Many of us want to start living an eco-friendly lifestyle. This is fast becoming a vital thing to do considering the extent of damage humans made on the plant. In your own little ways, you can already make a difference and hopefully, influence others to do the same.
Now you may already be practicing regular eco-friendly habits like recycling, reusing, and reducing wastes, buying organic food, and using natural cleaners for your home. You made it a point to replace decade-old appliances and even limit your private car usage. But what other unconventional ways can you practice a more eco-conscious mindset?
Decorate Your Interiors the Sustainable Way
When tackling home improvement projects, choose sustainable materials. For instance, barnwood ceiling beams can transform your living room with a warm, rustic, and elegant design. You can even use the same materials for your pergola or upgrade your fireplace mantels at the same time.
When choosing any sustainable materials, be sure to consider your supplies as well. Choose a local supplier that practices ethical sourcing. The farther your supplier gets their materials from, the more carbon footprint they create when shipping your materials.
When you want more plants inside your home but space is your issue, consider installing a living wall instead. Adding live plants into your home structure saves you space while giving your home an additional form of insulation. This will help boost your mood, increase your happiness, and even improve your family’s wellness.
Limit Single-use Materials
We often indulge in things that we can only use once. This includes paper towels, bags, packaging, batteries, bottles, straws, etc. We have become so accustomed to these items that we forgot just how damaging these can be to the environment.
As much as possible, limit your use of single-use materials. This way, you can reduce your waste that often ends up in landfills. You can actually save more money by investing in reusable items while lowering your impact on the environment.
Note that how you use and dispose of reusable products also matter. This is since such products can only fulfill their intended purpose if we reuse them enough times to offset their impact on the environment. This means if we don’t use reusable items enough times to offset the costs, energy, and materials in making them, then we are not really making much of a difference.
Choose Other Transportation Alternatives
Carbon emissions from diesel and petrol cars cause extensive air pollution. When you have the budget for a car upgrade, choose electric or hybrid cars instead. You get to reduce your overall emission and drive in style while helping the environment.
If a car upgrade is not possible, then choose public transport when it is convenient. You can do this when running errands that do not require you to bring heavy items on your way. You can enjoy the scenery, meet new people, and save from gas money from public transport while limiting your carbon emissions.
You can also carpool with your friends. Better yet, find other modes of transport that do not cause emissions at all. When going to the park, choose to walk, ride a bike, or use your roller skates instead and get your daily dose of exercise.
Limit Paper Usage and Printed Mails
Every mail you receive often ends up in the trash. This could be your mail subscriptions, bills, invoices, and the like. If possible, cancel these paper mails and choose to receive these via email instead.
Also, consider limiting your paper usage. You may have kids who love to draw and paint. But there are other ways you can nurture their love for art without wasting too much paper on their arts and crafts.
You could still be using lots of sticky notes, scribbling on paper, and printing documents for your work. Consider other note-taking strategies like taking notes on your iPad. For your documents, you can store these on cloud storage instead and free yourself from all your printed mess.
Don’t forget about paying your bills electronically. Automating your bills helps reduce your paper waste. You can even avoid missing an important due date for your recurring bills.
Lastly, consider reading blogs, online magazines, and eBooks instead of printed publications instead of buying and disposing of books and magazines. If you really like the feel of the real thing, consider heading into your local library and borrow publications instead.
Living a more eco-friendly life does not have to be complicated. But you will need to make trade-ins for the sake of the earth. The more eco-conscious you are, the easier it will be to realize which areas in your life you can change so you can continue embracing a more environment-friendly lifestyle.
