10 Simple Tips to Start Sustainable Living
Take time. Don’t rush. It’s a journey! nothing is perfect and everything takes time which is why it’s important to have balance in everything you do. The main thing is that you started. So, take your time with your low waste and zero waste journeys and don’t be too hard on yourself, life’s hard enough as it is.
Here are the 10 simple tips to start sustainable living:
- Bring your own water bottle
Start with one of the easiest things you can do to save resources, create less waste, and save money. If you’re still buying bottled water, take a trip to the store and check the great reusable water bottles on the market. We don’t go ANYWHERE without our BPA free Nalgene water bottles. Get into the habit of treating your reusable water bottle like your purse or your wallet. Make sure it goes to work, school, and around town with you.
- Use handkerchiefs instead of tissues
The issue of germs becomes a barrier for some, but can be easily remedied by keeping clean hankies on hand and putting soiled hankies in directly into the laundry or a reusable wet bag to avoid spreading germs. This sustainable practice saves money, uses less resources, and creates less (germy) waste around the house.
- Bring your own shopping bags
Don’t just take your reusable shopping bags to the grocery store…take them everywhere. Make a small investment in a few shopping bags and reusable produce bags that will last several years, or better yet, make your own! Don’t carry a purse? Keep your bags in a place you will see them and remember to take them with you.
- Reusable cloths instead of paper towel
We used to go through enormous packages of paper towel in our wasteful heyday. Those enormous packages have an equally enormous price tag. And it all gets thrown away! Ugh! Make a switch to reusable cloths…microfiber towels, cotton dishrags, or even old t-shirt squares. Keep a stack of towels in drawers or baskets around the house, making them easily accessible when family members need to clean up a mess.
- BYO to-go containers and silverware
We can’t think of any reason we wouldn’t be allowed to bring our own. It would create so much less waste, and you would have control over the materials your containers and silverware were made from.
- Make your own cleaners
Large companies have duped us into believing we need a separate cleaner for every job in the house. Not true! We also don’t need to fill our home with cupboards full of harsh chemical cleaners. Making your own cleaners is so simple and fun we wrote an entire book on the subject. Natural ingredients can be purchased very inexpensively, and can be used for many purposes around the house. Family members with allergies, asthma, or other health conditions can benefit from chemical-free homemade cleaning products. Consider purchasing our book to learn how to make your own household cleaners.
- Make your own beauty products
Wouldn’t you love to have complete control over all the ingredients in your personal care products? Starting with a few simple products, like deodorant or shampoo, is a great way to get started if you haven’t dabbled into this sustainable area yet. It’s astonishing that the regulations on cosmetic ingredients still aren’t very stringent. Making your own will help you eliminate harmful ingredients in your products, save money, learn new skills, and simplify your products. Furthermore, if you make your own you can use upcycled containers, eliminating all kinds of waste from packaging.
- Grow your own food
The more food you can grow, the more you can cook at home and preserve. It cuts down on grocery bills, increases your sustainability, and creates a wonderful sense of accomplishment at harvest time. Growing your own food doesn’t have to mean becoming a small-scale farm. Grow herbs in the windowsill, or a few of your favorite plants on a balcony or porch.
- Make your own condiments
A good rule of thumb: if it’s sold in the store, you can make it at home. Yours will be cheaper, made from ingredients you choose, and designed for your tastebuds. Your skills in the kitchen will increase, and your friends will think you are a genius. Get some tips at Nourished Kitchen for some great, healthy condiment recipes.
- Become a one car family
Try transitioning from two cars to one. Travel may require planning ahead and rearranging schedules, but being a one car family is a great lesson in sustainability. You can save gas, eliminating operational costs for another vehicle, and learning to plan ahead and run all our errands during one trip. We know owning one car would be more difficult for some families than others, but sometimes you never know you can do it until you try it. Consider biking, walking, or utilizing public transportation as other sustainable travel habits.
At the EcoFairy, our goal is to help you build a more sustainable life by offering you a line of reusable products. We offer products that last and that will help you reduce the amount of plastic you use.
More info on our website: https://www.theecofairy.com