One good thing that the COVID has taught us all is to live sustainably – to recycle, reduce and reuse. As the people took social distancing seriously, the start of the COVID lock-down has pooled the social media with all the variants of do it yourselves posts and videos right from making fancy food to home decors to what not. It is sad that pandemic has to teach us to live a sustainable and environment friendly life; to differentiate between the real essentials from luxuries; to teach the visionary corporate giants to switch to a echo-friendly, more productive, cost effective work from home model; While we are in the hopes of recovery with the vaccination drives, the COVID had other ideas, it came with variant after variant, with wave after wave moving from one part of the world to another ruthlessly. Remember, this shall also pass.
We still are the blessed ones, for we are living in this beautiful fragile blue planet, sharing it with millions of species of flora and fauna. We have been hearing a lot about global warming and drastic climate changes that could leave us with an uninhabitable planet sooner. If unattended, this is not going to by in the distant future but well within our lifespan leaving us witness drowning coastal cities and extinct species of birds and animals that are alive today. We all have our parts to play for building economic and administrative models to run our companies and the countries aligning to the goal of conserving the environment. I mentioned sustainable economic model only to remind that there is a huge economic gap created during the lockdown on various capacities starting from daily waged to the business moguls.
That being said, creating a more sustainable earth begins from within and begins with baby steps as we act responsibly, as we conserve water, as we reduce the use of air conditioners, as we prefer public transport, as we turn off the lights after use and as we consume responsibly. So, I am going to press some of my DIYs in this series of posts titled recycle, reduce and reuse to encourage myself and others to contribute towards the shared goal of creating a sustainable planet for the sake of us and our future generations.
Jumping to the fun part, the DIY. We all have those favourite pair of shoes that we love, this is an attempt to restore one such shoes. Those who are into leather goods definitively know that the leather can look new even after years with proper maintenance. But unfortunately not this time with my three year old Natualizer pumps that I love so much for the comfortable cushy leather sole that hardly bites your feet. While the exterior of the shoes look brand new even after hundreds of wears, and yet the interior is literally incorrigible. Just that untreated leather and water are like tom and jerry, a leather sole is a bad idea for a sweaty feet that is unavoidable for the weather in Chennai. To restore it to the past glory, all I needed were a pair of insoles that costed me 300 Indian rupees and a pair of scissors along with some 15 minutes of my time and patience. As every little contribution counts, I am satisfied not just with the outcome but also for taking my baby steps towards a goal of creating a sustainable earth. Let us all consume responsibly, recycle, reduce and reuse.
Sharmili unplugged....... 