Little Changes That Lead to a More Sustainable Lifestyle

Sustainable living is all about reducing how many natural resources you consume by making conscious changes to your lifestyle, like replacing what you use as best as possible without affecting the quality of your life.

These conscious changes can take many forms, and that’s exactly what we will be discussing today.

We all know global warming, climate change and resource depletion are all real problems. So, if you want to do something about it, making little changes to your lifestyle is the best way to get started.

To help you out, here’s a list of things you can start practicing to make your life more sustainable and green!

Join a Community Garden

If you want to start growing some of your own food, joining a community garden is the best way to do that. You won’t only learn a bunch, you will also become a member of a community that promotes sustainable living. This means you’ll be able to advocate for the importance of green spaces in your area, and also help the community grow.

Change The Lights At Home

This is a truly small change that can make a huge difference. Changing the lights at home is as easy as replacing traditional light bulbs with CFL, using your skylights and making the most of natural lighting. This will allow you to reduce your energy consumption, which means your bill will go down and you’ll learn to be more mindful.
Be More Efficient With Your Car Use

It’s not necessary to switch to a hybrid car, especially if you can’t afford it at the moment. You can still reduce your emissions by being more efficient with your car use. Organize your errands carefully and this will allow you to reduce your car use. You can also invest in a bike to make short, quick trips in your area, or you could bike to work! You can also get into carpooling. These are all easy ways to reduce the pollution you pour into the environment.

Practice Minimalism

When I say minimalism I don’t mean you should throw out all your furniture and live with the bare minimum. What I mean is that you should learn to make do with what you have and you should definitely declutter your home on a regular basis. Use your resources as intelligently as possible and you’ll become more sustainable in time.

Recycle, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Re-gift, Recover

The 7 R's of recycling are the most important principles you need to follow if you truly want to make your lifestyle more sustainable. Educate yourself as much as you can about what items can be recycled in your local council area. Refuse single use plastics and plan so that you have reusable alternatives with you, for example canvas bags for shopping and coffee keep cups for your morning caffeine boost! Reduce by not buying things you don’t need and making do with what you have. Learn to reuse and repurpose items. Repair electronics and furniture, and aim to invest in items that can be restored with everyday wear such as hardwood furniture or leather shoes. Don't forget that clothes can be repaired too, and if you don't have the time to learn how to resew a button there are seamstresses that can do it for you professionally at lower cost than buying new! Consider re-gifting your children's good clothes and toys when they have grown out of them or sell your goods online. Recover a range of resources and remember, many bi-products of everyday life can be used in many ways! Compost your food scraps to reduce your methane output, use your garden clippings and coffee grounds as mulch and water can be collected when running a tap hot.

Buy and Eat Local

Diet is the single lifestyle factor that contributes most to your carbon footprint. To cut back on your carbon emissions, seek to buy and eat locally grown and sourced foods rather than buying imported goods. Not only are you lessening your carbon footprint, you are also supporting local small business and a sustainable, ethical economy.

If you practice these little things, you will make a habit of sustainability and you feel a lot better because you’re doing something to reduce a big issue!