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Environmentally friendly daily life
Sustainable Cleaning – A Guide to Reducing Consumption
Do you need all this? (Symbolic image) Photo
© Photo Alliance/dpa
Objects pile up in our homes, of which only a small fraction is used. But throwing things away is not particularly sustainable. Together with citizens, the Technical University of Berlin has developed guidelines.
Reflective cleaning: Technical universities and citizens working together Berlin (TU) has developed a guide to living a more sustainable lifestyle. In a citizen science project called “My Stuff – I am what I don’t have”, TU has developed exercises for living a low-resource lifestyle. These are listed in the “Consumer Guide”.
The average citizen who participated in the campaign owns around 1,500 items: clothes, books, electronics, kitchen utensils. Between 30 and 60 percent are actively used, the rest lie unused. The scientists asked themselves how thoughtful decluttering could reduce the number of new purchases in the long run. Consumption-Kompass is an interactive guide designed to help people deal with their possessions and spending behaviour, and spend less in the long run.
Users go through four stages. The first stage is exploring your own possessions: When and why did this item come into my apartment? Does it bring me joy? Would I buy it again? These and other questions should help you gain a comprehensive understanding of your possessions and their value to yourself.
Repair, Donate, Sell
The second stage involves cleaning up. The guide explains why cleaning up can be a pain and suggests exercises to help you with the task. With the help of various exercises, several objects should leave the house every day.
But in the spirit of sustainability, not everything should simply be thrown away. The third stage is continued use, including use by others: the focus is on repairing, donating, selling, giving away or exchanging. The guide shows links, for example, on how to creatively fill holes in clothing and lists charitable projects that accept donations.
The fourth stage is sticking with it. Here, the guide offers tips on how to repeat new, more sustainable behaviors so that they become a habit and you don’t fall into old buying patterns. The researchers say this guide can lead to less consumption in the long run.
Reduce compass consumption
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