As a family, it can be easy to lose sight of living a sustainable lifestyle when you have busy schedules and other things on your mind. You may find yourself falling into old habits, even if being environmentally friendly is important to you. Fortunately, there is always room for change when it comes to being sustainable in daily life. To get started once again, the tips below can help.
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1. Bring Your Own Bags
Whether you’re shopping at the grocery store or in a department store, you should make an effort to bring your own bags. This is true even if you’re buying produce, as those small plastic bags are not recyclable in most areas.
Tip: Use your own bags at bulk bins as well. This can save you money on the cost of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit while also reducing your consumption of one-time-use plastic containers.
2. Buy Second-Hand
Go to your nearest thrift store to shop for household decor and clothing. These stores even have shoes, accessories, and jewelry so you can get everything you need for changing weather throughout the year. You’ll save quite a bit of money, and you’ll be doing something great for the earth.
Tip: Donate your unused items to thrift stores to keep recycling things that are still in good condition.
3. Buy an Electric Vehicle
An electric vehicle will eliminate your need for traditional gasoline, which can save you money at the pump. These vehicles can also reduce emissions that are responsible for climate change, dirty air, and damage to the surrounding environment. A home charging station for your electric vehicle is easy to have installed and makes recharging incredibly convenient.
Moreover, if you don’t have enough money to buy an electric vehicle outright, you may want to lease a Tesla EV as an option. It is a smart move to help you transition to a more environmentally-friendly mode of transportation while still staying within your budget. Using electric vehicles can be one of the significant steps you can take toward a more sustainable future.
4. Invest in Solar Panels
Solar panels are well worth investing in if you live in a sunny part of the world. These can reduce your energy bills while also lowering your carbon footprint, so they’re worth looking into if you have the budget. In particularly sunny places, high-quality solar panels may even pay for themselves in energy savings in just a few years. For quotes on a solar installation in South Carolina Blue Raven has great options.
5. Skip Driving
Even if you have an electric vehicle, it’s a good idea to skip driving as often as you can. This can be easy if you walk, ride a bike, use a scooter, or even carpool with other people. Carpooling, in particular, reduces greenhouse gasses in the environment and can save you money on gas if you don’t have an electric car. On the other hand, electric scooters are excellent if you want a personal transporter and don’t want to sit in traffic. Plus, if you love the outdoors, there are electric scooters for off-roading that can handle both the city streets and rough terrain.
6. Meal Prep
Avoid turning the stove on every night of the week by meal prepping on a selected day. An added benefit is that this can save you time, so you don’t have to worry about preparing an entire meal each day of the week. You can prep for the kid’s lunches, your work lunch, dinner, and even snacks if you make a list and stick to it.
7. Reduce Paper Towel Use
When cleaning up around the house, try to use small washcloths instead of paper towels. With nearly 13 billion paper towels going into landfills each year, it’s important to do your part to reduce this number. You’ll also save money with this method, as most washcloths can be used for years and only cost pennies on the dollar each.
Making a Lifestyle Change
Becoming more sustainable in everyday life doesn’t have to be difficult. With just a few changes, you can do your part to make the earth a better place. Fortunately, you can also save money to make the work even more worth it.
