Simply Live Better

In the current issue of Enorm magazine (02/2013), Gisela Baur reports on her experiences with boycotting Amazon. The article concludes with the statement that Ms. Baur will pick up her books directly from the bookseller in the future. Because, "If I order before 5 p.m.," the friendly bookseller on the phone says, he can get me almost any book by 11 a.m. the next day." Günter Wallraff made a similar statement in Die Zeit ("I order my books from the store around the corner. One phone call is all it takes, and sometimes the ordered books arrive the same day"). It's as if the bookseller next door hops on his bike in the evening, cycles to the organic farmer next door, and milks the ordered book from a purely grass-fed cow! Or an above-average paid publishing employee delivers the ordered book in a comfortable company helicopter!

I don't want to defend Amazon here, nor do I want to personally attack Mr. Wallraff or Ms. Baur. However, the solutions proposed by both authors seem somewhat short-sighted, especially since both authors seem to place great importance on very timely delivery. We then considered what we believe are really simple things one can do to live a little more sustainably without having to restrict oneself. Here are a few ideas:

1. Place 1-3 bricks in your toilet cistern. Each brick reduces water consumption per flush by almost 2 liters. The BMU also provides interesting information on water consumption for toilet flushes.
2. Move your account to GLS Bank . Because even if you don't speculate yourself, your bank does. And with your savings deposits. Deutsche Bank , in particular, demonstrates this time and again.
3. Order an organic box from a local farmer. Your money goes directly to the producer, and you get fresh, seasonal produce at the same time. We get our box from Lehmanns Bio Service , for example.
4. Buy an e-book. Newspaper readers and those who read a lot can significantly reduce paper, energy, and ink consumption. An interesting study on this topic comes from the Öko-Institut .
5. And finally, a tip for those who really want to boycott Amazon: Check out the development of Fairnopoly , which might one day become a really good alternative. Dawanda is also a great platform for individual consumption.

We would be happy if you post further suggestions in the comments on how you can make your life more sustainable using simple means.

Thanks & regards,
The City Gardeners