For people who’ve never dabbled in the world of ‘green living’ before, the whole thing can seem daunting and sometimes even a little bizarre. But fear not – environmentally conscious living is not reserved for bare-foot hippies or self-sufficient recluses who live in the woods. There are plenty of small and easy changes you can make in your day to day life that are easy ways to save the planet.
1. Recycle
Ok, we’re starting with the obvious, but a lot of people underestimate the importance of recycling. It will take a plastic bottle 450 years to decompose. Recycling that same bottle would save enough energy to power a lightbulb for 6 hours! Avoid throwing any recyclable materials into the landfill and rest easy in the knowledge that your trash is being put to good use.
2. Do Away with Face Wipes
I was a face wipe addict (mostly because I’m also a waterproof mascara addict), but when I sat down and thought about how many face wipes I was throwing into the landfill each year, I made a change. Now I take off my makeup with the Fresh Farmacy facial soap from Lush and go in with a little coconut oil to remove any stubborn eye makeup. My conscience is clean and my skin has never looked better!
3. Bag a Reusable Bag
100,000 marine animals are killed each year as a result of plastic bag pollution, which is insane when you think about how easy it is to switch to a reusable bag instead. Canvas bags are great and there are plenty of cute designs to choose from.
4. Go Meat-Free
This is usually where I lose people, but just hear me out! I understand that most meat-eaters are horrified by the thought of a meatless meal. I was one of those meat-eaters! You don’t have to go vegetarian or swear off chicken for life, but going meat-free just once or twice a week has a huge impact on your carbon footprint. Eating just one less burger a week would save as much energy as taking your car off the road for 320 miles. Skipping steak for a week is the equivalent of taking your car off the road for almost a month! This is a perfect example of how tiny changes to your every day way of life can really add up.
5. Switch Up Your Morning Coffee
Most coffee cups aren’t recyclable at your bog-standard recycling plant and, while Costa is now offering an in-house recycling scheme, the better alternative is to just take your own reusable cup when you go out for coffee. Most big-name coffee shops will also give you a discount for using you own cup, making it a win-win.
6. Ditch Disposable Water Bottles
In case you’re not seeing a theme here, reusable items are a big deal when it comes to saving the planet and water bottles are no exception. For every litre of bottled water produced, 250 millilitres of oil are used and don’t forget about all of that plastic waste, most of which never gets recycled. Invest in a reusable water bottle and, not only will you be helping out the planet, but you’ll save yourself some money too.
7. Unplug
I’m not asking you to live by candlelight or give up all of your appliances. Just think about the amount of electricity you’re wasting. Simply unplugging electrical items when you’re not using them, turning off lights when you’re not in the room and making sure you’re not overcharging your gadgets will quickly add up and lower your carbon footprint in no time.
8. Say No To Straws
The UK recently announced a plan to ban all single use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds as early as next year and I’ve never been so proud to be British! America alone uses enough single-use straws every day to wrap around the surface of the Earth…twice! Simply ordering your drink with no straw at a bar or restaurant will help to keep those pointless plastics out of our oceans.
9. Support Eco-Friendly Brands
Recently, there’s been a sudden surge towards environmentally conscious living and we’re seeing more and more eco-driven brands emerging. Companies such a 4Ocean and Eco Oddball donate part of their profits back to charity, which is awesome. Lush is also a long-standing advocate for environmental awareness and their ingredients are all natural and ethically sourced. Research some ethical companies and try them on for size.
10. Spread the Word
It can feel difficult to talk to your friends and family about your environmental beliefs. You don’t want to come across preachy or judgemental or induce any eye-rolling. But spreading the word about the simple tips and tricks you’ve adopted to make your life more eco-friendly is a great way to get more people on board. Simply show someone the new reusable bag you bought or tell them over drinks why you’ve decided to stop using straws. You might be surprised to see how many of your friends are interested to hear how they can make some changes too.
One person can’t save the world single-handedly and a lot of people use that as an excuse to sit back and do nothing. Sure, one person can’t do it all, but if everyone adopted a ‘can-do’ attitude instead of a ‘why bother’ one, we’d have this planet looking spick and span again in no time. Even small changes like these quickly add up to make a big difference. Let’s start making those changes today!
* Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to purchase the product through my link, I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you and everyone’s a winner!