Five Easy Practices That Leads To An Eco-friendly Lifestyle

We’ve been hearing so much about the climate crisis and how it all started thanks to human activity and global temperatures. How can one person make a difference when it feels as though everything has a bad impact on the environment? One person can make a huge difference, right? Why not start the basics on living an eco-friendly lifestyle?

What does it mean to “live an eco-friendly lifestyle”? Eco-friendly literally means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. This means that when you live that type of lifestyle you’re not harming the environment, instead you can make it better. 

Changing from wasteful or destructive to eco-friendly living can be a struggle, mostly when you are unsure about where to begin. Here are 5 easy and small daily practices, for all ages, that can lead to an eco-friendly lifestyle.

1. Use Less Plastic 

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling plastic helps to decrease the amount of pollution in the air and water sources. Plastic pollution is threatening the marine ecosystem. Here are ways you can reuse, recycle and reduce plastic:

• Stop using plastic straws- if straw is a must, purchase reusable stainless steel or glass straws

• Use a reusable produce bag. One single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade- purchase or make your own reusable produce bag

• Reuse containers for storing leftovers or shopping in bulk.

• Use a reusable bottle or mug for your beverages, even when ordering from a to-go shop

• Use a razor with replaceable blades instead of a disposable razor

• Purchase food, like cereal, pasta, and rice from bulk bins and fill a reusable bag or container. You save money and unnecessary packaging.

2. Less Meat 

Cutting out some meat, especially red meat and large fish, and eating lower on the food chain overall can help significantly lower your personal greenhouse gas emissions. 

Start by introducing ‘Meatless Mondays’- If you live in a household where meat is a must in almost every meal, start by having a day where you don’t eat meat. Getting used to not having meat in your everyday life can be difficult, so it’s good to take your time when doing this. 

Use meat as a side dish- If you start seeing it as a treat that you only have occasionally, or as a side dish, then it will be easier for you to gradually cut it out of some of your meals. 

Plan your meals- Planning is a very important step for improving your diet, or if you want to lose weight. You need to plan realistically, make sure you have planned enough food for yourself throughout the week. 

3. Turn The Lights Off 

By turning lights off when you're not using them and using natural light wherever possible – will make your home more comfortable, energy efficient and save you money on energy bills.The longer your lights are left on, the higher your running cost will be. Switch lights off when they’re not in use, to keep your lighting energy costs down. 

4. Compost

Composting helps keep vegetable matter out of landfills- helps minimise landfulls’ contribution to climate change. Not only do compost bins reduce waste by letting you reuse items you would normally throw away, they also save your money and help you plants grow better in your garden! 

5. Become a responsible consumer 

Everything we consume requires resources to produce. According to the SF environment, 71 pounds of waste is made during manufacturing. People are faced with choices to consume everyday, and not just at the checkout counter. 

• Limiting what you can use or need- knowing your limits when purchasing goods or services is always important. Saves money, shows the demand and supply trend going down

• Buying from local supply chains that benefit businesses- One of the best ways for businesses to help reduce poverty is to integrate local producers into their supply chains. Eating local means more money stays within your community. Eating local reduces your carbon footprint. When your food doesn’t travel long distances, you’re promoting better air quality and reducing pollution. 

• Look at where your products are made- a better idea of where you're buying from, but secondly, makes you accountable for the product you want to purchase