So I took a long (no, a really long) break from blogging. No good reason – just life getting in the way, relationships, family, complacency – the usual. But the big news is that I’ve spent the last couple of months decluttering my life and home in preparation for my third move in three years. (You know you move too much, when your mover remembers exactly who you are :P) And today I feel good about having fewer things for a simpler life and about the acts of charity. Here are some of my personal experiences and simple steps one can take to declutter one’s life and/or home while helping those in need.
Author Archives: Bhavna Hinduja
Declutter, Donate and Feel Good
Give Back This Holiday Season – Part 2
This wasn’t supposed to be such a delayed post. Two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a case of strep throat 😦 (I still break into a sweat thinking of how painful it was…YUCK!!). The illness threw me off my routine for the week. And this week has just been busy catching up with the week of work that I missed due to the illness. Feeling much better now!! So here goes Part 2 of my last post.
In Part 1 of this post I had listed some charitable organizations focused on poverty, social injustice and children. While caring for fellow human beings is a noble holiday gift, we often overlook those furry animals and our environment, albeit they can’t really express their issues in words.
Give Back This Holiday Season – Part 1
As we put pen to paper to make a list of material objects for family and friends, we’re already stressed out. Stressed about the idea of finding the “perfect gift”, joining the stampede at shopping malls, and worst of all, the credit card bill as a Holiday Gift to ourselves. One can easily decide to give and receive nothing. But that’s no fun either. So instead of letting the materialistic aspects of the Holiday overshadow its true meaning, why not gift an experience of giving? Why not gift a feeling of belongingness and connectedness? There is nothing more “perfect” than feeling proud of our generosity towards those who are less fortunate.
5 Ways You Can Host A Sustainable Party
I’ve been hosting the annual Hinduja Diwali (Hindu New Year) Party with family and close friends for years now, albeit there was a dry 2-year period due to personal circumstances. This year I decided to revive it, but in a less wasteful way. Now mind you, I am a rookie at living a sustainable lifestyle so I wasn’t particularly successful at throwing a 100% eco-friendly party, primarily because I didn’t think of alternatives till two days prior to the party. But I came up with these 5 easy ways to host a sustainable party that I believe anyone can easily follow without breaking the bank.
The Business Case For Sustainable Investing
Sustainable Investing – “Another Fad… Another Investment Trend… Another Marketing Ploy by the capital market moguls” you may say. After almost three decades of debate about the pros and cons of “Socially Responsible Investing”, it is only fair for an investor to question the intent of this new phenomenon. I questioned it.
But the recent economic downturn coupled with numerous environmental catastrophes and social/governance troubles over the past decade has changed the dynamics of the global economy substantially, therefore, making a case for an investment discipline. Investors have had their hands burnt chasing short-term returns and are now looking to invest in forward-thinking companies with sustainable business models.
Ask “Why” Before the “How”
Okay so, I’m drinking the “Go-Green” cool-aid. And I’m not ashamed to admit that. After all, it is the “cool” thing to do – green is everywhere these days — in the news, politics, fashion, and even technology. You can hardly escape it. But with a million messages and ideas coming at us from all sides, it is easy to get caught up in the mundane activities of going green – switching to organic foods, layering up instead of increasing the thermostat, recycling blindly — without thinking about the big picture of how your actions stack up. In this post I hope to provide some insight on Why To Live a Sustainable Lifestyle?, instead of How?
What Sustainable Investing (and this blog) is NOT..
Considering this my first post, it is only fair to talk about what the deal is with my blog. But I figured I should lay out the field by identifying what Sustainable Investing, in my opinion, is NOT and what one should not expect from this blog. Sustainable Investing can mean different things to different people depending on an investor’s background, value systems and philanthropic priorities. My objective is to pose some tough questions to help you figure out if this investment discipline is for you and if it is how can you shape your investment decision around what YOU value most in an efficient manner.
Bhavna Hinduja on Being Simple, Sustainable & Mindful 