Happy Earth Day Everyone!
In honor of the day I wanted to share a few sustainable changes you can make today that are easy but also very affordable and free in some cases. So here we go!
- Buy Secondhand- Not only can you buy secondhand clothing but you can pretty much buy everything second hand now, your electronics, furniture, your car. Needless to say, not only are helping with cut back on continuous consumer purchasing (which leads to a demand of more of that product being made) but most of the time you get a great deal as well and who doesn’t love saving money?
*If you’re looking to buy more second hand clothing, check out ThredUp. I have found some gems on here myself. By clicking the link you will receive $100 iff your first purchase!* - Say No to Single Use Plastic Water Bottles- I don’t know who needs to hear this but it’s 2021 and we need to stop using so many single use plastic water bottles. Get you a nice water bottle and use that daily, you’ll help save our ocean life.
- Reusable Bags- I’m sure we all have reusable bags that we have bought, someone has given to us or we have gotten at an event. Be sure to always keep a few handy in your car, purse, backpack, etc. It is so easy to avoid using plastic or paper bags all together if you alway have one. I personally always keep some in my car and have some packable ones in each of my daily bags. If you don’t happen to have any, I suggest asking your friends and family for some they can spare and it won’t cost you anything.
- Eco Friendly Cleaning Products– There a number of reasons to consider eco friendly products, they are less toxic, if children or pets get into them they aren’t in danger, the list goes on. I have found that you can make a few cleaning multi use products of your own (a quick pinterest search will do the trick) by using things such as white vinegar, orange peels, lemons and a ton more. But if doing it diy style is not your thing then you can also look at subscriptions or companies who carry eco friendly cleaning products, I personally have a few concentrates from Grove Collaborative that I use to this day and all I have to do is add water and there is my cleaner!
*Make a $20 purchase on Grove Collaborative and receive a free home kit* - Repair Your Items- We live in a world where it is very easy to get rid of something if it has a tear, broke or isn’t working like it use to and order a replacement that will arrive in 2 days. But I challenge to see if you can fix it before you toss it, you’d be surprised how easy some things can be to fix and how fulfilling it is do this.
- Consider Your Transportation- A lot of us may always opt for driving but when possible consider taking public transit, biking, walking or carpooling. Being open to more than way to get around can save you money and help cut your contribution to carbon emissions.
- Compost- Every year so much food goes to waste because it isn’t used or it isn’t entirely consumed/used. I personally have felt bad myself when I have food scraps that I can’t use (think parts of veggies and fruits) but if you are like us and don’t live in a house it can be hard to consider composting. If you do have a home I highly encourage you to compost on your own and then use that compost as soil in your yard or garden as it has a lot of nutrients (check out youtube for many tutorials on how to get started). Now for my people who do not own a home, do a quick search online and see if your community has one that you con contribute to, maybe a neighbor has one going or you can start a small one together or there may be a local business that has a service in which they pick up your scraps for composting. That is the route we took with Perennial City Composting, we are on a bi-weekly schedule in which they pick up our small bucket (keep in mind we are only 2 people) every other week and bring us a new one to fill up and do again. The package that we selected only costs us $20 a month and it is a double win as we help cut back on food waste and they can create soil out of this compost to use at their facility.
- Opt for Reusable Containers- Now I am not saying go out an buy all new reusable containers but try to get several uses out of take out containers, jars, etc. Often times I think a lot of people think they need to switch everything they from plastic to glass containers and I’m here to tell you that you do not have to do that in order to do your part. Use what you have first and if you are wanting to eventually switch to glass be sure you find your plastic containers a good home to continue to be used.
- Use Up What You Have First- Living through a pandemic may have created some stock up habits for us but truth be told you only really need on back up to anything unless you have a large family and you go trough items quickly. I know it is always good to have that backup soap or toothpaste on had but to buy a large bulk for a 2 person household is a little crazy so be aware of how much you use and how much you realistically should have. Same goes when wanting to try a new product be sure you use all that foundation before purchasing another one, no one like having several half used foundations on hand.
- Eat Less Meat- If everyone ate one less meat focused meal a day not only would we help in cutting back carbon emissions (as it takes more water, energy, etc. to raise an animal than grow crops or plants) but we’d also present ourselves with hopefully the opportunity to introduce more plants in our diet. With as far as our technology has come there are also many meat alternatives on the market that can help make this transition a little easier that the past, so why not give it a try?
I really hope this 10 list round up helped and if you’re looking to make a few sustainable swaps like the ones I listed above (plus a few more of my faves), here area few that I have tried and tested myself that I would recommend.
