity, is the end goal. The destination is the journey.

Don’t feel bad if you need new work shoes or want to buy

something frivolous or order delivery once in a while. The bulk of the blame for pollution and human exploitation lies at the feet of the companies that make that choice. We need policy change in both the private and public sector, and living sustainably is your way of doing what you can today. You don’t need to do everything at once, and you don’t need to hold yourself to ridiculous standards. That just sets you up for for failure.

2. Sustainable Eating

The kitchen is one of the most wasteful rooms of your house, or corners of your dorm. Everything is packaged and a lot of foods have either a high carbon footprint (meat) or cause social harm (quinoa). Whilst I don’t advise you to try to photosynthesize instead, you can make a few very small changes to have a drastic impact. For food, you want to avoid things packaged in plastic - ­and yes, that unfortunately includes vegan meat alternatives. You can DIY many alternatives, like oat milk, which end up being cheaper per pound than what you can get at the grocery store anyway. It’s also not necessary to eat organic food, but you can still try to avoid the “dirty dozen”.

The rest of your kitchen likely generates waste as well. Simple replacements can make a huge impact. For containers, vintage stores are your friend. You can find glassware to store your veggies in to make them last longer, which will be cheap, more easily recyclable than plastic, and look beautiful. Why buy a pack of mason jars on Amazon when you could find dozens for next to nothing at the thrift store?

Finally, if you meal prep and make your lunches for work over the weekend, you won’t need to (or have an excuse to) eat out at the office. These small expenses add up over the weeks, and by avoiding eating out, you’ll be healthier, save money, and live more sustainably. Just make sure you use your reusable containers (which you can get at the thrift store).

3. Invest, Patch, and Thrift

Think of your clothes, no matter how much you paid for them, as an investment. If you can’t afford expensive ethically ­made clothing, that’s ok! These brands (at least the honest ones that aren’t upcharging to pay for advertisements) pay more for their materials and labor, so their pieces are simply worth more. That doesn’t mean that you should treat fast fashion as fast fashion if that’s what you can afford. Learn to patch your clothes, and don’t wash them unless they’re actually dirty. You shouldn’t wash your hair every day, so imagine what happens to your clothes when you wash them harshly after every wear.

Besides treating your clothes with care, when they do rip or become damaged, find ways to fix or repurpose them. Patching and altering clothes extends their life and can often make them look more stylish. Patched elbows can look posh, and there are myriad methods of mending holes artfully, like darning or embroidery. If you do need new clothes, check your local thrift store.

Admittedly, if you live in a rural or suburban area, you might not find such stylish clothes as you’d find in an urban area, but the great thing about thrift stores is that their offerings are always shifting. Thrifting supports a circular economy that continues to give purpose to the goods we’ve already made, which preserves more materials and creates less waste even than recycling.

4. A Sustainable Home

Home renovations are incredibly expensive. I recently walked into a home renovations store to price cabinets and walked right back out when the first I saw was $1,000. If you can afford to pay an artisan to make handmade items, absolutely do so. My boyfriend makes tables and other wooden goods from all salvaged materials, and his clients actually help keep wood from being discarded, but not everyone has that privilege.

Instead of buying new, you can upcycle or refurbish old discarded pieces. It will take time, but stripping ugly paint from otherwise well ­made furniture is an easy process. To select well­ made goods, look for real wood rather than particle board, which is just made from wood scraps and glue. The corners will also reveal its quality - ­look for furniture that meets at a joint, where the wood is cut to fit together rather than glued or bolted at a right angle. It’s amazing how some paint (or lack thereof), new hardware, or new legs can totally transform a piece of furniture. If you learn what to look for, you can find the perfect base for a gorgeous home sitting at the roadside.

5. Just... Buy Fewer Things

This isn’t about suffering. It’s about the freedom that comes with overcoming powerful marketing forces that manipulate you into thinking more stuff will make you happier, fitter, healthier, or more attractive. That doesn’t mean never buy anything, but build in a buffer for yourself. Wait a few hours or days before buying something so you don’t succumb to an impulse buy. I’d also recommend keeping a running list of things you want or need; on mine, I have everything from “sustainable flat black sandals” to “new glasses and contacts.” Be as specific as you can so you know exactly what would improve your capsule wardrobe or what priorities you need to set. Bring it shopping with you so if something doesn't fit your criteria, you don’t buy it. This makes sure that everything you buy is exactly what you wanted and, as Marie Kondo would recommend, is useful or brings you joy.

No matter your budget, living your values is something you can do incrementally, cheaply, and purposefully. If there’s one thing you take from this article, let it be that sustainability has been co­-opted by brands and lifestyle influencers who make it seem aspirational and unattainable. Showing that sustainable food and homes are just as beautiful or satisfying as conventional ones is important when persuading others to change their habits, but sustainability can also be messy, imperfect, and mundane. And that’s OK! You don’t need to live an Instagrammable lifestyle or perfectly curated life. Sustainability isn’t a habit for the rich, it’s something we should all strive for, in our own time and in our own way. SM

About the writer

Mary Imgrund is a writer, entrepreneur, politico, and activist currently living in Harrisburg, PA. She’s the cofounder of a monthly pop­up market for sustainable and artisan goods, the HBG Flea, and a recent graduate of American University where she earned her MA in Political Communication. She believes in social justice, environmentalism, intersectionality, and empathy.