13 Easy Ways to Practice Sustainable Living

Sustainable living is the practice of reducing our demand on natural resources by making sure that we replace what we use to the best of our ability.

We all know that climate change, global warming, depletion of ozone layer and resource depletion are real and their impact on human and animal lives can be devastating. It is time to adopt actions for sustainable living that can help us to reduce our carbon footprint or environmental impact by altering our lifestyle. Simple measures like using public transportation more often, reducing energy consumption, becoming more eco-friendly can go a long way in reducing our environmental impact and making this planet a clean and safe place to live for our own children.

13 Easy Ways to Practice Sustainable Living

If you want to start practicing sustainable living, It is easier than you think. Though, there are various ways to live and practice sustainable living, here are A Few quick and easy suggestions to live a sustainable life.

1. Unplug device when not in use: Most of the electronic devices keep on drawing electricity even when they are off. To reduce energy usage, simply pull the plug when not in use. It will help you to save energy and reduce your monthly electricity bill.

2. Use daylight: Sunlight is free and doesn’t cost anything. Using sunlight during the day helps to reduce dependence on fossil fuels to produce electricity and your bulbs and tube lights are going to last longer.

3. Spend more time reading and with kids: By reducing your reliance on entertainment forms that require energy and natural resources you can help to reduce the demand and drain on them. The more time you spend with kids, more you will be happy from inside.

4. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Reduce your need to buy new products. If there is less waste, then there is less to recycle or reuse. Learning to reuse items, or repurpose them for different use then what they are intended for is essential in waste hierarchy. Recycle old glass bottles or aluminium cans. Keep a recycle bin at your home and try making more trips to recycling station than to the landfill.

5. Stop unwanted mail: Save natural resources by opting out from billions of unwanted mailings and simplify your life and save environment.

6. Buy products with less packaging: Whenever you go out for shopping, always buy products with less packaging. The excess packaging on the stuff goes in your dustbin and from there it goes to landfills in most cases. It not only further contaminate the environment but also pose serious health effects to humans and animals.

7. Change your washing habits: This one is important to attain sustainable living. We wash everything too much. Not only has science discovered that our over emphasis on being clean has reduced our natural immune resistance to diseases (which require exposure to bacteria to develop), but each person wastes tremendous amounts of water when they bathe, wash dishes or do laundry. Practice taking short and times showers, washing dishes in a sink of water and then rinsing them and cutting down on the amount of laundry that you do.

8. Ditch the plastic: Plastic never goes away, It takes millions of years for plastic to decompose. Plastic can be found swirling in the ocean’s surfaces. It badly affects marine life. Every year large number of mammals, seals, sea birds are killed after ingesting plastic or getting tangled up in it. Its time for all of us to switch to reusable bags when we shop, I like to carry my own bag and water bottle and ditch one-time use plastic bags and plastic water bottles.

9. Start using natural cleaners: Take an hour or so to research some home-made options for natural cleaners. Vinegar and water can clean most surfaces. By using natural cleaners you are reducing the amount of plastic packaging being made, and the amount of chemicals that are being introduced to the water system.

10. Pay attention to labels: From Fruit to clothing, the number of options out there can be overwhelming but, there are some clear leaders when it comes to minimizing your impact on wildlife and the planet. If you’re a coffee drinker, look for “shade-grown” coffee, which is grown while keeping forest habitats intact for migratory birds and other species. Choose Fair Trade certified goods when possible to support companies dedicated to sustainable production and paying laborers a fair wage. Buy organic food whenever possible; it may cost a little more, but it keeps harmful pesticides out of our land and water, protecting farm workers, wildlife and your family.

11. Drive less and Drive Green: Changing your driving habits can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint. Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation whenever possible. Combine errands to make fewer trips. Participate in, or start, car-free days in your community. It’s also important to keep your car in shape with regular tune-ups and tire inflations. Tune-ups can increase your fuel efficiency by 4 percent to 40 percent.

11. Switch to Cloth Diapers: By Switching to Cloth Diapers, you can be sure- your baby is not in contact with chemicals continuously as the disposable Diapers consists of Chemicals to change the pee into gel. You are contribution is less towards Landfills as the cloth diapers are washable and reusable, can last for years and makes less holes in your pockets.

12. Be a Cupvert: There are roughly 355 million menstruating women in India and 51,120 million sanitary pads are generated as menstrual waste every year. In areas where there are no waste disposal systems, most of the disposed napkins and plastic packaging end up in water bodies. Dioxins released through open burning and burying of used napkins has serious health implications. Switching to Menstrual Cups will reduce landfills and it is one time investment.

13. Switch to Cloth pads: When worn properly, reusable pads are as discrete as regular underwear. In fact, cotton reusable pads like Soch Pads are typically more absorbent than regular pads, and they’re definitely more comfortable! Its more economical along with reduced land fills.

The products you buy, makes a huge impact on your Health and the health of planet. You can leave a comment below, if you need any help regarding sustainable living or sustainable menstruation, will definitely get back to you.