The desire for an eco-friendly household is a popular and important trend.
Consumers are looking to change as searches for sustainable goods have increased by 71% since 2016. If you’re a part of this movement toward living a sustainable lifestyle, then this is the article for you.
Keep reading to learn what lifestyle changes you can make to be more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Start Small
If you’ve seen popular influence blogs boasting minimalistic, sustainable homes, then reaching that goal for yourself can seem unattainable. However, the best way to approach it is to start with small eco-friendly changes. Some swaps you can make are
- Install a water-saving showerhead
- Switch to CFL or LED light bulbs, which use less energy and last longer
- Think twice before turning on the AC or cranking up the heat
- Refuse junk mail
- Turn off or unplug devices when you aren’t using them, especially at night
Take a Look at Your Diet
A huge change you as an individual is with your diet. Livestock like cattle produce around 18% of the world’s carbon emissions, and each person who eats meat contributes 1.5 more tons in emissions per year than the average vegan. Not everyone can switch to a vegan diet, and it doesn’t happen overnight.
However, any steps you take toward eating fewer animal products can help make a difference. Start small by having one day a week to make a meatless meal and look into plant-based recipes. Find more ideas for healthy, sustainable living at Wholisticmatters.com.
Buy Less
The fashion industry uses tons of resources, water, toxic chemicals and puts out around 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. A key way to help reduce your impact is to buy less and thrift more. When you actively reduce your spending on new items, you may also realize you have been overspending on things you don’t need.
You can also buy or sell clothes you don’t wear anymore through online thrifting companies. You’ll be surprised by the brands you can find at low prices.
Pay Attention to the First and Second Rs
Reduce, reuse, and recycle are the three Rs of sustainability and an eco-friendly lifestyle. However, few people know or fail to consider that the Rs are in that order for a reason. The first R, reduce, is the most environmentally friendly option, and the last one, recycle, is the least.
So when looking at the three Rs in order of importance, reduce is first. Here are some steps you can take to reduce the amount of waste you produce:
- Use canvas or cloth bags for groceries in place of plastic
- Avoid buying/using single-use plastics like disposable cutlery, bottles, straws, coffee sticks, take-out containers, plastic wrap, etc
- Switch from face wipes to a washcloth and an environmentally friendly cleanser
- Use small dishcloths or fabric napkins in place of paper towels
Next is reuse. Here are some ideas for how to reuse single-use items:
- Save old milk, juice, or detergent bottles to use as watering cans
- Use old nut butter or jam jars to store snacks
- Weave or crochet plastic bags into a reusable tote
- Repair broken items rather than getting rid of them
- Donate unwanted items
A Sustainable Lifestyle Doesn’t Have to Be Complex
While the so-called ideal eco-friendly household, as seen on social media, is waste-free and minimalist, that doesn’t mean you can’t take small steps toward building a sustainable lifestyle.
Make little changes at home, look at your diet, thrift more, and pay attention to reducing and reusing before recycling.
In the meantime, take a look at the rest of our blog for more informative posts like this!