40 Ways To Be More Eco-Friendly (From Today)
So, I was brain-storming video ideas for YouTube the other day, and I thought it’d be an awesome idea to collate together a bunch of ideas to help make you and your home more eco-friendly and help you produce less wastage. This is by no means and exhaustive list, but I definitely had to chop it down to 40 or else the video was going to be way too long!
If you haven’t already, I hope you’re able to start to incorporate some of these ideas, as they are all quite simple swaps to make!
Download the 30 day challenge here:
1
Write down a list of what’s inside your fridge before you go grocery shopping. I don’t know how many times I used to double or triple-up on ingredients simply because I thought we had run out of something, and then before you know it, something has gone off. Check through before you head to the shops!
2
Chop up and store produce so that you can use them easily later. This might also include meal prepping some of the fresh produce so that you can easily add it into a meal later on without spending an extra 40+ minutes in the kitchen to prepare things.
3
Store your food properly, air tight, and in the correct locations in your fridge, to keep it good for longer.
4
Save your scraps from onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and other flavourful vegetables to create your own stock that you can use later on when you cook rice, pasta, soups, etc.
5
If you still have leftover food, either compost it, or put it into a worm farm. Don’t forget to check out my compost guide here. Some scraps will stop your compost from working, or kill your worm farm, so make sure you double-check before you add anything new.
6
Use the scraps from citrus fruits and herbs to create your own bench cleaning spray. Soak the citrus fruits in vinegar for 2 weeks, before diluting in a 1:1 ratio with distilled water. Here is an amazing recipe for a rosemary and lavender bench cleaning spray.
7
Bring a water bottle with you everywhere. This will stop you from purchasing single use plastics. You may like to have a few so that you can keep them chilled in the fridge.
8
Bring your own tote bags with you everywhere. I always keep a couple in my gym bag just incase! You might find it useful to also bring a long a couple of produce bags incase you need to purchase some dry goods.
9
Go to your local market and see what produce they have available. This is a great way to eat more seasonally, purchase locally, and to find many ingredients package free.
10
If you don’t need one, don’t get a straw.
11
Choose plastic-free produce and food items as often as possible. If you have a bulk food store near you, you’ll be able to find plenty of dry good items like nuts, flours, oils etc, all without the packaging.
12
Start a small garden or herb garden. You can even use recycled egg shells as small pots to sprout the seedlings, as they will be shallow enough to promote good drainage and allow for rapid growth.
13
Try to regrow food from scraps. The easiest produce for this is spring onions, herbs, onions, celery, and (if you’re patient) potatoes.
14
Actually eat the leftovers you packed away. You’re not really saving them if you’re going to toss them out later anyway.
15
Add more plants to your plate. A big serving of vegetables with your main meal will help keep you full with the fibre, add extra micronutrients into your diet, and is easy to purchase with no packaging or waste.
16
Buy in bulk where possible.
17
Store food in glass containers like mason jars, glass storage containers, or re-used jars from other products that you’ve cleaned and kept.
18
Use dishcloths or recycled fabric that you can wash and reuse instead of paper towels.
19
Switch to beeswax wraps, re-useable food savers, or sew some container covers to keep your food fresh, instead of using plastic wrap/cling film.
20
Buy or make your own loose-leaf tea. Many brands tea bags are made with plastic, which means they cannot be recycled or composted. A couple of brands that create tea bags without plastic are: Pukka, and Twinings Pyramid range.
21
Swap out your regular dish sponges for bamboo brushes and coconut coir scrubbers, both of these are biodegradable.
22
Drive less, and walk or ride more. Your heart will thank you for it too.
23
Skip the clothes dryer if you can and try to hang dry your clothes. If you live in an apartment you can buy a small, fold out clothes airer for your laundry.
24
If you decide to use a heating/cooling system in your house, make sure you close the blinds so that the heat/cool loss is reduced (the bare glass will actually impact how quickly your room changes temperature too).
25
Unplug devices from power points and switch them off when they’re not in use to avoid using extra standby electricity.
26
Opt for LED bulbs. Mitch recently replaced a bunch of our light bulbs with these LIFX bulbs. We can also control them from our phones, dim them, and they only use 9 watts of electricity (at full brightness), rather than 60 like a regular bulb.
27
Keep a bucket at the base of your shower (if you have room) to catch the water from when you first turn the shower on (until it reaches your ideal temperature). Let the water cool and you can use this to water plants around the home, or alternatively you can just use it to flush the toilet!
28
Use a safety razor instead of disposable plastic razors.
29
Choose bar soap over plastic bottles of body wash. You can also pick up a soap saver to make sure it lasts longer and stays more hygienic in your bathroom.
30
Switch to reusable fabric cotton rounds to remove your makeup, rather than the disposable kind.
31
Use a bamboo toothbrush, but look our for a brand that also has compostable bristles, many don’t.
32
Create a ‘mini makeup kit’ of only the products you use every day and for special occasions, and then don’t buy extra things unless you need them.
33
Make some of your own products, like makeup remover. You can find my recipe here.
34
They’re not for everyone, but try out some re-usable menstrual products, like cups or cloth pads.
35
Easy: buy less.
36
Bring in a ‘one in one out’ system to help prevent over-cluttering and excess waste.
37
Create a ‘wishlist’ so that you can wait 30 days before purchasing non-essential items.
38
Research products well before buying, try to see if they are made well so that they will last you as long as possible.
39
Look for items you already own that can be repaired or mended, rather than buying new.
40
Research into the companies you buy from and try to support those that uphold similar values to you and create their products ethically.