ᐅ How to live an environmentally friendly life?

MachsSelbst schrieb:

But what then? Don’t say it’s about the environment or CO2, or else we might as well start the debate about what a single-family house with 160m² (1,722 sq ft) plus a double garage and stone terrace means for the environment. Or the annual holiday flight to the Mediterranean or to the South Pacific, depending on the budget.

It’s about efficiency. So partly about what you’re saying.
I don’t have a double garage, holiday flights, etc. The stone terrace was already there.
But honestly – almost shocking – I find the complete uselessness. Holidays create memories, even a garage provides workspace and storage.
Washing outerwear that has only been worn once but is still clean achieves absolutely nothing except consuming time and resources for… for what exactly?

I once had a girlfriend who liked the fresh smell of laundry... who are you to judge that? Morality police? A block warden monitoring the neighborhood's water usage?

You can also take a vacation at the Baltic Sea or a local quarry lake.

Try to tolerate other ways of life instead of seeing only your own as the right one.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

I once had a girlfriend who liked the fresh scent of laundry... who are you to judge that? Morality police? A block warden monitoring the neighborhood’s water usage?
You can also vacation at the Baltic Sea or at a quarry lake.

Try to tolerate different lifestyles instead of seeing only your own as correct?

Please try to read comments as if there is no judgmental subtext.
You are opposing something you assume about me. I did not write that. Nor did I mean it.

I am a natural scientist. When I describe something, it is exactly what is stated. Nothing more, nothing less.

My feelings about facts are not judgments of those facts.

Fene1907 schrieb:

Hello, it’s been pretty quiet here lately, so I wanted to ask what the first month of savings has brought. How’s the sale of the apartments going? Please keep us updated. By the way, last month I saved 40€ just by drinking tap water.

therealhotboy schrieb:

Update

I hadn’t posted because nothing had happened, and I wanted to wait until there were updates. Now, there are some news.

Update 1

Apartment number 1 was sold by notarial deed for 125,000 euros. That amount is now fully available as equity. More apartments are on the market, and we’re optimistic. My goal is to reach 500,000 euros.

Update 2

The savings plan is still going very well. We have two main areas where we save.

Topic 1: Sustainability

We save on things like water, food (leftovers), electricity, heating, etc. These are small things, like not washing clothes after every wear but wearing them several times, or eating food after its expiration date—so far, no stomach issues. We used to throw away a lot; that has improved significantly. Environmentally, we’re doing great and saving money at the same time. My wife is fully on board.

Topic 2: Fixed Expenses

We’re cutting back more and more here. We’ve become serious bargain shoppers. On weekends, we check flyers (online), and if there are deals, we buy in “bulk.” Also, restaurant visits are now only for special occasions—when friends are visiting or there’s an event.

Update 3

My wife wants to move out of our current living situation as soon as possible and is fully supportive. We want to finally realize our dream of owning a house. Our current apartment is simply too small; we can’t invite anyone over, we have no outdoor space, no room for privacy. I’ve understood that I can’t take everything away from my wife—women need some “personal space,” nice clothes, perfumes, hair extensions with real hair. Some things have been reduced, but my initial idea was no expensive perfumes, no costly makeup, no clothes except from Shein.

It’s going well.

Outlook:

The year 2025 will be for preparation (building capital through selling apartments + savings).

In 2026, we plan to take action with stronger equity (semi-detached house or single-family home).

You want to buy a 700,000 (optional: ~£570,000 / ~AU$1,100,000) house with 500,000 euros (optional: ~£410,000 / ~AU$780,000) equity, so taking out a 300,000 euro (optional: ~£250,000 / ~AU$470,000) mortgage? What’s the problem with adjusting your lifestyle for that?

chand1986 schrieb:

Sorry if this sounds more offensive than I actually mean it: How often do you do laundry? Who does the laundry in your household?

My wife and I. No children. We both do the laundry. I sometimes work from home, my wife works shifts. At the office, I wear a suit and shirt. There are more than a dozen suits and dozens of shirts hanging in the closet. When I am at the office, it’s always for about 10 to 12 hours. You can’t wear a suit twice... Pants and shirts get creased. Shirts and suits go to the dry cleaners once a week. My wife wears tops more than once. Bath towels for showering are used multiple times. Towels for guests/hands/face are small towels that go into the laundry basket after one use and are washed weekly. Pajamas are worn for several days. I don’t own a tracksuit or anything similar.

Now, back to the topic.

therealhotboy schrieb:


[...]
Topic 1 Sustainability
[...] Environmentally, we are doing great [...]
no clothes (only Shein now)
[...]

I find that a bit odd...

Otherwise: Great that the apartment sale worked out, and best of luck going forward!