When people think about living a green lifestyle, they are often bombarded with too much information, do not know where to start, and just end up doing nothing. There are so many things one can do daily to make their life a little greener without having to make drastic changes. Because it starts small. It really does.
10 Simple Ways to Green Your Life
- Cloth Grocery Bags – Plastic bags are so last decade. They sit in landfills and pollute our waters. They never fully biodegrade; it is even questionable whether the so-called biodegradable ones are toxic when composted into our soil. How about investing in some cloth bags? Leave them in your car so you always have them handy.
- Reusable Mug – Most people have coffee or tea as part of their morning routine at work or on the road. Skip the disposable coffee-shop cup or the Styrofoam cup from work and buy a reusable mug to divert all that waste from a landfill. So? When will you be making the switch?
- Stainless Steel Water Bottle – Ditching the disposable water bottle dependency keeps Mother Nature happy and our wallets green. Using a glass or stainless steel water bottle can potentially divert 60,000 water bottles a year from our landfills and will help provide a solution to the “disposable” culture we have created over the years.
- Recycling – It is one of the most common ways to live green. However, have you ever thought of recycling when not at home? Most people still use recyclable items outside of the house. So, next time you buy that juice in a glass bottle, maybe think of bringing it home instead of just tossing it away.
- Organic/Local Foods – It can be expensive and not always available to everyone. Buying organic has health and environmental advantages: fewer pesticides are sprayed in the environment and are less ingested when eating your favourite veggie. Try buying items on the dirty dozen list first (apples, celery, strawberries, spinach, nectarines imported, grapes imported, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, blueberries, lettuce, kale/collard greens). During the summer months, look out for the local farmer’s market, where produce is less likely sprayed and will be a cheaper option.
- Meatless Monday – If every American skipped meat and cheese one day a week, it would have the same environmental impact as the country driving 91 billion fewer miles a year. Give Meatless Monday a try and maybe it can be a weekly occurrence for your family.
- Walking and Biking – Not only is walking and biking good exercise; it is equally as good for the environment. Take a nice walk to the store instead of driving or on your lunch break walk around outside.
- Turn off your lights – Living a more green life is as simple as remembering to turn off your lights in the home. You probably do not need every light on, so why not think to turn them off when not in use? Another trick is to plug your appliances and electronic devices into a power bar. That way, just flick the switch on the bar to stop the “fantom energy” from being sucked from the power grid. Believe it or not, energy is still being used even when your electronic devices are off.
- Hang Dry Your Clothing – The good old energy-guzzling appliance: the dryer. The dryer is a great invention, but it uses much energy to dry your clothing. The alternative is to hang your clothing outside or in the home, just like our grandparents did many, many years ago. And your clothing will smell nice and clean after hanging in the sun. Why not give it a try and add it to your laundry routine? If not always, do it at least some of the time. A little goes a long way.
- Use Cold Water for Your Laundry – There is no need for super hot water to clean your clothing. Cold water works just fine in the washing machine.
- BONUS: Grow Your Own – You can use many great options to be greener in your life, and one of the best and most effective ones is to make sure you grow and/or produce your food. You can do this by creating a mini allotment in your garden and growing fruit or vegetables to achieve this. It is one of the most effective (and delicious) options available! In addition, you could choose to keep chickens to have a ready supply of eggs. This means you must provide the right conditions for your chickens to thrive, ensure you have a large chicken feeder to keep them fed and watered and develop an environment best suited to regular egg laying. If you can come up with great ways of helping to improve your food situation, this is something that you can add to your life to make you greener and more sustainable in the long run.
- BONUS: Turn Your Business Green – if you own or run a business from an office-based environment, now is the time to think differently. We all saw during the pandemic that businesses could continue to run with employees working remotely, so it’s definitely something to consider. Even if some of your team members need to be on-site, like at a dentist’s office, you could still hire a virtual dental assistant instead of someone on-site. This will allow you to downsize and save money and your business's impact on the environment.
I honestly believe that living a healthy, sustainable, and eco-conscious lifestyle does not have to be overwhelming. Making the simplest changes to your lifestyle can translate to a non-toxic, healthier, greener you, family and environment. Are you ready to join this movement of passionate people?
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