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Review: Sustainable Home

Sustainable Home book cover on blue background

I found encountered Christine Liu's content on her YouTube channel several years back. In fact, I would say that she has been an instrumental person in helping me to live as sustainable a life I can as a Christian. A believer herself, her content reflects her desire to love God and to love other people by not getting encumbered by the things of this world. When her book, Sustainable Home, first came out, I was delighted to read it right away and I am thankful that her book is still on the shelves at bookstores today.

Book Synopsis

Sustainable Home is a stylish, inspirational and practical guidebook to maintaining a more environmentally friendly household.

Sustainable lifestyle blogger and professional Christine Liu takes you on a tour through the rooms of your home – the living area, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom – offering tips, tricks and 18 step-by-step projects designed to help you lead a more low-impact lifestyle.

From guidance on decluttering and living minimally to advice about plant-based foods to tips on repairing old clothes, this book touches every aspect of home life.

Whether it's by making your own toothpaste, converting to renewable energy sources, reducing your consumption of plastic, growing your own herb garden or upcycling old pieces of furniture, the projects in this book offer numerous ways – both big and small – to make a difference.

With environmental issues at the forefront of global politics, the desire to make small changes on an individual level is on the rise; this book will guide anyone hoping to make a difference, but who perhaps don’t know where to begin.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

I remember when slow living was all the rage, pre-pandemic, and how bloggers and Instagrammers almost seemed to compete with each other by sharing how empty their houses were. I admit that it was easy to think that I could be so minimal with my belongings because I'm naturally an organized person. Not only did I fail spectacularly, I realized that minimalism as a goal in itself didn't quite lead to all of the results it promises. This is where Christine's book and her content challenged me (and which God used to convict me); instead of chasing less, chasing better could have a more lasting impact—though minimalists would say that chasing less is chasing better, which makes sense as they can go hand-in-hand and Christine does have sections on minimalism. If anything, I came to see that belongings are representative of our inner values and can reveal our vices, such as greed and gluttony. By covering everything from our living environments to what we eat and even how we travel, Sustainable Home provides practical and guilt-free suggestions that can help Christians to be better stewards of our homes and world.

Christine's background in packaging sustainability, coupled with her gentle words and faith, differentiates her from the other books I have read around sustainability where there are undertones of anger and shame. Instead, her approach through her book is to show what is possible and that the actions we take do matter as an expression of our faith. Her witness has been profound and her voice in advocating for God's creation stands out. She not only believes in this important work, she also lives it out (her wedding to Peter still stands out in my mind, years later!). Though Christians may be divided on current environmental affairs, I would say that becoming more sustainable in my life has impacted how I view things and how I desire to extend stewardship to other parts of my life. As an introductory tome to sustainable living, I would recommend this book as its calming content can bring rest to a weary soul that is bombarded by so many messages in this world.

Side note: While Christine is a Christian author, I would also note that this book is not being marketed as a Christian book and is instead a mainstream book. However, the messages are still pertinent, and there are other Christian books that delve into the theology of care for creation that complement Sustainable Home.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📖
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Recommendation: 👍
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