10 Simple Switches for a More Sustainable Lifestyle
Making adjustments can be intimidating for people Googling ‘how to be more sustainable.’ However, adopting an eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle does not necessitate exclusively utilizing sustainable beauty goods or eliminating meat from your diet overnight. No, it can be a lot easier if you just take things one step at a time. Making an impact in the area of sustainability can begin at home. Because household consumption accounts for up to 60% of all greenhouse gas emissions, we must understand the tiny changes we can make from the comfort of our own homes to help make the world a better place. These adjustments are as simple as changing to bamboo toothbrushes, setting up a green office, or simply mowing the yard less frequently. You’ll be living an eco-friendlier lifestyle before you realize it if you make these simple changes.
Switch to a Bamboo Toothbrush
Bamboo toothbrushes are a more environmentally friendly option than their plastic equivalents. Bamboo is a renewable and sustainable resource that will benefit the environment by reducing plastic waste. It’s reasonable to say that we’re all aware these days that our excess garbage is harming our lovely planet. With more research, the negative impact that plastic garbage, in particular, may have on the environment can be understood. You’re beginning to move toward a remedy to our global waste issue by converting from plastic to a bamboo toothbrushes.
Modern toothbrushes are constructed of a range of plastics, including high-density polyethylene and nylon, which are also non-biodegradable. Bamboo toothbrush handles compost in around six months; however, plastic toothbrush grips take hundreds of years to decompose. Bamboo is a completely biodegradable natural plant that may grow up to three feet (1 meter) each day in some species. It contains inherent antibacterial characteristics that aren’t damaged during the toothbrush production process. It’s known for being a hardy plant that can withstand nature’s harsh conditions.
Grow Your Produce
Growing your food isn’t simply a fun activity for the youngsters. You can buy organic products and cut down on the quantity of plastic packaging you buy. Furthermore, you can be sure that anything you’re consuming is as fresh as possible. Alternatively, if you don’t have the time or room, eat what is in season. Also, buy fruit and vegetables that are cultivated as close to your home as feasible. Instead of buying imported vegetables from a supermarket, look for what is grown and sold locally. Flying on foreign fruits and vegetables generates unimaginable amounts of pollutants in the atmosphere. As a result, the less distance food travels to reach your plate, the better.
Switch out your lightbulbs with LEDs
Experts agree that replacing your perfectly functional incandescent lights with LED bulbs makes sense from both a financial and environmental standpoint. “We recommend not waiting to replace your incandescent light bulbs with LED light bulbs,” says Southern California Edison spokesperson Sally Jeun, because LED bulbs use about 80% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer, so the small amount of waste created by discarding a working incandescent is much less than the amount of waste created by operating an inefficient lightbulb. Either through recycling or extending product life, waste avoidance has a greater environmental purpose of saving energy and conserving resources. These variables also encourage early replacement because discarding an incandescent bulb and replacing it with an LED saves so much energy.
Stop Purchasing Fast Fashion
The first lasting change that can be done before you go on your coffee quest is to stop buying fast fashion. Keep an eye out for what you’re wearing and where you got it. Your purchases have a greater influence on the environment than you may realize. There are the employees who created them, and also the resources from which they were made. Cotton cultivation with massive doses of pesticides has a devastating effect on local ecosystems. Furthermore, the low cost of labor in poor countries allows fast-fashion behemoths to maintain their costs so low. If you bought your outfit from a fast fashion shop, it’s important to understand what you’re paying for. Lowering the amount of money you put into the fast fashion industry is an important step toward living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Some other excellent option is to look into the world of secondhand apparel. Providing pre-loved clothing a second opportunity is critical, as over 350,000 tonnes of clothing are discarded in the UK each year. Beyond Retro and Re-Fashion sell used, occasionally remodeled apparel, preventing perfectly good items from being discarded. Why not take a look around some used bookstores while you’re at it? Lockdown is a great opportunity to catch up on reading, but you don’t always have to buy new books. World of Books and Music Magpie are two useful websites where you may purchase old books in good condition.
Stop Food Waste
The year 2022 is the year to put an end to food waste. Hopefully, panic buying is no longer a thing, but making the most of your fruits and vegetables is always a smart idea. Rather than discarding cauliflower leaves in the trash, wash them and cut them up along with the florets. They go well in curries and can also be roasted with other veggies. Broccoli stems are also underappreciated. Slice the stalk into slices and add to a stir fry. Have you considered what you could do with banana peel after baking another loaf of banana bread? The banana peel burger and curry dishes by Nadiya Hussain and Nigella Lawson are both intriguing. Although it may appear unusual, why not give it a shot? Max La Manna, a vegan, zero-waste guru who wants to revolutionize the way we think about leftovers, is another chef worth checking out. His website is chock-full of creative recipes and sustainable living advice.
Carry a Water Bottle
Whenever it refers to bottled water, it takes three times as much water to make the bottle as it does to fill it. It may appear to be a no-brainer, but it is always surprising how many people don’t carry it. Rather than purchasing water on the fly, bring a reusable water bottle to the gym, work, or college. Even if you’re generally great at recycling the bottles you do purchase, you’ll be saving money and helping the environment. Some of the water bottles you can purchase are the Bobble Bottles, which have a natural charcoal filter on top, and the Chilly’s bottles, which come in several colors.
Use Reusable Grocery Bags
Utilizing reusable bags instead of plastic or paper bags can help you save money and resources while also helping the environment. Different animals, both land and sea, can choke on bags and die, or suffer agony and pain as a result. Animals that swallow the bags whole are unable to digest genuine food, resulting in infection or famine, both of which can result in death. The amount of plastic circulating in the earth’s oceans is rising rapidly. Plastic bags are frequently used for a short amount of time, but they can require hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. Although plastic bags can be recycled, only a small percentage of them are received and repurposed.
Reusable cloth bags can be used again and over again, eliminating the need to throw them away. You simply toss them in the washing machine when they grow filthy and continue to use them. Plastic bags are made from natural gas and crude oil, are non-biodegradable and need far more fossil fuel to transport. When you’re using a reusable bag, you’re not only reducing the number of nonrenewable resources used to make plastic bags, but you’re also lowering the amount of money your town spends each year to fix them up. Reusable bags, unlike flimsy plastic bags, are robust and allow you to carry a lot more at once. Fill them to the brim; they won’t shatter. This indicates you’ll make fewer excursions to and from your car, and you’ll be able to carry more at once.
Use Cold Water to Wash Clothes
About 90% of the energy used by your machine to wash clothing is used to heat the water. So, unless you have a lot of oil stains, washing in cold water will get the job done just as well. Hot water is significantly harsher on your clothes, discoloring the colors that give them their brightness in some cases. Alternatively, wash your clothes in cold water to retain the fabric’s quality and make them last more. This ensures your favorite t-shirt or skirt can last a lot longer and you won’t have to throw it away when it wears out. If that wasn’t enough to persuade you, take into account the environmental and financial advantages of cold washing. Per some estimations, between 75 and 90 percent of the electricity used to wash your clothes is used to heat the water used in each load. Shifting to cold water might reduce your electrical consumption by up to 75% for every load.
Use Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products
Generally, we purchase sprays and liquids whose packaging adds a ludicrous amount of plastic to the mountain of waste we are already producing. We now require a solution to this issue. Method and Ecover, two eco-friendly cleaning brands, are widely available. They employ components that have been well researched for health and environmental safety instead of harsh chemicals like bleach. Furthermore, their bottles are manufactured entirely of recycled plastic.
Shop Local and Small
While it is easy to purchase things at the market, purchasing goods from small businesses may be more sustainable. To begin with, contributing to your community’s economy supports long-term economic prosperity. Furthermore, strolling to your local stores emits 0% of the greenhouse gases produced by driving to the supermarket. Finally, you strengthen the sense of local community, which is especially vital in these trying times. Also, see whether your neighborhood has a zero-waste shop. Zero-waste stores buy food in bulk and sell it to ecologically-minded clients without using any packaging. It is recommended that you bring your containers–any old jars or Tupperware will suffice. Visiting these stores is both practical and environmentally friendly, as you reduce plastic waste and can purchase as many or as few as you require.
