It is no secret that there has been a rise in the concept of sustainability over the past couple of years. The idea of living a zero waste life can be daunting, but we don’t have to worry about that just yet. It almost feels weird to be writing this, but trying to take on too much in terms of living a sustainable lifestyle might turn you off of sustainable living. Sometimes, it is okay to ease into things, and here is how you can do that!
It might be beneficial to start your path to sustainability by just thinking about what a sustainable life means for you, and what it might look like for you.
Ask yourself a couple questions that put your buying habits into perspective. For example, you can ask:
Which products produce the most waste for you in your daily lives? Are there other alternatives to those products that have a more sustainable form of packaging? Are those products truly beneficial to you?
Now that you have put your life into perspective (at least a little bit), let's get into some more ways you can become more environmentally friendly
Educate Yourself
One thing you can do to better educate yourself about sustainability and how to incorporate it into your daily life is to read or watch documentaries about it. There are plenty of books out there to get you started on incorporating sustainability into your life. One book that is very easily digestible is “F**K PLASTIC: 101 Ways to Free Yourself From Plastic and Save the World”. Each page is dedicated to one way to ditch those plastics and substitute them for something more environmentally friendly. Even for those who don’t particularly enjoy reading books, the descriptions for how you can change are short and some of the pages even have cute little pictures.
Make your own food rather than ordering out
Though it is always easier to order food, rather than searching for a recipe, gathering ingredients, and then making the damn thing, ordering food creates a lot of waste in such a little amount of time. Making your own food can be a little intimidating sometimes, especially if you are a “bad cook”. But, you know what they say, practice makes perfect! Or, to quote chef Gusteau from Ratatouille, “anyone can cook”. Aside from the sustainability factor of cooking your own dishes and cutting and peeling your own vegetables, making your own food can be really fulfilling.
Opt for reusable products rather than single use ones
At this point, everyone knows about this. This is pretty self explanatory.
Grow your own vegetables and make a worm/compost bin
This one is a little more difficult, especially when you don’t have the space for a garden or the space to fully embrace the composting lifestyle. Particularly when you are making your own food, composting is a great way to get rid of those left over fruit and veggie skins rather than throwing them in the trash. However, if you are unable to have a full garden that is totally okay. One thing that is a little easier to do when you are lacking in the space department is to grow your own herbs. Herbs do not really need a lot of space to grow, and they also don’t need to be in the sunlight all of the time. If you want to learn more about herb gardening indoors, I will have a post linked under the further reading section.
Get Creative
Lately I have been seeing a lot of people post about making their own recycled paper, which looks really cool and fun. I personally have been saving up my own paper scraps to hopefully make my own paper in the future. However, creativity doesn’t have to be confined to recycled paper, it can mean whatever you want it to mean, as long as you’re not creating more unnecessary waste in the process.
Lastly, just give it your best shot
As long as you are trying your best to do better for yourself and the environment, that is all anyone can really ask for.
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