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Principles Of Eco Friendly and Sustainable Living
What stage of your sustainable living journey are you on? What does your eco friendly living goal look like? Let us delve into some ways to live more sustainably, tips, tricks, and suggestions on how to take the next step of your sustainability journey, regardless of where you are. For example, you can also buy sustainable living products or home goods made in the USA, sustainably manufactured, and in sustainable packaging. This includes home goods, bath care, and yard care. Purchase sustainably made items or make your own body care like deodorant.
Sustainable living is built on four main categories of waste: minimizing waste, limiting the use of Earth's natural resources, the wise use of the environment, and ensuring quality working and living environments.
3 Categories For A Sustainable Way Of Life
Let us break it into three categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. But please, do not be discouraged by these three categories and hold back! We all start at the same place: new to sustainable living, using eco-friendly products for zero waste living. Also, often, we don't think about what's in our kitchen, but using sustainably made cookware is also healthier for you, your family, and the environment.
Something in the advanced category may interest you, which you may want to implement in your Natural Healthy lifestyle. These categories are merely our way of breaking down products and lifestyle changes by the difficulty of making that change. Here are some of our favorite simple changes below!
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Beginner Implementing Sustainability In Daily Life
Are you new to sustainable living? If so, let us look at some of our favorite and easy-to-implement ways to make your life more eco friendly living and sustainable. Several involve reducing single use waste products like plastic bags, water bottles, and straws. Therefore, we recommend you start with some easier things to implement.
Many of these involve reducing single use waste – so we suggest you start by creating a “waste audit” in your home and analyze where you generate the most non-recyclable trash. We call it Single-Use Swaps.
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Eco Friendly Living: Lifestyle Changes To Be More Sustainable
The best place to start is by considering what kinds of single-use products you use in your home and everyday life. For example, if you visit a coffee shop every morning, you can easily switch to a single-use cup. Plus, if you rely on plastic wrap or paper towels, you can easily upgrade to reusable options! Even though reusable options have a higher upfront cost, they will save you money. I moved into my new home and have had to renovate and buy new products. I have been furthering my sustainable journey by buying only what I need and with items that are eco friendly. Using a recycled and eco conscious kitchen sink caddy helps save water and less waste.
Furthermore, there are so many single-use swaps to include plastic products, but we will have some of our favorites here:
Sustainable lifestyle changes - The Three Rs Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce
Have you ever heard of – reduce, reuse, recycle? It sounds simple, and it can be. Start With Reducing. What this means is reducing, across the board, the number of items you purchase and use. For example, only buy one if you already have eight pairs of shoes! You do not have to go complete minimalism but rather decrease the amount of impulse buying. Further, this will help reduce waste, and you will save money.
Reuse
Next, let’s reuse what we own! Reducing is very similar to our single-use swaps, but reusing focuses on extending the life of the products you use in your home. For instance, rather than throwing that plastic food storage container you got with takeout or from a friend, wash it and reuse it repeatedly! Likewise, this applies to that plastic spoon you unintentionally got with your food or delivery. Besides, you can also find creative ways to repurpose items you cannot use again for their original purpose. For example, you can easily use toothbrush handles as planter pot mixers.
Recycle
Last but not least, recycle! Most cities have recycling collections – find out what can be recycled and start recycling. Recycling is easy to do, and what is nice is it gives used products a new life and keeps garbage out of our landfills! For more information, please read our blog, Natural Living For Healthier Living and Better For The Environment.
Update: I recently moved into a new home. My new home needs some upgrades, a fresh paint job. Instead of buying new bathroom cabinets, I upcycle them by putting a coat of fresh chalk paint on them. Let me tell you, they look fantastic. Plus, instead of spending over $1200. For a master bath cabinet, it only cost me somewhere around $260. to do a minor renovation.
Cleaning + Laundry Sustainable Lifestyle Products
When it comes to living a sustainable lifestyle, we need to give more thought to cleaning and laundry products because they can be wasteful with unsustainable plastic packaging. Plus, cleaning and laundry products can contain potentially harmful toxins. Also, when it comes to cleaning products, buy dish soap, an all-purpose cleaning spray packaged in refillable glass spray bottles, and sustainable packaging.
Single Use Swaps
Hence, they will be plastic-free and toxin-free. Similarly, buy brushes, gloves, and tools made from eco-friendly materials, such as Swedish dishcloths, for cleaning rather than paper towels. Another great option is to use trash bags made from recycled materials instead of plastic bags, which may end up in the ocean.
For laundry, swap out single-use dryer sheets (irritate the skin, synthetic fragrance) for reusable dryer balls. Additionally, you can add several drops of essential oils to your dryer balls for a fresh or customized fragrance smell. When you buy laundry detergent or powder, please be sure it is high quality and toxin-free ingredients. For instance, you can use a plastic-free stain stick for spots! You can also make your all-purpose cleaning spray using essential oils or reuse an old spray bottle.
Ways To Be Sustainable In Everyday Life And Environmentally Friendly Personal Care Products.
Our personal care routine may produce more waste than we think to replace with environmentally friendly personal care products! For instance, are flexible plastic shampoo, conditioner, or body care bottles not recyclable? As a result, when you buy hair, body, skin, and oral care personal care products, look for sustainable packaging or plastic-free alternatives containing biodegradable ingredients! For instance, the classic bamboo toothbrush can use toothpaste tabs in sustainable packaging glass for oral care.
Buy Compostable Or Reusable Packaged Items
Use an aluminum-free deodorant in compostable or recyclable materials instead of plastic for better health. When you buy hair products, look for refillable options. Regarding skincare, we love ethical brands packaged in sustainable packaging like glass. Eventually, you and your family will get used to shifting your care routine with eco-friendly self-care products; the result is better products and less waste! Eco Friendly living is achievable and easy to implement when you take small steps. Switch from conventional beauty products to the best eco-friendly beauty brands, natural beauty that is safe for you and the environment.
Eco Friendly Living - Intermediate Ways To Be Sustainably In Everyday Life
Our intermediate ways to live more sustainably recommendations are for those who have already implemented the basic single-use swaps and are looking to expand more, requiring more time, energy, or planning. We suggest you do what works best for you with sustainable lifestyle changes. I have been on my sustainable lifestyle journey for years, and I find I am constantly growing. Don't feel discouraged if you aren't 100% sustainable living. What are green living and green cleaning? Why is green living important?
Micro Plastic Pollution
Microplastic pollution is a growing crisis; our oceans and waterways are filling with tiny (or microscopic) plastic particles, including drinking water. These particles are produced by degrading plastic pieces or items like microbeads from personal care products. For starters, avoid buying products containing microbeads; these are predominately found in personal care products like some scrubs. Moreover, you can help reduce the number of microbeads released by purchasing clothes made from natural fibers, not synthetic ones like nylon, that can wash off plastic micro threads in the wash.
The Cora Ball or the Buppy Friend is a laundry microfiber-catching medium; for synthetic clothing, you do have, you use a laundry microfiber-catching medium that captures micro threads. In addition, for any small trash pieces, like bread ties, instead of tossing them in the trash, make an “eco brick” by storing them in something with a lid like a plastic bottle. Learn more about what you can do with an eco brick.
Sustainable Living Lifestyle Changes And Grocery Shopping Store
First, next up on your sustainability journey is going to the grocery store. To start, replace plastic bags by buying or making reusable grocery bags and reusable produce bags; for the packaging of the items you purchase, buy items packaged in paper, cardboard, metal, or glass rather than plastic, sustainable packaging. Additionally, when available, buy bulk and concentrated cleaning products.
Shop Local
Shop your local farmers market, therefore supporting local farmers, organic produce, produce in season, healthier foods, and better for the planet. At any rate, many organic and grass-fed meat, produce, and grocery delivery companies ship foods in sustainable packaging.
Fast fashion is an astonishingly wasteful industry, generating eight percent of the world's carbon emissions. To offset this, decrease or stop purchasing poorly manufactured clothing, especially those made of nylon, spandex, or other synthetic fibers containing petroleum. When you buy new clothes, buy from ethical companies or shop in second-hand stores instead. Buy higher quality sustainable fashion that will last a lifetime instead of fast fashion or cheaply made home items. Your homestead will be a lot more sustainable!
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Sustainable And Eco Friendly Living - Advanced
The advanced sustainability living label is just that, a label. We call this category advanced because some things on this list are time-consuming but doable. Once you get started, things will flow, and you will continue to grow on your sustainable journey.
Use TerraCycle Boxes
It is nearly impossible to go 100 percent zero waste since there will always be items in your household that cannot be recycled or composted. For things that are not recyclable or compostable, look at TerraCycle Boxes! TerraCycle collects hard-to-recycle items and does it for you; they have some free take-back programs (find those here), but they also offer boxes you can purchase and fill in your home. How it works: buy the box, fill it, mail it to them, and divert your trash from our landfills!
Avoid Food Waste
Americans toss out approximately 133 billion tons of food annually, most of which sits in our landfills, generating greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing food waste can be tricky, but it is worth it! Save money and prevent your food and produce from spoiling. To start, buy food storage containers that will extend the life of your product and leftovers, plus store them correctly. Work on portion control, start meal prepping and eat or upcycle your scraps.
Update: I started VermiComposting and Composting, using the compost in my pollinator garden and food gardens.
Sustainable Lifestyle And DIY Recipes
If you are a DIYer, a.k.a., do it yourself: save money and resources by making or making or creating natural cleaning products, the best sustainable beauty or bath products, and much more. There are a million ways you can DIY, but some of our favorite picks are making your nut milk with a nut milk bag, making homemade tortillas with a tortilla press, or baking fresh organic bread and storing it in a bread bag! Other DIY projects you can take on are furniture, crafts, green cleaning products, and more. You can make it a family affair and involve your kids so they start young.
The takeaway is that living a sustainable lifestyle looks different for everyone. What is important is that you are trying and mindful of your impact on the planet. Have you ever considered using sustainable gardening practices for an eco-friendly garden?
Our beginner, intermediate, and advanced tips will spark some interest and ideas on how you will start your sustainable lifestyle journey.
Plus, whenever possible, use organic and natural products. Finally, buy products in sustainable packaging whenever possible. These are ways to be sustainable in everyday life,
