This evening I saw a very thought-provoking film called "Farming in the Millstone Valley" which was about the Farm-to-Table movement and how it helps farming in this region of New Jersey to be sustainable. This means that the farmers who are farming here are making enough money to live on, so that they can offer healthy and organic alternatives, even when their largest competitors are large grocery store chains.
Afterward I got to thinking about how this same concept might apply to living life as a singer and I had some realizations that I'd like to share with you.
There are many ways that singers can live their lives more sustainably, which in turn will help their wallets, time management, and overall productivity.
The following is a list that I came up with as a starting point, though I am sure that there are many ways which I'm not yet aware of that you can boost your productivity while still caring for the earth, your community, and your bottom line. Therefore, please enjoy my list, and if you've got amazing ideas of your own, which I'm sure you do, please share them in the comments below!
1. Take a refillable water bottle with you everywhere you go. Not only will you be properly hydrated and your vocal folds will thank you, but you will also save money and save the planet by avoiding purchasing plastic bottles of water. Plus, I just read today that the reason Reese Witherspoon's skin is so youthful looking is due to the fact that she takes a reusable water bottle with her everywhere she goes, so follow her example and always bring a refillable water bottle with you!
2. Recycle paper by printing on both sides. This might be a no-brainer, but if you've got to print out music, print it on the empty back side of an already printed page that you no longer need. That way you're saving money and paper!
3. Get your printer cartridges refilled instead of buying new ones. While we're on the subject of printing at home, chances are that you've bought your share of ink cartridges after printing out tons of music and resumes. No matter- now you can save money and get your empty cartridges refilled instead of having to buy totally new ones, saving you money and saving the planet! Costco does refills on HP, Canon, Epson and Brother printer cartridges and Walgreens does refills for Sharp, Xerox and Okidata printer cartridges. OfficeMax offers this service too. Lifewire has an article all about it here.
4. Get digital subscriptions. If you're like the rest of us and have already got tons of old editions of Opera News, Opernwelt, Classical Singer, The Journal of Singing and other professional industry publications cluttering your shelves then make the switch to digital subscriptions! You'll save money because often a digital subscription is cheaper than a print subscription, you'll save time by being able to read it on-the-go on your devices, you'll save your back and won't have to tote a bulky magazine with you everywhere, and you may even save your sanity since you can download the issues and save them to a nice file folder on your computer, instead of having to find another space on your shelf for next year's magazines.
5. Invest in a reusable set of travel utensils. Due to our frequent travel and eating-on-the-go you can imagine how many plastic forks, spoons, knives and straws we must throw away in a year's time- yikes! I am sure that our fish, turtle, bird and marine mammal friends will rejoice each time we grab our handy travel utensils instead of using plastic, since they're not recyclable and most often end up being dumped into the oceans somehow or other.
6. Buy a set of musician's earplugs. Instead of using foam earplugs which last maybe 3-5 uses tops and then need to be thrown away, buy a set of musician's earplugs which can be custom-molded to your ear as well as the decibel range that you want to block, and they will last you the rest of your life. (Provided you don't lose them, of course!) ;)
7. Look for your performance attire (and everyday clothing, for that matter!) second-hand. Shopping for new suits, gowns, shoes and accessories might be fun, but it's not always fun for your bank account, nor for the environment or fair for the people who manufacture clothing in third world countries. Besides being significantly cheaper than new, second-hand clothing is often able to be found in quite good condition either on websites like Shoperatic, Poshmark, Letgo, thredUP, Ebay, Vinted, Swap, Tradesy, The Real Real, Vestiaire Collective, Material World, Grailed (for Men's stuff), SnobSwap, Asos Marketplace, The Vintage Twin, Maeven, Refashioner, OR you can visit your local Salvation Army, Goodwill, Plato's Closet, Greene Street, OR-- totally old-school, I know-- you could even hit up yard sales, or get a bunch of your friends together after you've rid your closets of things you no longer want, and host a swap party at your house. All of these options will definitely save you money and perhaps offer the excitement of searching for something that you'll love since now you have so much selection instead of just what's in stores this season (!!!). Plus, clothes that were already worn and washed a few times also have less chemical residue in them from production, unlike new clothing.
8. Carpool. If you've got to go to rehearsal and you live near a colleague who is also going, why not organize a carpool? That way you'll save money by alternating who drives to rehearsal, and you'll get to know your colleagues better on the ride there!
9. Barter with your talented friends and colleagues. If you happen to have a friend who is a web designer, for example, and you need an updated website, then ask them if they'd design your website for you if you watched their dog while they're on vacation (or whatever you both agree is a fair trade). That way you're not paying for anything directly but still getting what you need, and they're getting something that they need too. You're helping one another out which will give you a feeling of satisfaction that money never can, AND reducing the rampant spread of consumerism a bit by keeping money entirely out of the equation.
10. Use sea salt in your Neti Pot. Not only will you be saving money, you will be reducing waste by not throwing all those teeny tiny salt packets away, and you'll still be getting squeaky clean sinuses. What's not to love about that?
11. Buy your Apple Cider Vinegar in bulk. If you're an apple-cider-vinegar-gargler like I am, then you can also save money and reduce packaging waste by buying the largest bottle of ACV that the store offers. Besides, it takes forever for the stuff to go bad, so it's a win-win.
12. Use a tablet when viewing your sheet music instead of printing it out. So I know that I said that if you're printing out your music you should print it on the back side of a piece of paper you no longer need, BUT this is taking that idea one step further. If you already have the majority of your music digitized (a.k.a. you've scanned it into your computer and saved it there as pdf's) then you can view those digitized pieces of music on a tablet and even make notes, write translations, highlight, make colored markings, and whatever else you'd do on actual paper, but on your tablet instead. That way you're saving money and paper by not printing out your music, you're saving pens, Post-It notes, and highlighters by not having to write with them, and you're even saving your back by not having to carry around heavy scores. This means, of course, that you need to own a tablet.... but I'm guessing that the majority of us already do, or know someone nice who would let us borrow theirs.
Okay, I hope that this list has gotten you thinking about how these tips can help you to live your singing life more sustainably, and I am looking forward to your comments and ideas of other methods we can all employ. Every little bit counts!
Afterward I got to thinking about how this same concept might apply to living life as a singer and I had some realizations that I'd like to share with you.
There are many ways that singers can live their lives more sustainably, which in turn will help their wallets, time management, and overall productivity.
The following is a list that I came up with as a starting point, though I am sure that there are many ways which I'm not yet aware of that you can boost your productivity while still caring for the earth, your community, and your bottom line. Therefore, please enjoy my list, and if you've got amazing ideas of your own, which I'm sure you do, please share them in the comments below!
1. Take a refillable water bottle with you everywhere you go. Not only will you be properly hydrated and your vocal folds will thank you, but you will also save money and save the planet by avoiding purchasing plastic bottles of water. Plus, I just read today that the reason Reese Witherspoon's skin is so youthful looking is due to the fact that she takes a reusable water bottle with her everywhere she goes, so follow her example and always bring a refillable water bottle with you!
2. Recycle paper by printing on both sides. This might be a no-brainer, but if you've got to print out music, print it on the empty back side of an already printed page that you no longer need. That way you're saving money and paper!
3. Get your printer cartridges refilled instead of buying new ones. While we're on the subject of printing at home, chances are that you've bought your share of ink cartridges after printing out tons of music and resumes. No matter- now you can save money and get your empty cartridges refilled instead of having to buy totally new ones, saving you money and saving the planet! Costco does refills on HP, Canon, Epson and Brother printer cartridges and Walgreens does refills for Sharp, Xerox and Okidata printer cartridges. OfficeMax offers this service too. Lifewire has an article all about it here.
4. Get digital subscriptions. If you're like the rest of us and have already got tons of old editions of Opera News, Opernwelt, Classical Singer, The Journal of Singing and other professional industry publications cluttering your shelves then make the switch to digital subscriptions! You'll save money because often a digital subscription is cheaper than a print subscription, you'll save time by being able to read it on-the-go on your devices, you'll save your back and won't have to tote a bulky magazine with you everywhere, and you may even save your sanity since you can download the issues and save them to a nice file folder on your computer, instead of having to find another space on your shelf for next year's magazines.
5. Invest in a reusable set of travel utensils. Due to our frequent travel and eating-on-the-go you can imagine how many plastic forks, spoons, knives and straws we must throw away in a year's time- yikes! I am sure that our fish, turtle, bird and marine mammal friends will rejoice each time we grab our handy travel utensils instead of using plastic, since they're not recyclable and most often end up being dumped into the oceans somehow or other.
6. Buy a set of musician's earplugs. Instead of using foam earplugs which last maybe 3-5 uses tops and then need to be thrown away, buy a set of musician's earplugs which can be custom-molded to your ear as well as the decibel range that you want to block, and they will last you the rest of your life. (Provided you don't lose them, of course!) ;)
7. Look for your performance attire (and everyday clothing, for that matter!) second-hand. Shopping for new suits, gowns, shoes and accessories might be fun, but it's not always fun for your bank account, nor for the environment or fair for the people who manufacture clothing in third world countries. Besides being significantly cheaper than new, second-hand clothing is often able to be found in quite good condition either on websites like Shoperatic, Poshmark, Letgo, thredUP, Ebay, Vinted, Swap, Tradesy, The Real Real, Vestiaire Collective, Material World, Grailed (for Men's stuff), SnobSwap, Asos Marketplace, The Vintage Twin, Maeven, Refashioner, OR you can visit your local Salvation Army, Goodwill, Plato's Closet, Greene Street, OR-- totally old-school, I know-- you could even hit up yard sales, or get a bunch of your friends together after you've rid your closets of things you no longer want, and host a swap party at your house. All of these options will definitely save you money and perhaps offer the excitement of searching for something that you'll love since now you have so much selection instead of just what's in stores this season (!!!). Plus, clothes that were already worn and washed a few times also have less chemical residue in them from production, unlike new clothing.
8. Carpool. If you've got to go to rehearsal and you live near a colleague who is also going, why not organize a carpool? That way you'll save money by alternating who drives to rehearsal, and you'll get to know your colleagues better on the ride there!
9. Barter with your talented friends and colleagues. If you happen to have a friend who is a web designer, for example, and you need an updated website, then ask them if they'd design your website for you if you watched their dog while they're on vacation (or whatever you both agree is a fair trade). That way you're not paying for anything directly but still getting what you need, and they're getting something that they need too. You're helping one another out which will give you a feeling of satisfaction that money never can, AND reducing the rampant spread of consumerism a bit by keeping money entirely out of the equation.
10. Use sea salt in your Neti Pot. Not only will you be saving money, you will be reducing waste by not throwing all those teeny tiny salt packets away, and you'll still be getting squeaky clean sinuses. What's not to love about that?
11. Buy your Apple Cider Vinegar in bulk. If you're an apple-cider-vinegar-gargler like I am, then you can also save money and reduce packaging waste by buying the largest bottle of ACV that the store offers. Besides, it takes forever for the stuff to go bad, so it's a win-win.
12. Use a tablet when viewing your sheet music instead of printing it out. So I know that I said that if you're printing out your music you should print it on the back side of a piece of paper you no longer need, BUT this is taking that idea one step further. If you already have the majority of your music digitized (a.k.a. you've scanned it into your computer and saved it there as pdf's) then you can view those digitized pieces of music on a tablet and even make notes, write translations, highlight, make colored markings, and whatever else you'd do on actual paper, but on your tablet instead. That way you're saving money and paper by not printing out your music, you're saving pens, Post-It notes, and highlighters by not having to write with them, and you're even saving your back by not having to carry around heavy scores. This means, of course, that you need to own a tablet.... but I'm guessing that the majority of us already do, or know someone nice who would let us borrow theirs.
Okay, I hope that this list has gotten you thinking about how these tips can help you to live your singing life more sustainably, and I am looking forward to your comments and ideas of other methods we can all employ. Every little bit counts!
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