Tips for being environmentally friendly
Readers, I am a pretty big advocate of helping the environment. So here are some items and methods I have come across that can have a big impact from small everyday actions. Please feel free to add or share elsewhere... but most importantly adopt.
To use:
- Compostable Trash Bags
- Reusable shopping bags
- Reusable produce bags
- Tupperware/reusable lunch containers
- Reusable / metal straws
- Bamboo toothbrushes
- Use bamboo/sugarcane derived napkins, toilet paper, and paper towels over tree-derived paper-towels
- IF you really want to go wild, use reusable "paper" towels!
- Reusable wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets (use scented oils if you need a specific scent)
- Laundry pods that are environmentally safe
- Toothpaste powder or pills instead of tubes
- Shampoo/conditioner/soap bars instead of plastic containers OR buy shampoo/conditioner/soap in plant based “plastic” containers that are compostable OR shampoo pods that are environmentally safe OR buy shampoo/conditioner/soap from a company that will refill your metal bottles
- Silicone baggies instead of Ziploc bags
To do:
- Bring your own coffee to-go mug to your favorite coffee shops instead of disposable ones
- Recycle your recyclables
- Compost your compostable items
- Carry your own silverware/chopsticks so you don’t have to use one-time use items
- Walk / bike / rollerblade / ride your scooter or skateboard when you have the option to not drive
- Build an insect hotel on your property – provide bees a place to live!
- Take plastic shopping bags to places like Walmart or Target where they collect and recycle them
- Cut down on meat consumption
Want to learn some more? Here is a great TED talk by Steven Chu, who is a Nobel Prize winner and former secretary for energy. He discusses climate change and solutions for sustainability. The first 20 minutes are a real bummer, but he's pretty funny when talking about the earth's doom at our own doing. A lot of the rest of it is about large scale tech solutions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h60UO69I-w&feature=youtu.be
Stay safe and successful!
