Being more environmentally conscious does not have to be difficult. In fact, I recommend you make your sustainable lifestyle journey as easy and painless and possible! One of the best ways to kick off your eco-conscious lifestyle commitment is to identify easy eco-friendly switches that won’t make you miserable!
Eco-conscious living can be intimidating and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. In order to truly make the lifestyle sustainable and save you money over time, START SLOW.
Here are the five easiest eco-friendly switches you can start making today!
1. Refuse straws
Have you noticed any of your favorite restaurants and brands have committed to ending plastic? Companies often respond to consumer demand. Currently, consumers (US!) are demanding an end to the toxic compound known as plastic. Plastic is in almost everything and everywhere. I’ll be honest, completely removing and avoiding plastic in your life requires a lot of effort. I too have not mastered this task.
Instead of trying to eliminate all plastic in your life, choose one plastic item and work to completely remove it from your lifestyle – like straws.
Why are plastic straws bad?
Plastic straws are contributors to our much larger plastic problem. They take hundreds of years to break down in the landfill and often end up littered. Littered plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. These plastics are then eaten by marine animals. When marine animals eat plastics in the ocean, we eat those marine animals. The toxins are transferring to us.
Straws are often given with to-go orders and offered with drinks. Get into a habit of refusing straws. If you’d still like to sip your drink through a straw try using reusable straws instead!
I keep reusable straws in my car and in my purse so I’m always prepared when we go out.
2. Choose cleaner products
Choosing cleaner products is a super simple eco-friendly switch! You can choose to make your own products or you can purchase products from companies who prioritize choose less toxic products that are more sustainable for the environment.
I have a post all about sustainable products that will keep your home clean and smelling good without chemicals! Check it out here.
Related Post: The Best Sustainable Cleaning Products To Make Your Home Smell Incredible Without The Toxins
Currently, my favorite DIY cleaner is baking soda and water. It cuts through grease, dirt, grime, and even the dreaded bathroom soap scum. I sprinkle a little bit of baking soda on the area I want to clean, let it sit, and use a warm rag to scrub it clean. It’s simple, inexpensive, effective, and eco-friendly.
3. Pick Up Litter
While it may be obvious that you should not litter, something that is a little less obvious is that we should all be in the habit of constantly picking up litter when we see it.
If you’re not already, adopt picking up litter as an easy eco-friendly switch in your life. This does not mean you have to join in community cleanups recruiting your neighbors to host an adopt a spot (although these are excellent friendly practices!), it simply means to pick up litter around you!
When you’re in the parking lot and see a plastic bag floating around, or on a walk and see a disposable mask in the grass, or even the litter that ends up near the entrance of your home.
Each piece of trash you pick up from the ground is one less piece of trash that goes into our oceans, polluting our waterways in the process.
Don’t forget – picking up litter includes cigarette butts as well! This is consistently one of the most littered items in the world.
4. Unsubscribe from newspapers and magazines
Making the switch to paperless entertainment is incredibly easy!
If you’re anything like me, you occasionally receive those pesky newspapers (that you didn’t ask for!) thrown in your driveway. Either contact the company to unsubscribe from the subscription service or find a creative way to reuse the newspaper. We use our for crafts, lighting the grill, and our firepit.
If I’m being completely honest, I love a good magazine! In college, I actually subscribed to magazines because I loved reading about the latest trends and gossipy advice. Now, I can get the exact same information electronically through my app store or Audible!
Continuously creating paper contributes to overusing natural resources such as trees and water. Although newspapers and magazines are both recyclable, not having to use those natural resources in the first place is the best option for more eco-friendly living.
5. Choose glass when possible
Whenever possible, switch to glass.
Plastic, when ingested by both humans and animals is toxic. Despite this fact, we ingest about 5 grams of plastic per week, the equivalent of a credit card.
At this point in time, plastics are so abundant in our environment, it is almost impossible to remove them. The next best solution, avoid them when possible.
Glass is less toxic than plastic and indefinitely recyclable. On the other hand, only about 9% of plastic is recycled. Plastic in the waterway never truly breaks down. Instead, it gets smaller and smaller until it is considered microplastic. Plastic in the landfill can take hundreds of years to break down.
I hope you enjoyed this post all about easiest eco-friendly switches that won’t make you miserable!
There is no better time to start making eco-friendly switches than now. Not only is it good for our planet, it is good for our health. If you can’t incorporate all five of these eco-friendly switches into your lifestyle, that is okay! Choose one and continue doing it well. When you’re ready, incorporate more swaps.
The pace you choose to adapt eco-conscious lifestyle changes into your life and the changes you decided to make will completely depend on what works best for your family.
Are you new to eco-conscious living? What eco-friendly switches have you made?
Related Posts:
- How Can People Make Sustainability A Lifestyle? 28 Eco Friendly New Years Challenge Ideas To Make Your Year More Green.
- 5 Surprising Zero Waste Products I Found From An Online Shop To Make Easy Sustainable Swaps
- Here’s why “going green” can be annoying and intimidating: reasons people reject eco-conscious living (and how to overcome it)
Leave a Reply