Living a more green life is a goal we should all be striving for.
Everyone thinks “saving the world” takes some grand gesture from a great and powerful leader. The most potent of changes, though, comes from normal people like you and I, doing what we can to lead by example in making the world a better place from the inside out.
Each one of us is capable of making a ton of difference and a huge dent, through small things everyday. Like choosing a more green life.
Another misconception, is that living an eco friendly, sustainable, green life is expensive and time consuming. Honestly though, it saves you money and doesn’t take any more time than a couple of seconds thought.
It also raises self esteem levels, cause who can’t feel great about themselves when they’re living a positive life for themselves, their family and their world?
I’ve got some super simple switches you can make to live a more green life now and get your mind working in the right direction for future green ventures!
Reusable Shopping bags
I keep these in my truck at all times. When I unload them after shopping, I stuff them all into one and hang it on the front door knob. Whenever we head out next, they get grabed and put back into the truck for next time!
Using these bags helps cut back on the plastic ones that junk up our oceans, forests and landfills. Each person who opts for reusable, inches us a step closer to a world hopefully in the not too distant future where plastic bags are outlawed.
Some places give you a discount for using reusable bags and they hold so much more than the plastic ones without the risk of breaking! Fewer bags used means fewer trips when unloading them at home!
Cloth Napkins
I wish I could tell you that we don’t buy paper towels at all, but I’d be lying. Although we’ve talked about it 1000 times, my husband refuses to not buy them (He’s heavy in earth signs).
We don’t buy them often though, since he’s the only one who uses them, and we compromise on the ones made from 100% recycled paper.
I, though, use cloth for everything. I have tons of those wash clothes they use for babies. I received enough for 7+ babies at my baby shower for my son and what better use for them?!
I have a container sitting on the counter full of them and bamboo ones in the drawer for cleaning. They work perfectly and the only problem I come across with them is trying to explain to people and family to use them instead of paper.
Recycle
Admittedly, we haven’t been doing this as long as I’d have liked. I thought it would be more work than it actually is and with a new baby and trying to move, I didn’t want to take on any more projects.
It turns out though, just like most things, getting started is the hardest part. I have 2 trash cans on the back porch. Plastic goes in one and paper/cans/glass go in the other.
The plastic one has a garbage bag so when it gets full I just throw it in the truck and drop it off, easy peasy. The glass and cans I sort out (it’s never much) and take with me to drop off also.
The paper and cardboard I burn. I know I should recycle it too but the paper bin is separate than the one for the others and it’s not always there. So I compromise cause my main goal is to not add to the landfills.
Plus we live in the country so burning things is a common practice.
I have 2 big coffee containers and a big oatmeal container on my counter in the kitchen where I sort everything accordingly and dump them into the appointed outside trash cans when they get full.
This saves us from having to constantly go in and out of the house. It’s really super simple. The hardest part has been getting my husband to stop throwing things in the trash.
Garden
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love to garden. It did NOT come easy to me though. Before I ever successfully grew anything edible, I grew a good and solid reputation for not being able to keep ANYTHING alive.
Year after year, I planted a garden and year after year it was a complete and total failure.
I kept trying though and finally I started getting things off of my plants. It’s a wonderful and rewarding feeling to eat something you’ve grown yourself, and it helps in sustainability with cutting back on the carbon footprint and giving something for the bees to eat.
If you have plants inside, they help clean the air for you.
Reusable Coffee Filter
We have a regular coffee maker, not a keurig, as those things create all sorts of plastic waste with their little individual cups. We use a reusable coffee filter in it which saves us money and cuts back on waste.
Honestly, my grandmother has a reusable k cup for her keurig that she refills with regular coffee so you can make those things more incorporated to your green life as well.
I also keep all my coffee grounds in a jar to feed to my plants. I dunno the science behind it but my grandmother insists they love it.
Feed the Animals
I tried composting, and I hated it. It’s a lot of work and mess with bugs and cringing. So I stopped doing it and instead, I just feed the animals all of our scraps. I live in Alabama, which means we’re in no short supply of animals.
We have horses behind our house, the neighbors chickens that line our back yard and sometimes hang out in it and then we have 2 cats (although more hang around) and a dog.
Between all of these guys, we don’t have any problems getting rid of our food scraps instead of dumping them into the trash wastefully. I know not everyone has this option but if you do, make sure you know what animals can eat what.
You don’t want to feed anyone anything that is bad or harmful to them.
DIY Products
I’m a huge advocate for making your own products. We don’t know how all of these ingredients companies put in our things truly react with our bodies and other things we use and eat and honestly, I don’t trust any of it.
I’ve been making my own toothpaste for years. I’ve tried several different body wash and shampoo recipes but nothing’s quite stuck yet and I have a new shaving cream recipe on standby for as soon as I run out of what I have.
Let me know in the comments if you make any of your own products! I’d love for you to contribute a post about it so we can all try it out!
Eat Healthy
Eating your organic fruits and veggies doesn’t only help improve your health, but also benefits bees and the rest of the world. Pesticides used in non organic food poisons bees and their habitat.
Also, most non healthy foods are heavily processed and packaged, lending way to more CO2 emissions and more waste in landfills and in oceans. Everything has a greater reaction than what you see first hand.
Mindfulness
You don’t have to toss everything you have and are doing out overnight in order to live a green life. In fact, please don’t. It’s wasteful and unsustainable on many levels. But keep your mind focused on living a more green life a little at a time.
The next time you need to buy a new appliance, opt for the greener version. When you have to restock XYZ, think about your options, read labels.
Think things through, tracing them back to every source and consequence you can think of and find. Cut things off when not in use.
It doesn’t take much work at all, it’s all a mindset to stay in and be able to choose to do what’s right for everyone. To be proactive and lead by example.
Doing what we can every single day through every thought and action we take, to make a better world for our children. Little things go a long way.
Best Vibes Always,
S.S.Blake
Do you have any simple tips on living a Green Life for us? Tell us in the comments below!
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Author
S.S.Blake; Spiritual Life Coach, Yoga + Meditation Teacher and Founder of Earth and Water
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