We know life can get busy and sometimes that means taking care of ourselves will slip down the priority list. We have been guilty of this too! But in order for you to keep taking care of others and the planet, you need to take care of yourself first. Think oxygen masks on a plane.
With a healthy mind and body, you’ll be unstoppable so, Zero Co have put together a guide to help you take care of numero uno while keeping it sustainable. Look good, feel good!
What is Sustainable Self Care?
Self-care is creating small moments of time to focus on improving your emotional and physical well-being. This can be as simple as choosing nutritious, balanced meals to fuel your body, getting enough sleep or catching up with friends for a good belly laugh.
Beyond all of the personal perks like increased productivity, higher self-esteem, more work-life balance and less burnout, a quality self-care routine considers environmental impacts along the way. By incorporating eco-friendly practices, you’re doing both yourself and the planet a solid favour. But you can’t pour from an empty cup, so let’s get started!
How to improve sustainability in your self care routine
There’s the old saying that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit but let’s go one better and try it for a month. January is like the free trial month of the year so, when February rolls around, challenge yourself to implement these self-care tips in a way that is sustainable for you and for the planet. Win - win!
1- Pamper Using Eco-Friendly Body Products With Natural Ingredients
Say goodbye to harsh chemicals, synthetic fragrances and single-use plastic, say hello to Zero Co body care products. When you’re jumping in the shower to wash away the stress of the day, show a little love for the skin you’re in by lathering up with our plastic-busting, planet-friendly products. They contain nourishing oils and botanicals to leave your hair and body feeling fresh and smelling fancy! For those who love to soak, our body wash doubles as an epic bubble bath so while you kick back and relax in the tub, we’ll be out here doing the leg work to untrash the planet. Feeling better already?
2- Have A Local Staycation
There’s a reason we all get bitten by the travel bug. Exploring new places encourages us to get outside in the fresh air and fuels our sense of adventure. So why not do this in your own backyard? Planning a staycation in your local area allows you to discover hidden gems and appreciate the beauty of your own community while keeping your carbon emissions low. By ditching the plane ticket there will be more room in the budget to look into eco-friendly accommodation, take notes for what you can implement in your own home! You can also rope a friend or partner into activities you wouldn't normally do at home. These shared experiences help strengthen your relationships all while giving you a chance to unwind. We’ve got a whole blog on eco-friendly travel tips to help you plan a sustainable staycation!
3- Practice Gratitude & Mindfulness
From a quiet moment with your morning coffee to a full meditation or yoga flow, practicing mindfulness comes in all shapes and sizes. The main goal is to bring your attention to the present moment, accepting all thoughts as they come and go without judgement. Mindfulness helps you break free from the cycle of negative thoughts and emotions that fuel stress and anxiety. Deep breaths!
Gratitude, on the other hand, is where you focus on what you’re thankful for in your life. A whole bundle of research in the positive psychology field found that by focusing on three good things that happened in your day for 30 days can drastically improve your mood and your quality of sleep. Three Good Things is an app that prompts you to jot down your daily highlights without wasting any paper. Research shows that after a while you’ll be naturally rewired to focus on the good and be more open to opportunities that float your way.
4- Declutter & Donate
There’s a reason we choose the one clean and orderly corner of our home for all our zoom calls. Visual clutter is the result of items not having a designated place in our home and the mess can make us feel embarrassed. It’s also directly linked with anxiety and procrastination. Ick! Free up your mind and your home from the weight of unwanted or unused items by donating them to local charity stores or by listing them on marketplaces and apps like Olio. For items too stained or ripped to donate, don’t throw them in the trash, try Upparel, Australia’s leaders in textile recovery and recycling.
5- Spend Less Time On Your Phone
How often do you reach for your phone when you first wake up or find yourself distracted from a task by notifications? Yes, our phones are an important tool for connection, but too much mindless scrolling can leave us feeling flat or sometimes a little blue. Speaking of blue, the blue light emitted from our phones can mess with our brainwaves, making it harder for us to fall asleep! We can combat some of these problems by adjusting the brightness display to night shift and while you’re at it also check out the bedtime function. Whilst you’re at it, set screen time limits on your social media and start to pay attention when something you scroll past makes you feel a little lousy, then use unfollow or mute options. By weaning yourself off your phone before bed you’ll see drastic results in your sleep quality and mood. You’ll be catching more Z’s in no time!
It’s time to put yourself and the planet first so you both feel beautiful, healthy and ready to tackle 2023 head first. Challenge accepted!
Zero Co's Mission to Untrash the Planet
Did you know that by using Zero Co’s reusable products, you are actively helping to fund cleanup projects around the world and pull rubbish out of our natural environment? We use the HDPE plastic collected at cleanups to make our reusable Forever Bottles that you can keep and refill at your place, forever. That feels good, right?
To date, Zero Co has removed over 3,407,761 water bottles worth of rubbish from our planet and stopped the equivalent of 2,132,596 water bottles from being made, used once and thrown away. We do all this to ensure our planet stays plastic-free and beautiful, so future generations can enjoy the natural beauty that we have on our own adventures. So whilst you’re refilling your body care and looking after number one, we’ll continue to Untrash the Planet.
You can read more about our plastic-busting mission over here!
.jpg?v=1649893142)
-copy.jpg?v=1649890428)
