At the start of this year, alongside planning for work and life, I set out some small changes for myself, intentions to do things a little differently in 2025. I wanted to try to make more ethical choices and also to support local businesses more, as well as finding more joy in small things. It was a bit of an experiment of how much I could change things for myself, and also how to build new habits to replace behaviours I wanted to stop.
If social media is anything to go by, these kinds of changes take 30 seconds and look idyllic and idealised. So, using various coaching approaches, I wanted to find out how easy or hard these kind of changes are. Here is how I got on:
Amazon abstinence
Giving up ordering things on Amazon seemed the least achievable of my goals, and yet it has been very straight forward to make happen. I stopped ordering things in January, and although in the first month I found myself in situations in which I did revert back to ordering something (for example when the dog was will and I needed probiotic paste at the weekend) I haven’t found it difficult to give up since.
One hairy issue has been audiobooks, and I am still in the process of moving from Audible to something else, currently I am trying out both our local library app, BorrowBox, which is amazing, and also Libro.fm, which I am just getting started with.
The most difficult situation was a work trip for which I needed a specific adaptor and I wanted to get this in an electronic shop, which it turned out doesn’t stock them anymore (because everyone orders them on Amazon). Although I did eventually find the item I needed in a shop, it taught me to check ahead and compare pricing, instead of just assuming that the shop will have it in stock.
The upside has been that I have reverted back to buying things from more specialised stores, which often have a much better selection, infinitely more customer service and more related products to discover. Which brings me to my second aim… .
Shop local
I love living in Cardiff, a small capital city which has a wonderful selection of independent local shops, cafes and businesses. I do most of my shopping locally already, and this year I have tried out a few new things to increase the ratio even more. I have joined a local book club which meets once a month in an arts centre which is near to a whole high street of small shops, so I can pick up things when I go to one of our meetings.
I’ve also tried out a “wine passport”, a local initiative to discover new bars and restaurants, which enables you to try a glass of wine at participating local spots and comes with a handy guide to them. This turned out to be more successful than I had expected, and at least a few of the places we tried are now firmly on the radar for the next outing into town.
Trying out things in person has really helped me shop local more often, and become a lot of fun along the way.
Veg Box
One thing I have found however is that I don’t have time regularly enough to rely on fresh produce from shops or markets, particularly not during the week when things are busy. After some trial and error I found a veg box delivery service that fits well into my routine, and allows me to get fresh produce delivered regularly.
The added benefit is that it makes me try new things, and eat more variety than I otherwise would, and there’s the option to order the occasional treat alongside the veggies as there is a whole selection to choose from. Packaging, all plastic free, goes back each week to be re-used and recycled, which is another bonus.
Declutter
In addition to buying less and more local, I have started to focus on decluttering, trying to bring some order to the remnants of pandemic years spent largely cooped up at home. This is the least well defined intention, because I don’t have a particular end in mind here. It’s more of an overall sense of trying to get individual spaces, like a bathroom or my desk, to be aligned with their purpose, rather than stacking and storing everything everywhere.
Running my own business has made me more appreciative of local businesses supporting each other, and I am looking forward to continuing with these small changes in the coming months.