Sustainable Living Ideas For Your Day-to-Day Life
Sustainable living is a lifestyle centered around consciously making day-to-day choices that reduce your impact to the planet while conserving its resources.
These ideas will make it incredibly easy to get started, and to feel like you are creating a ripple effect with some simple lifestyle changes.
Seeing the planet as a part of us
Modern living can have us so isolated in our little bubbles that it’s easy to forget how interconnected the world is. It’s hard not to think of that old joke about one fish asking the other, “What’s water?”
Everything we touch and interact with is a part of a massive chain of people, animals, and elements. Think about the number of people involved in the collection of the raw materials and then the design, development, and the delivery of the very screen you’re reading this on. Our current way of life is not possible without relying on the resources of this planet.
To eat, drink, work, and play relies on a planet underneath us that grows the food, provides the water, and has an infrastructure for our routine activities.
It’s time to stop purely extracting resources from the planet, and start treating your life on this earth as a relationship — one with gratitude. This is a huge step in making moves toward sustainable living.
Sustainable living ideas for a better tomorrow
Use public transportation, carpool, or combine your errands
If public transportation is accessible to you — use it! Taking the train to work not only cuts down on your personal gas expenses, but it also gives you more time to read or study on the way there.
And when you do need to drive into town — combine your trips. Stop at the bank and the grocery store while out, instead of driving home and making another trip the next day.
Don’t count out the fact that friends and family have to make similar errands — make it a weekly group outing!
Use less plastic
Pay attention to the food you buy in the store — is it in a glass jar, or a plastic container? Try to buy items with minimal packaging, and less plastic. This applies in the aisle of your local grocery story, and when shopping on Amazon!
Plant your own garden
Growing your own food is so fulfilling on its own, but it's also wonderful for the planet. All those packaging materials, gas, time, energy, and other resources that go into bringing produce to your nearest grocery store can be saved! It’s also simply stellar for your diet. Read more about the many, many other benefits of growing your own food.
Eat one vegetarian meal a week
Consuming more veggies has the potential to be more environmentally sustainable. But don’t get hung up on having to make a hard 180-degree life turn.. If you cut meat out of only one meal a week, that’s so much better than making zero changes whatsoever. Perfection doesn’t have to be the goal, and, for many things, it shouldn’t be. If meat is still on your personal menu, go for smaller portions alongside locally sourced, nutrient-dense veggies for peak sustainability.
Create a capsule wardrobe
A sustainable capsule wardrobe is a set of clothing that can easily be mixed and matched, with a focus on natural fiber and upcycled items. If this one strikes your fancy, check out our very own guide to making a sustainable capsule wardrobe right here! Less clothes equals less waste piling up.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle
Reducing, reusing and recycling are as much about intentional activity as they are about doing the right thing. Using glass food storage for leftovers instead of plastic tupperware and keeping reusable grocery bags in your car are two easy ways to get started.
Reduce your use of water
This can be as easy as not letting the tap run as you brush your teeth or showering with your partner! If you fill a water bottle and don’t drink it after a few days, don’t just pour it out — pour it into your plants or garden! You can even try recycling rain water into your garden for an extra touch.
Develop eco-friendly hobbies.
This might sound silly at first but think about which of your activities use up the most electricity? TV, video game consoles, computers, phones — the things we spend so much time on are all electronic and use up energy. Playing board games, hiking, reading, or picking up a recreational sport can be small steps in being more energy efficient.
How to live sustainably
It is frequently forgotten that the first and second steps before recycling are to reduce and reuse. Living with less, using less, and managing what you use more carefully is the best way to reduce your footprint. Recycling is the last resort.
Many everyday items come in forms that will save money and prevent waste. Food containers, food coverings, and cooking pads, for example, are all available in more sustainable formats. Think plastic-free, biodegradable, and organic. Parchment paper and aluminum foil, as it turns out, can be totally replaced with sustainable counterparts.
A sustainable future
Thankfully, sustainable living ideas are a lot easier to come by than you might think! Finding crafty, fun ways to use less and reuse items in fun ways is a fantastic part of integrating yourself or your community to be more in tune with nature.
Be sure to check out other sustainability ideas or even elements of the lifestyle you may not have considered here. Don’t hesitate to share this on Instagram to get your friends in on your next lifestyle change.