Sustainable living is a practice whereby you reduce the consumption of natural resources. This sometimes could mean foregoing a product created through practices that do not support nature. In other instances, it could be translated to mean altering the way you do things so as to become an active part of the life cycle. With the depletion of resources and problems like global warming rocking the world, everyone is encouraged to try sustainable measures that help to protect the environment. At your home, you could lead with sustainability measures that are easy to implement.
Here are few ideas you could try out.
Be a community garden member
This is not just about producing your own products, but it’s a process you embark on to help in collective effort to conserve the environment in the farming process. Community gardening promotes sustainable living and the gardens create green spaces. The garden waste produced can be recycled into mulches, which go back to enrich the soil. In urban areas, green spaces help in not only enhancing the beauty of spaces but could be a good solution for offsetting carbon emissions. It helps to clean the air as the carbon is absorbed by the plants.
Embrace minimalism
Some people confuse the idea of minimalism with living on nothing, but that is not what it’s about. It means ensuring that all the things you own and use are put to maximum use and no waste is tolerated. Materials that are recovered as waste from processes are supposed to be returned to the production process to serve as raw materials. A minimalistic lifestyle helps you to recycle a lot more, and it will encourage you to be mindful of things you produce so as to emphasize on sustainability.
Change to more efficient lights
There is a big concern about the materials going to landfills. One of the ideas supported by experts on Eco Peanut is to reduce the use of products that are likely to cause this pollution. The lights you use in your home should not only help in energy conservation, but the source should be natural to avoid waste that would end in landfills. A good idea would include changing your traditional bulbs to CFL and using other natural light solutions. Longer lasting and energy efficient light sources will help to minimize waste that goes into landfills.
Use natural cleaners
The cleaners you use at home are made from a mixture of chemicals that if released to the environment could cause damage. To live sustainably, you are encouraged to use natural cleaners, which could be made at home from natural products. Vinegar can be used with water to clean surfaces, and saponin from quinoa works as a natural laundry detergent. When you use these cleaners, you will help in reducing plastic packaging and it also helps in protecting the water system from chemicals that would cause contamination.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Buying new products may feel like making your life more comfortable, but when you think about it you are contributing to making the environment dirtier. A solution you would consider is to reduce the need to get new products. This will translate to less waste, and it also means there will be less to reuse and recycle. To support the resolution to reduce waste, learn how to reuse items, which can be done through repurposing of products for other uses. Also, recycle waste cans and bottles. Get a recycle bin that you can fill then deliver the trash to a recycling station. Doing so ensures you don’t let waste go into the landfill.
Carpool, bike or walk to work
Driving is one of the biggest contributors to pollution and with electric cars yet to become mainstream, this challenge stands unshaken. You could contribute in your small way by reducing the number of times you use a car to travel to work or places you could walk or cycle to. If you really need to use a car, then carpooling would be a good idea instead of each person driving themselves. Doing this might not appear to be something big, but collectively if other 1000 people embrace the same idea the impact will be huge. You could encourage your friends to also do this.
Unplug devices not in use
In the spirit of conserving energy, you should consider unplugging devices that are not in use out of power. Even when off, some electronic devices continue drawing power and this could inflate your power bill. Help in saving energy while also protecting your wallet, so simply unplug any devices you are not using until the need to have them on arises.
Use daylight
Sunlight comes free and will not cost you a cent. When you use sunlight during the day, you help to minimize your dependence on fossil fuels for electricity. Solar panels could help you to get the electricity you need to power your gadgets and light your home, without having to use any fossils that will end polluting the environment. Some solar generators can even be used as a replacement for electricity and will sufficiently supply the energy you need. When you are camping, instead of having a gasoline powered generator you could find a solar generator that will serve the same purpose without polluting.
Green home building
Experts in support of sustainable living suggest that it’s good to consider constructing a smaller house that will not consume a lot of energy. You will spend less on lighting, furnishing, and furniture, and to further save you can get the items from a thrift store then donate them when you no longer need them. Integrate green home technology while building to allow your home to run on sustainable sources of energy.
It’s the responsibility of everyone to keep their surroundings clean and healthy. A good solution that would make this possible is to embrace sustainability, which supports processes and ideas that encourage making the environment clean and better. It is a way of life that is anchored in preventing pollution and ensuring you conserve energy while using reusable products.
