Switching to an eco-friendly lifestyle is not as mystical as it may seem. You don’t have to start wearing hemp t-shirts. Nor do you have to give up the comforts you enjoy. In fact, a few simple adjustments can make an impactful difference. Here are five ways to live a more eco-friendly life in 2022:
1. Start In The Kitchen
The way you run your kitchen can have an impact on the environment. You don’t have to upgrade to an eco-friendly stove, complete with the best cookware for induction (though this certainly would help). All you need to do is be mindful of your daily habits.
We all know the importance of recycling and keeping reusable materials out of the trash so that we can stop filling landfill sites needlessly. To extend this good practice, you can add a composting bin to the mix. This will allow you to keep biodegradable goods out of landfill sites. Instead, you can put organic matter back in the ground, where it can feed the soil. All it takes is keeping your food waste in a bucket and disposing of it by burying it in the garden.
2. Look At Your Shopping Habits
If you keep a reusable shopping bag on you, you’re already winning. Plastic grocery bags are among the world’s most harmful pollutants, contributing to the leaching of microplastics into our soil and groundwater. You can also be a more sustainable shopper by only supporting locally sourced products and services. It takes an incredible amount of resources to import products, and this contributes to the world’s petroleum demand and the greenhouse gas emissions from ships and planes.
3. Look At Your Household Habits
Consider saving up to buy solar panels that will allow you to gradually transition away from the traditional energy grid. Until you get there, you can reduce your consumption by switching off appliances when you’re not using them.
You should also look at your water consumption and reuse as much greywater as possible. Bathwater is great for watering your lawn, so long as you use non-toxic shampoo and soap. This is another area to “green” up your act – only buy environmentally friendly household cleaning and personal grooming products. This ensures there’s no harm done to the sensitive ecosystems that may interact with your household’s greywater somewhere down the line.
4. What Kind Of Industries Do You Support?
Do you support eco-friendly and sustainable brands? Are you unsure? Do your due diligence when you choose products. By supporting brands that are consciously striving to make a positive impact on the earth, you are furthering their reach and taking support away from the brands that drive the earth’s destruction (including those guilty of greenwashing). If everyone stopped supporting those businesses, they’d have no choice but to change.
5. Get Proactive Outside Of Your Immediate Environment
Be an earth warrior by looking for opportunities to volunteer. You don’t have to join Greenpeace and go to war with whalers. Your efforts can be as simple as volunteering for things like beach cleanups in your area. A quick Google search should give you an array of choices for how you can help the environment by joining established groups and teams.
Giving Back Is Rewarding
The beauty of adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle is that it truly does become addictive. By reaching out and joining other people in volunteer organizations, you can meet some incredible people and gain a great deal of value out of giving back.