Alison's Principles

"These are some of my principles for work and living.

I welcome your principles and ideas or those of others that you believe can inspire change Alison"

Principle one: decrease unnecessary consumption by reducing, re-using, recycling and sharing, caring, preserving and conserving

Reduce: avoid buying what you don't need and when you do, buy high quality, efficient products that you really love. Re-use: buy used items, especially for short-term needs, such as prams and high chairs. Recycle: do it, but know that it's the last and least effective leg of the triad. Share: pass things along to others. Care: think twice before buying anything, and ask yourself if you truly need it, or are going to still want it in a year. Preserve: take care of the items you do own, so that these items can serve you longer. Conserve: limit your waste, and wring every bit of usefulness out of the items you do own.

Principle two: organise yourself
Think and plan to create more time for you and better use of resources. For instance, stack your meetings so that you save time and energy. Five minutes of planning can save a lot of headache and can free you up to paddle, picnic or just ponder.

Principle three: stay close to home for everday living
Work close to home to shorten your commute; eat food grown nearby; support local businesses; join local organisations and community groups. All of these will improve the look, shape, smell, and feel of your community.

Principle four: eat for the future and for pleasure

Avoid food grown with pesticides, in feedlots, or by agribusiness. Cook from scratch as much as possible to avoid packaging and loss of flavour. Make meals a time to relax, and really enjoy the process. Don’t take the shortcuts – kneading dough or whisking eggs is therapeutic and a pleasure in itself.

Principle five: vote with your wallet

Your purchases should support environmentally aware practices, so private businesses are encouraged to reduce their impact on the earth. Buy from artisans and encourage artists so that we continue to have the weavers, sewers and painters.

Principle six: think and act for the long term

Take actions that have long lasting benefits, even if a quick fix seems the easiest route. More work now will mean less work eventually. [Permaculture] is a fantastic example – it’s a design system based on ethics and principles that can be used to establish, design, manage and improve all efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future.http://www.permacultureprinciples.com/
Principle seven: prioritise

Establish what is important to you, and tailor your actions accordingly. By channelling your money, energy and time to what matters to you, you will become a happier person.

Principle eight: vote for the future

Short-term handouts and fixes don’t solve issues; education does. Political engagement enables the spread of environmentally conscious policies. However, without public action, even effective policy can’t succeed.

Principle nine: respect others

Each of us has something to contribute to society. Simply listening to those around you may be the best action you can take.

Principle ten: enjoy the environment and create pleasure

There are things that are yours alone, and there are things that belong to none of us. Those things that we cannot manufacture and should never own – water, air and trees – are the foundation of life's pleasures so enjoy them but leave them alone.