9 Simple Ways You Can Incorporate Sustainable Practices in Your Daily Routine
Although sustainability may be a broad idea, it is based on daily repetition of little activities. You can expand on sustainable behaviors if you concentrate on the ones that are relevant to your day-to-day activities. Then you gradually develop a lifestyle and strengthen a commitment. Sustainable living is less laborious with this method.
Everyone can benefit from living sustainably. But why does it seem so challenging?
Sustainable living can sound intimidating and niche initially. You tend to think of documentaries about individuals who have taken their sustainability practices to the extreme. You may also have been turned off by stereotypes tied to sustainability marked by obsessive behavior and unkempt hair.
Some may also think that sustainability is but a trend for social media or a means for big businesses to sell more products. Consumers have been deceived by greenwashing, only to find it is just the same wasteful product in sheep’s clothing.
In this article, you will find out how sustainability is simple, beneficial, and crucial. In fact, you might be doing a few sustainable practices without even knowing it. Moreover, you will be able to link the immediate personal benefits of sustainability to the overall global impact.
Why Should You Go Green?
Before discussing how you can be more sustainable, let us go over why you should integrate a sustainable mindset into your life. A task becomes more inspiring to do when you see the end goal after all.
When you choose to go green, it can improve your well-being as it helps physically and emotionally. Its financial benefits are also tied to how it can help you psychologically. It is because of the obvious—the word “sustainable” denotes continuity and a guarantee of something long-term.
Living sustainably means enjoying what you have now in a manner that will last without much compromise.
On a personal level, sustainable living means saving yourself in the future and doing away with the excesses of today. These physical actions contribute to reducing stress and anxiety.
When left with what you truly need, you declutter your mind and are left to enjoy what matters. Earth 911 goes into more detail on how sustainability connects mental health with physical benefits.
On a global scale, it is not far off parallelism from the personal. In living sustainably today, you live with the peace of mind that your world can support the lives of generations. Contributing to reversing the damage people have done can ease climate anxiety, something that has affected everyone mentally.
How Can We Live Sustainably?
Integrating sustainability in the simplest factors is the best way to be more conscious. In this manner, you are building habits rather than changing your life drastically. You then enforce big goals with effortless actions.
1. Conserve energy
The digging and use of fossil fuels are the top threat to sustainable living. It is why we need to be vigilant in spending the energy we do not need. Always unplug devices when they are not in use. Turn off the lights when you leave a room and be conscious of idle consumption—stop checking your phone at least an hour before sleeping to help you sleep better.
Look for energy-saving options such as LED lamps. For your other appliances, purchase ones with a high energy-saving rating. You get to save lots of money this way, too!
2. Do not waste water
Water is the second-most important element for preserving life, next to air. There will be a shortage of this finite resource in the near future if usage is left unsupervised. Conserving water can go a long way to alleviating the impending shortage.
Reader’s Digest points out that the average American household uses 300 gallons of water daily. It sounds like a lot because it could be less. Use a glass when brushing your teeth. Do not leave the water running while going over your hands with the soap. Resort to more efficient shower heads, so you use less water. Regulate how often you indulge in a bath.
3. Commute green
One of the best ways to live sustainably is to green your travel options like commuting and reduce your carbon footprint. This is a practical way to give back to the earth, and it can help you become healthy, clear your mind, and alleviate your stress level.
The pandemic restarted a love for cycling to places. It seems to go beyond an adaptive trend as biking integrates the benefits of exercise with a sustainable way to commute. The pros (being sustainable by saving on gas) outweigh the cons (getting into a bicycle accident) as long as you observe property road safety and get particular over your biking gear.
Working from home is considered commuting green. It is also a good way to reduce stress. Since you are not traveling anywhere, your carbon footprint is reduced, and you are not dealing with the troubles of commuting.
4. Refillable is sustainable
There is something fulfilling about using the same container multiple times rather than the common practice of using it once and then disposing of it once the product has run out. Reusing and refilling a container means that packaging remains in the system and can be used multiple times until it is worn out.
Choosing reusable over single-use items means no plastic material is discarded, and there is no need to manufacture and ship more containers that will eventually be put to waste. The process becomes more efficient in saving energy, materials, and waste generation.
If there are personal and home cleaning products you must always repurchase, go for the refillable option. Major beauty industry players are coming up with refillable alternatives to their well-loved products. You can reduce recurring waste without compromising your preference for these purchases.
5. Reach for reusable
Do you love coffee in the morning? Bring your cup when you buy from a café. Take a metal straw if you are going out for lunch. Say “No, thank you” to plastic utensils. A cloth tote bag weighs nothing and saves you from asking for extra wrapping at the grocery and even the fashion stores.
All these actions, when done every day by more people throughout the globe, significantly reduce what is in our landfills.
6. Reduce the amount of flying
Global air traffic is increasing every year, despite the improving energy efficiency of airplanes. Currently, there are no international and airline-to-airline standards for airplane emissions.
If possible, take train or bus trips instead of short-haul flights to your destination. There is also the infamous question, “Can this business trip just be a virtual meeting?” when contemplating flights. If you are required to fly for your job, family, or a trip you can’t miss, consider exploring carbon offsetting programs to help neutralize your carbon footprint.
7. Reduce your meat consumption
Animal protein farmed in the factory leaves a higher carbon footprint than other food items. Not only do these pollute the groundwater, air, and soil, but they also consume tremendous amounts of energy and water. While some can completely eliminate animal-based products in their lifestyle, it is unrealistic to imagine a whole region to do the same.
8. Consider plant-based meat alternatives
Thinking of going plant-based? Some plant-based food items are actually more harmful to the environment than you think. That is why you are encouraged to lessen meat consumption gradually instead of going full plant-based. Americans eat an average of 274 lbs. of meat per year while Canadians approximately 148 lbs.
You can also eat sustainably-sourced seafood once or twice a week to reduce your carbon footprint. Fishing for wild seafood has a lower impact on the production of other land-based animal proteins. Many common practices like overfishing, blast fishing, and bottom trawling can off-balance the ecosystem, hurting the fish varieties being farmed.
9. Buy, consume, and dispose less
Are you trying to reduce your shopaholic tendencies and live more sustainably? You are doing great. Continue asking yourself, “Do I really need this item? What is the purpose of this object in my life? Can I use this item in the long run?” and see how they can impact the amount of stuff you purchase.
Small Changes, Big Difference
The aim of sustainable living is not to shame you about your habits. It is about making sustainability an almost subconscious or reflex action that can influence you and the people around you to improve your lives overall while also benefiting the planet.
The most obvious benefit of living sustainably is that you are less culpable for environmental damage and harm. Your carbon footprint is reduced, and there is peace within you, knowing that you are doing your part in preserving the planet for future generations, animals, and their natural habitats.
Sustainable living also provides a valuable opportunity to live a healthy life. When you avoid public transport and are walking or cycling wherever possible, you are likely increasing your amount of exercise every day. And by mindfully choosing ingredients in your food, you are more likely to make healthy choices.
Sustainability may be a big concept, but it is built on small actions done consistently every day. If you focus on the sustainable practices that connect to your daily life, you will be able to build on them. You then slowly create a lifestyle and improve on a commitment. Such an approach makes sustainable living less tedious.
Sustainable living is the healthier, cheaper, and wiser choice you can make for the planet.
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US Warns Airlines About Military Activity in Parts of Latin America
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