Ways to Live a More Sustainable Life

How do you define living a more sustainable life? Whether it be consuming less meat, reducing single use plastics, carpooling or riding your bike, making decisions to be more sustainable can turn into something bigger than yourself. You make not think you’re making a difference, but you are – if everyone in the world thought they wouldn’t make a difference if, let’s say, they decided not to recycle, it would cause a big impact - wouldn’t you say?

Below are a few simple tips to live more sustainable. Some of them may be easier than others for you, but even adding 2-3 of these items to your lifestyle can cause a difference and may even strike others you surround yourself with to take action as well!

Home Sustainability:

1. Get a water saving shower head

2. Turn the water off while brushing your teeth & shaving

3. Burn soy wax candles – paraffin wax candles leave chemical fumes in your home – Read the Benefits of soy wax candles here

4. Hand wash dishes, or only use your dishwasher when it’s completely full – turn the heat dry setting off and let dishes air dry or dry manually

5. Wash clothes in cold and hang dry, especially if it’s a smaller load

6. Plant indoor plants to naturally clean the air – look to this list

7. Use natural light – open up your blinds or drapes and let the light in before turning on lights

8. Opt in the LED or CFL light bulbs instead of incandescent – they last longer and it saves energy (and money)

1. Limit showers to 10-15 minutes (or less!)

2. Flex your power – turn off lights when leaving the room or house for the day

3. Open a window – let a cool breeze in when you need air in the evenings.

4. During the summer – look to this blog for sustainable ways to cool down – Keep Cool This Summer

5. Recycle Recycle Recycle! Things you can and cannot recycle here

6. Start Composting! – Grab an indoor compost bin and reduce food scraps. Toss in your outdoor compost pile to provide natural nutrients to your garden or your green waste organics bin so it can be collected on garbage day. The odor-preventing filter and compostable liner bags makes composting a breeze. You’re helping reduce the amount of garbage you put out as well as providing nutrients for your garden.

7. When cleaning and decluttering, declutter smart. Donate what is still usable, recycle what you can, and limit what ends up in landfill

8. Unplug small appliances after use, like your kitchen aid mixer, your toaster, etc. Even when they aren’t in use, they are still using up power – better yet, use a power strip! You can turn everything off all once and unplug the power strip!

9. Meal prep – meal prepping not only saves time, but can be energy efficient especially if you’re using the stove of oven. Create enough food for leftovers to prevent having to use your stove/oven every single day.

10. Cover your food when cooking stove top – this traps heat and can help cook your food faster reducing the amount of cook time.

11. Use ecofriendly & sustainable cooking utensils and gadgets like bamboo, molded bamboo, or stainless steel. Bamboo is stronger and more durable than wood, and bamboo forests replenish themselves faster than tree/wood forests. Plastic utensils along with melamine utensils are known to leach chemicals when exposed to heat, contaminating food and potentially causing health issues.

12. Learn How To Properly Store You Groceries – Being aware on how to properly store you groceries, and how long they keep, can be a good reminder and incentive to use them before they go to waste – ultimately cutting down food waste and saving you money.

13. Get Chillin’ – Find an empty space in your refrigerator or freezer and stuff with crumpled newspaper or full water bottles (try to avoid the plastic ones) – this improves cooling and saves electricity and money.

14. Nix the Plastic Bottles – Start purchasing reusable water bottles to take on the go with you. They make them with recycled plastic, stainless steel, and glass. Look into getting a water filter to filter out all the additives to tap water so your water will always be fresh and tasting great.

15. Skip the k-cup coffee makers – these create a lot of landfill waste. If you already have one of these, try using a re-usable cup where you can fill the cup up with fresh coffee. It’s less wasteful and will help eliminate the amount of landfill you create.

Commute Sustainably

24. Ride a bike or scooter to work, to the store, to the movies, to school, etc.

25. Use public transportation – buses, trolley’s, Muni, BART, the subway, etc.

26. Skip the elevator. Use the stairs whenever you can, also gives you some great cardio while you’re at it!

Sustainable Store Visits

27. Shop Locally - Shop at your local farmers market or farm stands. You get fresher food, support your community, and help reduce fuel waste and emissions from long distance shipping

28. B.Y.O.B – Bring your own bag. Start carrying your own bags with you to reduce unnecessary plastic and paper bag use. Grab Reusable Veggie Bags to shop and store your fresh produce in – keep your veggies lasting longer.

29. Number 9! – Keep an eye out for the numbered stickers on fruits and veggies. If they start with #9, that means your produce is organic meaning it is pesticide free.

30. Shop the bins – a lot of stores have the bulk bin areas and some even allow you to bring your own containers. This can help reduce unnecessary packaging

31. Avoid ready made foods, like freezer meals – they have so much extra packaging that typically is never recycled. Avoid plastic wrapped products as well

32. Make a meal plan, and bring a list – this will help prevent you from over buying which can contribute to food waste if food goes bad before you have a chance to make it.

Sustainable Fashionista

33. Upcycle a pair of old jeans into a cute bag, Pinterest has a ton of crafts and upcycle clothing projects

34. Donate what doesn’t fit or sell them

35. Shop around for second hand fashions at consignment stores, donation centers, or re-selling apps.

36. Eliminate fast fashion from your wallet and closet. Just because it’s cheap, doesn’t mean it’s a good buy. Purchase better quality items that will last longer.

37. Choose a few items you love to wear, and use often – eliminate what you haven’t worn in the past year and donate it. It’s taking up space, you don’t wear it, and it’ll be better in someone else’s hands.

Kitchen Sustainability

38. Reuse and repurpose glass jars – store leftover food, make crafts, or use for dry storage for both foods or small things like buttons or safety pins

39. Use reusable straws instead up buying plastic straws that end up in our landfills and water ways

40. Reduce paper towel use and opt into using bamboo paper towels when you must – bamboo replenishes itself at a way higher rate than trees. Paper towels are also compostable so toss into your compost bin

41. Use reusable cloths as often as you can

42. Turn off the water in between washing dishes – don’t just let the water flow

43. See more in home sustainability up at the top

Tech Sustainability

44. Recycle old computers, printers, etc. to your local e-waste drive

45. Look into solar panels if it’s in your budget

46. Turn off your computer when not in use

47. Have a electronic free day once a week, or twice a month

Office Sustainability

48. Cut down scrap paper into scratch pads for easy notes or reminders

49. Have a separate area for recycling paper & cardboard

50. Save to an e-file instead of printing when printing can be avoided

51. Bring your own utensils & plates to work if your office uses single waste paper or plastic products. Bring your own napkin too

52. Encourage office peers to be less wasteful with printing

53. Ride your bike or carpool to work as often as you can

Sustainable Gifts & Holidays

54. Reuse gift bags & bows

55. Wrap presents in magazines or newspaper instead of buying wrapping paper

56. Create DIY gifts & upcycle jars/containers. My go to are body scrubs or essential oil roller ball perfumes

57. Gift experiences instead of materialistic things – a home cooked meal, a day out in the city, going on a birthday hike, etc. – get creative!

58. Shop at antique or vintage store to get cool retro items instead of a brand new item

59. Give the gift of sustainability! Get a reusable water bottle or coffee mug, a reusable straw, or a reusable bag

Sustainable Beauty

60. Coconut oil – great for hair masks, removing makeup, dry skin, and so much more

61. Air dry hair – skip out on the blow drying

62. Create your own lotions, perfumes, body scrubs – Pinterest has loads of great resources for this. Store in an upcycled jar

63. Ditch the single use makeup removing wipes and disposable cotton rounds. Use a reusable/washable washcloth for this. Pair with coconut oil or a ecofriendly and cruelty free face wash

64. Drink more tea – preferably loose leaf or tea bags without individual bags

65. Re-use towels. After showering, hang dry your towel and wash once a week

Sustainable Living

66. Cook more! Skip the take out, or bring your own container for leftovers in restaurants

67. Get our in nature more – go for a walk, go hiking, spend time getting fresh air

68. Plant more plants

69. Pick up trash or litter you see while enjoying a walk, sometimes you have to pick up other’s peoples trash

70. Refuse single waste plastics while going out to eat, bring your own to you’re always prepared for impromptu trips

71. Buy books from a second hand book store, or go to the library

72. Eat less meat and more whole foods and veggies

73. Opt in for reading your favorite magazines or newspaper online, the majority of publications are online now

74. Keep reading and educate yourself on current environmental issues, and learn how to help.

75. Spread awareness and encourage your family and friends to live a more sustainable life

76. Before purchasing new, look around for second hand items like clothing, furniture, toys, books, etc. Seek and you shall find – there are loads of avenues to purchase second hand, some of them can even been find through a nifty app on your smart phone.

77. Don’t buy things you don’t need

78. Say no to Styrofoam

Other Posts You Might Enjoy:

Recycle Number On The Bottom Of Plastics

Items to Remove From Your Home - DECLUTTER!

25 Ways to Conserve Water At Home

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