Looking for easy ways you can start living an eco friendly life?
Well, you are in the right spot! First of all, thank you for finding your way to this post. As we all know, the planet & our oceans are under great stress. And, like millions of others, you want to do your part. This post covers just over 60 ideas, many that you can start today. The little things do matter so, please do not overlook the little changes that are listed. Everything adds up to big changes in the world.
Pennies turn into dollars.
Food
- Eat seasonally.
- Do not throw food away, compost.
- If you can’t / won’t compost you can still use your fruit and vegetable scraps.
- Onion, carrot, garlic, and celery scraps can easily be used to make a vegetable stock.
- Brown bananas can be frozen to make banana bread later.
- Other fruits that are mushy can be frozen and used for smoothies.
- Believe it or not, there are many food scraps that you can easily grow. Click here and learn which ones you can grow the easiest.
- Grow your own herbs inside. Adding green inside your home is not only a mood lifter but, it can remove toxins from the air, increase humidity, and improve health.
- Plant your own garden.
- Make your own jam.
- Lean how to can! Click here to learn.
- If you hate eating leftovers, cook smaller portions.
- If, you will eat leftovers, make sure you do so. Make it fun by pretending you’re on chopped and you were given a basket of leftovers.
- Double check what you have at home before you go grocery shopping.
- Brew your own coffee! All you need is hot water and a reusable filter.
- Meatless Monday’s.
- Go heavy on the vegetables.
Exploring the idea of a plant based diet? Click here for tips and a few of my personal favorite plant based dishes.
Stop Single Use
15. Paper Plates.
16. Paper toweling. Check out Norwex. Honestly, I travel everywhere with one. Norwex products have strands of silver sewn into them. If you didn’t know, silver has naturally occurring anti-bacterial properties.
17. Replace paper napkins with cloth napkins.
18. Plastic Cups can be avoided with a reusable cup.
19. Plastic Cutlery. You have silverware at home, right? Keep a set with you to avoid use single use.
20. Plastic Water Bottles. Invest in a metal or glass bottle. Some of you have seen the one I carry — FYI it fits almost a full bottle of wine.
21. Disposable Coffee Cups. Instead, bring your own reusable mug to coffee shops. They will fill it and it saves them the cost of the cup.
22. Store your reusable bags inside your car so you are never without them. Also, many grocery stores now provide a discount when you bring your own bags.
23. Make sure you have filtered water at home, so you have no need for bottled water at home.
24. Save glass jars and use later for food storage instead of plastic Tupperware.
25. Same goes for baking, use metal or glass versus single use tins.
26. Less packaging — you don’t need a plastic bag for one onion. Here’s a trick, take your reusable bags to the grocery store and pack your groceries in them as you shop.
27. Bar soaps instead of body wash that comes in a plastic bottle.
28. Instead of buying 5 bags of frozen vegetables, buy the family size. When you get home break the bag down into your glass jars and store them in the freezer.
29. Skip the plastic straw.
30. Invest in a good razor. Stop using disposable ones.
31. Bamboo toothbrush.
32. During the self-quarantine, many Americans discovered bidet attachments.
33. Kick the Kuerig to the curb and get a coffee pot that makes more than one cup.
34. Honestly, avoid plastic as much as you possibly can.
Stream2Sea provides products that are 100% reef safe and their packaging is also eco friendly. Check them out for your sunscreen, shampoo, conditioner, and more!
Save Money & Consume Less
35. Buy less clothes. Fast Fashion is not eco friendly. Instead, shop your best friends’ closet. Click here to learn more about Fast Fashion and the damage it causes.
36. For many, meat is the most expensive item on their grocery list. Consider filing your plates with cheaper items such as vegetable, lentils, grains, rice, etc.
37. Vinegar for cleaning versus chemically loaded cleaning products that will eventually trickle into the groundwater is a much cheaper option.
38. Drive less. Walk, cycle, or skate more.
39. Carpool
40. Public transportation if it’s available.
41. Work from home more often. If you need dual monitors to do your job, get some for home, set up a secluded work space, and get to work. If you have higher levels of productivity at home, it’s worth pitching to your director. In the end, you'll save money on gas, can potentially get low car insurance premiums, and save the planet.
Energy Efficient Home
42. Seal your windows and door to ensure they do not leak.
43. Make sure your insulation is up to par.
44. Have your furnace and air conditioning systems serviced to make sure they’re running properly.
45. Quality curtains! Whether you live in a warm or cold climate, they will help.
46. Use less water.
47. Make sure you have energy efficient light bulbs installed.
48. Unplug devices you’re not using. For example, your cell phone chargers draw energy even when they’re not being used.
49. Consider getting a smaller refrigerator.
50. Wash clothes in cold water.
51. Air dry your clothes. You can easily do this inside or outside.
Painted on the curbs of California streets
Things to Try
52. Challenge yourself to produce less and less garbage every week.
53. Donate or volunteer your time for conservation efforts.
54. Buy as much as you can locally!
55. Run your errands on the same day.
56. Plant some trees.
57. Raise awareness using your social medias or the old fashion way, face to face with friends.
58. Make sure you’re using reef safe products. Stream2sea is one THE BEST eco friendly companies on the planet.
59. Before tossing a broken product and buying a brand new one, try to fix it yourself. Consider, reaching out to a friend who might be able to assist you.
60. Learn how to sew. Fix a pair of torn jeans so you can keep wearing them for many years to come.
Fellow eco friendly hero’s, I know a lot of you are already doing many, if not all of these things.
Together we can all do better so, please share your own healthy habits that help our planet and ocean below in the comment section.
