Have you ever played SIMS? I must admit I loved this game in my younger years and was thrilled to hear they that SIMS 4 now has an Eco Lifestyle expansion. This game allows you to live in Evergreen Harbour and work as a community to build a sustainable world. This game is great way to practice thinking in an eco-friendly way, particularly for the younger generations. There are a few key differences in the Eco Lifestyle version that we could all learn from and apply to our real world eco journeys and I wanted to explore them in this blog.
Sustainable Living
As we all know, there are no shortcuts when living sustainably, it is challenging to make choices that are better for the planet, but we all know we must make sacrifices to live in harmony with nature. In the SIMS Eco Lifestyle game you are encouraged to reuse, recycle and reduce your consumption. This is something we should all try and do at home.
In the game this goes as far as generating your own power by using renewable energy sources such as the sun and wind. You can collect your own water and grow your own fresh produce. You are able to dumpster dive for hidden treasures and buy used good from thrift shops and vintage stores. You can also make your own items like candles and other craft goods to sell.
Community Engagement
In the SIMS game you can share your voice and collaborate with others in the community, by voting on the Neighborhood action plans each week. You can team up with other likeminded SIMS to generate support for your ideas or help to support other ideas.
Community engagement can be hard in the real world, particularly when you live in a big city, but it can be rewarding to get involved with your wider community, whether this is your suburb, town, or council area. You can look for local events in your local paper, community noticeboard or join an online community group. It is important to be aware of what’s happening in your community whether this is a local market to support small businesses or a petition to keep your local bus route. You can join a local clean-up effort, contributing to a bake sale, attend a community event or even sign a petition. It is more important than ever that we support our local community.
Be the change you want to see in the world
The SIMS eco lifestyle encourages accountability for individual and collective decisions by showing the impact almost immediately. For example the Neighborhood Plans you vote on can lead to smoggy skies or crystal clear water. The cleanliness of the neighborhood will also impact the surrounding natural environment.
It is estimated that we make around 35,000 decisions every day. It is impossible to always make the sustainable choice, but image if we all got it right half the time, the impact would be huge! There are so many choices that have an impact big and small, here are some to ponder:
- What we eat for lunch – homemade versus takeaway
- Whether we use a takeaway cup or bring our own reusable coffee mug
- What form of transport we choose – walking, driving, cycling, public transport, ride share
- How we heat and cool our houses – fan, air conditioning
- Where we buy our clothes – fast fashion or slow fashion
- Whether we use a water bottle or buy bottled water
- What type of electricity we use – renewable vs conventional power
Repurposing and upcycling
In the SIMS Eco Lifestyle you can find a new outfit or building materials for free by scouring the neighborhood for pre loved items. Bring new life to reclaimed materials by recycling them into a piece of furniture or home décor. We could all do more of this at home.
We live in a time of convenience and many of us have come accustomed to getting things instantly with fast food, fast internet, fast delivery. People are less likely to repair or repurpose something as you can often get something new relatively quickly and cheaply. Next time you want to do a clean-up at home or upgrade something like a TV or phone consider selling or donating your used goods rather than throwing them away.
If we all applied some of these ideals to our everyday thinking we could live more sustainable lives. For more great eco friendly ideas check out our online eco store.
