It is so important now more than ever that we all make a conscious effort to live a more sustainable lifestyle, but how exactly do we go about doing that? In this post we will talk about 10 different sustainable living examples that you can start doing to make a difference!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Remember, sustainable lifestyle changes don't have to be complicated, look at some of the daily things that you do and just make some small changes, you will be surprised at how much of an impact these small changes can make and if we all start to make some of these daily choices, we really can make a big difference!
Here are a few things that you can start with:
Organic food.
Plant based diet.
Plant a vegetable garden.
water.
Recycling.
Donate time to Clean ups.
Support ethical businesses.
Support local farmers markets.
Low-carbon transport.
Renewable energy.
Organic Food:
This is a great place to start! Better for the environment and better for you. Start slowly switching out some of your favorite foods with an organic alternative. I know some organic options can be more expensive than the non-organic alternatives, but this is starting to change. There are a lot of options these days at your average grocery store, no need to shop at a high-end health food store to find great organic options. Give it a try, you'll be happy that you did.
Plant Based Diet:
Don't be scared off by this one! There are so many delicious and diverse options when it comes to plant-based foods these days it's ridiculous! Check out The Plantpower Way - by Rich Roll & Julie Piatt, I highly recommend this book! It is full of amazingly delicious and simple recipes (Great for the whole family). There are a lot of really good choices now to replace some of your favorite meat and dairy options, so there is no better time to try out some plant-based options and see how you like them (trust me, you might be surprised!). Even if you start with a day or two a week, that makes a difference! It is healthier for you and the planet; it is also a great way for you and your family to try out some new recipes that you might not have normally tried.
Plant A Vegetable Garden:
This one is great on many levels. First, it will actually save you money in the long run! Second, you know you will always have clean, fresh, organic fruits or vegetables because you are in control of the growing process. Thirdly, gardening of any kind can be extremely therapeutic (another healthy benefit), gets you outside, you can include your kids and make it something fun for the whole family. Finally, you will most likely eat more fruits and vegetables because you're taking the time to grow them!
Water:
Drinking plenty of water on a daily basis is so important for our health, it is a very powerful detoxifier for our bodies and most of us don't get nearly enough! Also, how we consume that water is equally as important to our health & the health of the environment. Cut out the plastic bottles! Plastic waste is wreaking havoc on our planet at an unsustainable level, it is also a terribly toxic storage environment for the water that we put into our bodies. Just by simple switching to a healthy reusable water bottle that you refill throughout the day, you will do yourself and the environment a huge service.
Recycling:
Recycling is also hugely important in so many ways but that doesn't just mean tossing certain items in your recycling can (although that helps) just make sure you do it correctly. It is important how we discard many other household items as well. Here are 10 items that you should always recycle: Aluminum, PET Plastic (water bottles), newspaper, cardboard, steel cans, HDPE plastic (stands for high-density polyethylene, a common and more dense plastic, which is used in detergents, bleach, shampoo and milk jugs.), glass bottles & containers, magazines/paper and lastly computers.
Donate time to Clean ups:
Take some time to find out where you can donate some of your time to some local community clean ups or organize one yourself!
Assemble a team. Gather your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and co-workers to join the cleanup effort.
Partner with community organizations.
Pick a cleanup site.
Gather your materials.
Share the event information.
These can be done anywhere, from your local parks, beaches, lakes, rivers or just neighborhoods within your city. The important thing is just to start! Big or small it all helps.
Support ethical businesses:
Make sure that whatever you are purchasing that you try to find companies that are doing their part to act responsibly and sustainably and buy from them! Your money can go a long way to help those businesses, especially small local ones. It can also help to change how some of the larger corporations are acting and hopefully change how they do business. Use your buying power to help make change!
Support local farmers markets:
This one, like the last is about using your buying power to support. There are numerous reasons to support your local farmers markets - from getting fresher fruits and vegetables which are much healthier than something that has been transported for hundreds or thousands of miles (your produce loses most of its nutritional benefits during that transport), the closer it's grown the better! It also helps support your local farmers instead of some giant corporate entity and this is extremely important, small farms are being swallowed up by big corporations, so the more we support them the better.
Low-carbon transport:
This doesn't mean you have to run out and purchase a new electric car (but if you want to go for it!), it does mean, biking, walking, e bikes/scooters, public transportation, ride sharing etc. Roughly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation alone, so anything you can do to help really can go a long way!
Renewable energy:
These are bigger ticket items for your home but if your budget allows, it's definitely worth looking into - As a consumer you have several opportunities to make an impact on improving the environment through the choice of a greener energy solution. If you’re a homeowner, you have the option of installing solar panels in your home. Solar panels not only reduce your energy costs but help improve your standard of living with a safer, more eco-friendlier energy choice that doesn’t depend on resources that harm the environment. Solar Water Heaters - If a full solar panel system is out of your price range, a solar water heater is a less expensive way to capture some free energy. With most solar water heaters, the tank itself is stored on the roof as part of the installation, which gives it a bulkier look. But it lets the sun do the work of running one of the biggest energy hogs in your home. Wind - You don’t need the type of enormous turbines you see on wind farms to generate green energy for your home. A propeller as small as a trash can lid can take a big bite out of your home energy bills, so long as it’s installed in a sufficiently windy area. Geothermal Heat Pumps - Temperatures below ground are much more stable than the temperatures where our homes are, and during the winter, a geothermal heat pump can steal some of that buried warmth. These systems use a closed loop of pipes to pump fluid through an underground channel, into your home and back underground again. Inside the home, a heat exchanger uses warmth from the pipes to heat living spaces while using minimal energy.
Remember anything helps and changing some of our daily small habits can go such a long way when it comes to living a more sustainable lifestyle! No matter what your budget, there are plenty of things big or small that we can all do every day to do our part!
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