GO GREEN is to become more eco-friendly through everyday choices. When it comes to saving the environment, every bit helps. Our daily decisions matter in terms of carbon emission, waste and many other aspects. Every step farther makes us more ethical consumers and more responsible users with impact on more sustainable environment. To go green doesn’t mean to spend more money, as some people assume. Talking about money, going green will actually save you some, if you are thinking perspectively. It’s an investment in the future, good future for all of our planet and us.
This article is ment to inspire you and create habit of making positive choices each day. I have already told you how to be more eco-friendly while traveling and be a responsible guest. Are there many things I can do? – you ask yourself. Yes! Even every time you go shopping you have a power to make a difference. The same with use of water and waste management. Here is a list of ideas, which you can adapt in your daily routine.
Go green mantra is: reduce, reuse, refill, repair, recycle everything possible
Waste
- dont buy plastic bottles, get a reusable container and refill it
- recycle rubish
- start composting – you can start composting your kitchen and buy the worms from wiggly wigglers
- use a cloth shopping bag
- buy products made out recycled materials
- try to cook fresh food as much as possible which has less packaging
- print of both sides of paper
- use rechargeable batteries
- use a cloth hankie rather than tissues
- donate leftover paint to a community project
- collect toners
- collect used toner cartridges at your workplace, school and turn them into cash for your chosen charity
- reuse envelops
- try to sign out of getting leaflets and commercials to your home’s mail box
- say no to straws
- buy reusable nappies for your baby
- get menstruation cups
- don’t be a litterbug
- find people to use things you no longer want
- take your own mug to the coffee shop rather than wasting another cup
- get e-tickets instead of printing whenever possible
Air
- go and get a bicycle
- walk or hitch hike
- drive less and try to take passangers with you
- fly less and pack less
Energy use
- energy efficient bulbs
- switch off all appliances which you are not using
- use full loads in washing mashine
- turn your computer and monitor off at the end of the day
- try to put more clothes on before you turn on the heating
- use green energy
- wash in 30 degrees and avoid tumble dryers and dishwashers
- buy local products or grow yours
- limit use of gardens hoses
- use a bucket to wash your car
- use a fan instead of air conditioning
- take a break from screen time and go for a walk
Water
- use environment friendly cleaning products
- drink tap or filtered water, not botted
- collect rain water to reuse it
- turn off the tap when you brush your teeth
- repair drooping taps
- shower instead of the bath
- put a bag in your lavatory cistern to reduce the amount of water flushed
Shopping
- buy fair-trade tea, coffee, bananas, chocolade
- buy from local markets or local companies
- purchase organic products
- support local bee-keepers to save the bees
- buy local craft beer to reduce beer mile
- get second hand clothes and donate the ones you don’t use to the charity
- decrease meat consumption and buy meet from sustainable farms
- shop for eco-friendly beauty products or make your own
The list of ideas to GO GREEN will be constantly extending. Feel free to add yours in the comments.
PL Pszczoła kocha przyrodę, kwiaty oraz herbatę. Najbardziej sprawia jej przyjemność życie i podróże w rytmie slow, bez pośpiechu. Stara się podróżować bardziej ekologicznie i inspirować do tego innych. Lubi poznawać inne kultury, tradycje, spędzać czas z lokalnymi i kosztować ich przysmaków. Jej ulubione miejsca w każdej podróży to uliczne bazary.
ENG The Bee is a nature lover and tea addict. Loves the idea of slow life and responsible traveling, constantly trying to improve to bee more eco-friendly. Appreciates old cultures and traditions, loves to immerse with locals, listen to ethnic music as well as taste regional food and drinks. Her favorite spots while traveling are family houses and street markets.
I absolutely love this post. I’m going to go over all your suggestions with my kids to see what more we can do. Thank you!
Glad to hear that Azlin, thanks for your comment
Great post!
I completely love your recent blogs than ever. You are writing more about being environmentally conscious. Being an environment lover, I appreciate these blogs a lot. Thanks for caring for the environment and providing us with so many options for how to deal with waste and be more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.
Thank you so much Shreya for your support!
Most of these ideas are actually easy to do as long as we are willing to do it. Although there are things that we can’t do all season if you live in the four seasons area. Hanging clothes outside are easy, cheaper, and don’t waste the energy, but we can’t do it in winter time. And it’s hard for travelers who like to fly all over the world to visit every countries on earth.
We hang the clothes on the loft or inside the apartment during the winter time. I also love to travel and fly a lot to the far destinations. Therefore, I try to travel by land whenever possible.
What an amazing post- I absolutely loved it! We need more posts like this because green way is always the right way 🙂 I try to apply most of these things in my everyday life too 😉
WIshing you strenght in adding more and more things to change on the way to less waste and carbon emmision.
That’s a very do-able list of ways to be more eco-friendly!
As a cloth diapering mommy and cloth pad user, I try my best to reduce the damage I do to Mother Earth.
I love that there is such a great movement towards going green and staying alert of our carbon footprints. You provide quite a few options that are simple and natural to implement, such as walking, buying local products, and buying eco-friendly items. I think that with just a small effort, each person can make a large impact.
Exactly, I think these are the basics to start with on the way to become “green”. Hope to inspire more poeple for some positive changes.
This is a great article. After reading through the list I am pleased that I do most of your recommendations. I live in Australia and the local supermarkets are trying to reduce plastic, we just need more pressure on them to reduce the plastic wrapping of fruit and vegetables.
Thanks for sharing.
WOw I wish things could look like in Australia in more places. I don’t see it this way in Europe
Thanks for this thoughtful post on an important topic! I got to thinking while reading your list — many of these things that are better for our environment are also better for our own well being. Take a break from screen time and go for a walk? Don’t mind if I do! 🙂
It is interesting that I just came across your blog. We went to a bar last night and I asked for a straw to find out that Washington DC has now banned straws! They are the second city in the US after Seattle to do so. This had me researching the straw ban because it just seems like there are so many other ways to focus on reducing nonrecyclable plastics. My search then brought me to all those pictures of sea life with straws stuck in their noses. I guess it is a small act that can make a difference. Thanks for spreading your message of being environmentally friendly. It is an important cause and I appreciate you educating people like me who didn’t realize the scale of the straw problem!
Glad for your feedback Cecilia. As you nticed every step makes a different, and the more of us the better. Hope to inspire for the next positiv changes. 😉
I totally support this advocacy and yes, I believe everyone should start making positive choices each day. We have been strongly encouraging our students to stop buying bottled water and instead get reusable ones.
I have always been curious about composting and would love to start doing this at home. Thank you for all these tips. They’re so helpful.