I am a big fan of auditing my life. We live our lives so much on habit it can be confronting to step back and look at whether if conforms with our values. Many of the things we do that we think are neccessary are not when we examine them closer. Sometimes we need a shock to trigger us into action.
The other advantage of doing an audit is that when you change something you can use it to see your progress. So much change is incremental, it is good to see when you are making progress.
With more time on our hands due to the COVID19 pandemic here is the chance to look at our lives more closely.
Electrical Audit
A logical one to look at for its connection to climate change and as we head into the expensive energy bills of winter is to do an energy audit. First get out your last year's worth of electricity bills. How much do you spend over a year? What is is your winter KWh/day versus your summer KWh/day? How does this compare with other households your size in your area? Then it is time to look at your appliances. This electricity audit calculator from Energy Australia guides you through the process. The biggest energy users in the home are heating, water heating and refrigeration. This guide from SA Government has lots of ideas to save money on electricity.
Petrol Audit
How often do we just pay as we fill up at the bowser without even thinking about the yearly cost of petrol? If you pay by credit or debit card it is an easy matter to use card statements to find your yearly petrol cost. Otherwise keep all your dockets for a month and multiple by 12.
What are we using the car for? Try and write down every trip for a month and its purpose. Over 50% of Australian car trips are for distances less than 3km. While public transport may be avoided right now, how long would it take you to walk or cycle the distance instead?
Water audit
We live in one of the driest continents on Earth and yet don't think about the water coming out of our taps. Check your water meter every day for a week to find your average daily consumption. Have a look at a year's worth of water bills. This water audit from the Victorian Government will guide you through a water audit and suggest ways to reduce your water consumption.
Waste Audit
I actually find this one the most confronting because we are so used to waste being put in the bin and "going away". I usually do a month long plastics audit in July as part of Plastic Free July. But a week's worth of waste audit will take up enough space in your house. Simply keep and measure all the aspects of waste for a week. Obviously organic waste will start to smell so it would be better to just weigh this one. Separate into paper/cardboard, recyclables, soft plastics, organics, clothes and landfill. Notice how much can be recycled it separated better. Notice the problem areas (how could you reduce them?).
Consumption audit
Track non food items purchases for a month. You could keep all dockets for a month or do it retrospectively through card statements (although this will be an underestimate). How much have they cost you? Do you still have them? Were they value for money?
Most of our carbon footprint is due to our consumption rather than our energy use. The energy used to make things and transport them is 80% of our individual footprint. Did you really need the item or could you have borrowed or bought it second hand?
Time audit
This is one I haven't done but should. How do we spend our time and does it correlate with what we say are our values? How much time do you spend commuting each day? How much time do you spend on watching TV or on the internet? How much time do you spend playing with children? This time audit is about work but the idea is the same.
Food Audit
This one can be as simple or detailed as you like depending on what it is you want to know. Keep all the food dockets for a week or a month. A month will give you better data by smoothing out variations. I separate into food categories by cost and mass, I also divide up into local shops vs supermarkets because one of my values is to buy local. This more detailed the data separation (which does take time), the more information you can get, but even a simple add everything up and divide by the number of days and number of people will give you a food cost/person/day.
Two photo essays that inspire me to do audits are Gregg Segal's photos of people lying in a week's waste and Peter Menzel's What the World Eats.
Do audits regularly and you can track your improvements. While audits can help you save money the biggest benefit is making sure how you spend precious money and time aligns with your values.
PS Notice which individual actions are the hardest to change eg plastics on foods, no bike paths in your area. These are the problems you need to work for systemic change on.
The other advantage of doing an audit is that when you change something you can use it to see your progress. So much change is incremental, it is good to see when you are making progress.
With more time on our hands due to the COVID19 pandemic here is the chance to look at our lives more closely.
Electrical Audit
A logical one to look at for its connection to climate change and as we head into the expensive energy bills of winter is to do an energy audit. First get out your last year's worth of electricity bills. How much do you spend over a year? What is is your winter KWh/day versus your summer KWh/day? How does this compare with other households your size in your area? Then it is time to look at your appliances. This electricity audit calculator from Energy Australia guides you through the process. The biggest energy users in the home are heating, water heating and refrigeration. This guide from SA Government has lots of ideas to save money on electricity.
Petrol Audit
How often do we just pay as we fill up at the bowser without even thinking about the yearly cost of petrol? If you pay by credit or debit card it is an easy matter to use card statements to find your yearly petrol cost. Otherwise keep all your dockets for a month and multiple by 12.
What are we using the car for? Try and write down every trip for a month and its purpose. Over 50% of Australian car trips are for distances less than 3km. While public transport may be avoided right now, how long would it take you to walk or cycle the distance instead?
Water audit
We live in one of the driest continents on Earth and yet don't think about the water coming out of our taps. Check your water meter every day for a week to find your average daily consumption. Have a look at a year's worth of water bills. This water audit from the Victorian Government will guide you through a water audit and suggest ways to reduce your water consumption.
Waste Audit
I actually find this one the most confronting because we are so used to waste being put in the bin and "going away". I usually do a month long plastics audit in July as part of Plastic Free July. But a week's worth of waste audit will take up enough space in your house. Simply keep and measure all the aspects of waste for a week. Obviously organic waste will start to smell so it would be better to just weigh this one. Separate into paper/cardboard, recyclables, soft plastics, organics, clothes and landfill. Notice how much can be recycled it separated better. Notice the problem areas (how could you reduce them?).
Consumption audit
Track non food items purchases for a month. You could keep all dockets for a month or do it retrospectively through card statements (although this will be an underestimate). How much have they cost you? Do you still have them? Were they value for money?
Most of our carbon footprint is due to our consumption rather than our energy use. The energy used to make things and transport them is 80% of our individual footprint. Did you really need the item or could you have borrowed or bought it second hand?
Time audit
This is one I haven't done but should. How do we spend our time and does it correlate with what we say are our values? How much time do you spend commuting each day? How much time do you spend on watching TV or on the internet? How much time do you spend playing with children? This time audit is about work but the idea is the same.
Food Audit
This one can be as simple or detailed as you like depending on what it is you want to know. Keep all the food dockets for a week or a month. A month will give you better data by smoothing out variations. I separate into food categories by cost and mass, I also divide up into local shops vs supermarkets because one of my values is to buy local. This more detailed the data separation (which does take time), the more information you can get, but even a simple add everything up and divide by the number of days and number of people will give you a food cost/person/day.
Two photo essays that inspire me to do audits are Gregg Segal's photos of people lying in a week's waste and Peter Menzel's What the World Eats.
Do audits regularly and you can track your improvements. While audits can help you save money the biggest benefit is making sure how you spend precious money and time aligns with your values.
PS Notice which individual actions are the hardest to change eg plastics on foods, no bike paths in your area. These are the problems you need to work for systemic change on.
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