10 Accessible Sustainable Living Ideas for Disabled People

Introduction

Before I start talking about sustainable living, I need to give you an update on my website’s accessibility. You may notice that there is now a little disabled block in the top left corner. This is what it can do when you click on it: change the font size, alter the contrast & colors of the general site, add link underlines, and switch to my sitemap (for screen readers) on both desktop and mobile view. Additionally, I finally figured out how to add a table of contents to my posts and am doing as much as I can to make my blog even more accessible. However, it can be difficult for someone who’s also disabled with wrist pain issues and terrible skills with tech and coding to figure out. Please be patient. Unsurprisingly, accessibility for websites is way more complicated than you’d think it’d have to be. With all that out of the way, let’s get into what some are calling eco-crip theory or practicing accessible sustainability or what I’m calling it ‘sustainable living for spoonies and disabled people’ for simplicity’s sake.

For my fellow spoonies who care about the environment, you may have noticed that eco-ableism is extremely frustrating and is still running rampant in the sustainable living side of things. At this point in time, it is difficult to even find accessible ideas for being eco-friendly. That’s why I want to add to the idea list. Most of these will probably be mentioned by abled environmental activists. so I’ve either adapted them to make them more accessible or simply clarified how you can do this by sharing some examples of people this sustainable living trick would be best for. Of course, you know your body best and what you’re capable of. Let me know in the comments ways that you practice sustainable living that are beneficial to disabled people or widely accessible financially and disability-wise!

1. Trading Disposable Items for Reusable or Sustainable Ones

Best for: people with temporary disabilities and whose energy levels are not affected by their disability, but also anyone with enough patience to make it work. Please keep in mind, that some disposable items may actually be safer for us spoonies and don’t force yourself to do something that is not safe or healthy for you.

Some of these are things that I think are actually easier and cheaper for everyone. For example, if you have the spoons to wash more dishes and laundry, you can save money and be eco-friendly by not buying disposable paper plates and towels. However, there are also a lot of sustainable items that save money, last longer, and are easier to use, too! Some of these are metal safety razors if you shave, softer bamboo hair brushes, silicone baking mats, reusable shopping bags, period products (period underwear, washable pads, or menstrual cups), cotton soap savers, and bar soaps (i.e. soap – the disposable container) to name a few ideas. All of these products may be a little more expensive at first but are generally much easier to use and/or maintain and better for the environment overall. This part of sustainable living is often done by necessity and, I don’t know, that’s just something to think about.

2. Reusing Necessary Disposables for as Long as It’s Safe to Do so

Best for: people with less energy or low spoons, who are having a flare-up, who need certain disposable products and do not have a way to get around it, and who have disabilities affecting their mental health, hand mobility, and swallowing abilities or have joint pain (this is not exhaustive, but I think you get the idea).

When I’m talking about necessary disposables, I’m not referring to disposable medical equipment. Please follow the instructions for those things! What I am talking about, though, is plastic straws, plastic silverware, plastic yogurt cups, etc. You’d be surprised to see the number of ways you can reuse these items that aren’t what they’re made for. Some of them can be washed and safely used again and others can be turned into cool art projects! If you aren’t sure what to do with them, you can make quick and easy (or hard and long) projects with plastic bottles, shrinky dinks from red solo cups, and jewelry with straws. Not only are these fun and wonderful distractions from pain, but they can also give you something to do when you’re bored out of your mind and can’t leave the house.

3. Shopping at Thrift & Bulk Stores

Best for: people who need a new outfit NOW or who love to sew, whose energy levels are not affected by their disability, who don’t have immune compromising conditions for in person shopping, who have the mobility capacity (or helpful aids) to be able to shop in person or the patience to find their favorites when shopping online,

If you want to thrift online, I would highly recommend the following: Etsy, Ebay, Mercari, Thredup, and Poshmark. If you can, try to make sure that what you’re buying hasn’t been stored around smoke. I find that really easy to forget even though it definitely gives me headaches.

For thrifting in person, be careful of spending too much time in the store if you have allergies. I guarantee you will get a headache if you get up close and personal with some second hand books or furniture. Other than that, if you decide to go with the whole pandemic thing going on, please wear a mask and wash your hands. Try to support local stores in addition to Samaritan’s Purse/Goodwill. That way you can give back directly to your community. Sustainable living isn’t just about taking care of the earth but also your local community.

4. Reading Books From the Library or on an E-Reader

Best for: the e-reader is great for people with low spoons, fatigue, decreased hand mobility or hand pain, dyslexia (with the font OpenDyslexic), and sight problems (here’s info about the kindle’s accessibility)

Right now it can be kind of hard to get to the library, but that’s what makes OverDrive, Libby, and the kindle store so amazing (plus, you can ask your library to get a copy of my ebook if you’d like). E-readers are really cool because they aren’t as heavy for your hands and taxing to read on your eyes. Additionally, older kindles don’t have any blue light and the Kindle Paperwhite apparently emits less than your phone. So for anyone who gets headaches from their screens (like me), you may want to stop reading on your phone as soon as possible.

I know some libraries still aren’t open, but when things get back to normal. It is definitely a fun, low-energy consuming way to save money and the planet. As someone who worked in a library, I recommend that you go to your local library’s website and see what events they have going on. You’d be surprised to see just how fun it is (that is not meant to be sarcastic) and also how many of them practice sustainable living as well.

5. Doing Less on the Internet (Wifi & Data)

Best for: people with headaches and migraines triggered by blue light, with learning disabilities that make you easily distracted, with mental illnesses that make it more difficult to not compare yourself, and I think it’s good for everyone in general.

This might come as an unfortunate shock, but wifi, data, and storage on the cloud do not come without taking a toll on the environment. For specifics, you can watch Gittemary Johansen’s video if you’re interested. The TLDR is that there are a ton of unregulated centers providing you with fabulous online connection but also overheating non-stop. They require a ton of resources and electricity and are not kind to the earth. While spending less time on the internet is a small choice that doesn’t make a huge impact for one person, it does for billions. The more people start to take breaks from being online the less energy and space the data centers require. Sustainable living for the win!

6. Switching Print Communications, Coupons, & Receipts to Email

Best for: Anyone who has the time and patience to make the switch

You can start this process by putting a ‘No Junk Mail’ sticker on your mailbox and move ahead at the pace that works best for you. Most stores will ask at the register how you want your receipt. Getting receipts texted to me is kind of annoying, so I would create a special email just for stuff like this. That way it doesn’t trash your current email. Also, a lot of stores have apps where you can find all of the deals and coupons instead of printing them out. If you still get the news in paper form, try subscribing to a local news source (to support journalism near you) and read the articles online instead. Switching bills to a paperless format might be a little more complicated, but by not overdoing it and trying to switch everything at once, you can save your health and make sure you get it done correctly.

6. Composting Your Food Scraps

Best for: By using accessible easy-to-open containers, composting at home or at a place near you, and safely disposing food scraps (that one’s for the people like me with chronic clumsiness), this can also be done by most people

Things that are universally compostable:

1. Fruit and vegetable scraps
2. (Crushed) eggshells
3. Coffee grounds, filters, tea leaves, and bags (no staples)
4. Hair & fur
5. Shredded paper (not glossy) and cardboard
6. Dead plants and leaves
7. Peanut shells
8. Seaweed (rinse first)
9. Lint (preferably natural)
10. Hay & straw

Do not compost dairy and meat related products!!! Also, if you’re composting through another organization, make sure you know what they do and don’t accept. Even though compostable plastic does exist, most places do not accept it in their compost bins. If you’ve never composted before, it can sound really complicated but there’s no need to be scared. It’s actually super easy once you get used to it!

7. Reducing Water Use Only to What You Actually Need

Best for: people who wanna save money (as far as I know, most people can do at least one of these without any issues)

If you have dysautonomia, please know that I am not talking about the water we need to drink. Do what you need to do. However, you can reduce water in other ways like turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth or wash you hands, taking shorter showers/baths, using faucet heads that reduce water automatically, and even doing the “half flush” (this is where you flush the toilet with only half the water used because American toilets use way too much). The reason why water conservation is a sustainable practice is because it has been shown to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well, it keeps our limited supply of water pure and clean for longer, lowers the occurrence of sinkholes, protects natural sinkholes, and many more.

8. Recycling or Reusing Medicine Bottles & Anything Else You’re Able to

Best for: people with lots of medications to take *ME* and/or who use a lot of disposable recyclables

Sustainable living doesn’t just involve cute crafts with junk, although what’s not to like about that? There are plenty of crafts you can do with shampoo containers, medicine bottles, and all the other plastic villains. However, more and more places are beginning to accept number 5 plastics (which is what most medicine bottles are made out of) and that means many people can include them in their regular recycling. You can also search for organizations, hospitals, and non-profits to send clean medicine containers to if aren’t able to reuse or recycle them locally. I’ve never tried it before, but there are now programs like TerraCycle that allow you to recycle all kinds of packaging for free that you couldn’t before. You mail it to them and they give it back to the companies. Some partners include: Bausch + Lomb, Bic, Brita, Burt’s Bees, Colgate, Eos, Febreeze, Hasbro toys, Popsockets, Tom’s of Maine, Rubbermaid, and even cigarette waste. Also, if you’re thinking about buying a new phone, don’t forget to properly recycle your old tech. Companies like Apple allow you to do so and get a discount depending on your model.

9. Using a Search Engine Like Ecosia

Best for: anyone with a disability can do this one

While there’s some debate over whether or not Ecosia and search engines like it are genuinely making a difference, almost all reviews, information, and documented “proof” seems to point to Ecosia making a difference. The only potential issue with Ecosia is that it’s not as secure as a search engine like Aloha or Brave. However, it is just as safe as the usual search engines like Google or Bing (because it’s framework is based on Bing). For some more detailed information, check out Path Around the World’s Amazing Review. If you aren’t worried about privacy, then I don’t see how can hurt.

10. Taking Notes for Class on a Tablet With a Keyboard or Digital Pencil

Best for: people with tremors, limited hand mobility or hand pain, who have learning disabilities and need the built in organization/lack of cluttering,

This is something I’m trying to do more of, but it can be difficult to get started when there’s not a lot out there. That’s part of the reason why I designed my five year journal and planner for womxn with mental and/or chronic illnesses. There are plenty of options that are easy enough to find on Etsy, but other than that getting into it can be a difficult jump. That’s why I’d like to share all of the apps, products, and resources I can find to make it as easy, inexpensive, and accessible as possible. Part of this is because I have hand pain, tremors, and a learning disability and I’ve been putting off actually doing the research.

Typing Your Notes

I am currently using this keyboard (not an affiliate link) from Amazon and it is AMAZING. You can toggle between two devices with ease and there’s even a cover for the keys, cute colors to choose from, and a slot for your phone. It’s pretty easy to connect and causes a lot less pain (and frustration) than my laptop.

You can use apps for typing notes on your tablet/phone like Notes, Google Keep, Google Docs, Evernote, and OneNote,

Using a Stylus/Pencil

I am very lucky to have an expensive tablet. I have the old Ipad Pro and 2nd generation Apple Pencil. I got it for graphic design and handlettering after (or shortly before) my tremor made it to where handlettering with a pen and paper rarely ever looks good. I used it to design my ‘You are Safe Here’ sticker and find that it hurts a lot less than normal writing in addition to being easier to do with a tremor.

You can use apps for writing your notes on your tablet/phone like Notes, Evernote, OneNote, Notability, GoodNotes, Xoho, and even Pages. I’ve been using Pages to do all of my math worksheets since I don’t have easy access to a printer.

Conclusion

These are my top ten ideas for people with disabilities to join the sustainable living movement in an accessible and easier way. I know this post is a little late, but I finally got back my laptop and have been very busy with schoolwork. Uhm, I unsurprisingly ended up getting so sucked into the election earlier this week that I forgot to do two assignments until after they were due. By the time I remembered them, they were over 24 hours past due. So, it’s been a little stressful. But, I’m still trying to take care of the earth, get good grades, and focus on my health. I am so ready for a break, though. Anyway, until next time!