Five Easy Ways to Live Greener for Any Lifestyle
There are several ways to live greener without making drastic changes. It just takes a little thought, a little effort, and maybe some planning. Especially with kids, we can make big changes for the long-term ecological impact. I hope that you will join me in making some little changes that will reduce your family’s carbo footprint.
Note: I have included a few affiliate links to products that I highly recommend. I would never recommend something that I did not have any prior knowledge of. Any purchases through affiliate link help support my family and keep me writing.
Five Easy Ways to Live Greener that ANYONE Can Do!
- Unplug and Turn off – Even items that are plugged in suck electricity. Make it a habit to unplug those items not in continuous use like cell phone chargers, microwaves and more. And while you’re at it, learn to turn off the lights if you are leaving a room for more than 2 minutes.
- Ditch the straw and forget the faux fork – Disposable silverware and plastic straws are usually not able to be recycled. They wind up in landfills, inside of animals that mistake it for food, and in the ocean. Learn to forgo the straw (or bring a bamboo, metal, other reusable straw, or just don’t use one) and learn to have a small bag in your car with a set of reusable forks/silverware. Definitely ditch the straw though. If you do use the plastic forks and straws, consider re-using them so they get a maximized life.
- Drink more tap water – this not only means you are healthier, it means that you are not contributing to the drought crisis and you’re not going through an incredible amount of plastic bottles (that are not always recyclable). The saying “reduce, reuse, recycle” is in the order for a reason; therefore, consider making a concerted effort to choose items that contain less trash.
- Support Local – even if you only pledge to do it once a week, find a store, restaurant, or farmer that is local and get what you need from them. It means less environmental impact because it’s not traveling across the world to get to you, it means less packaging usually, and it means putting money back into your local economy for the cycle to them be restarted. And, as the link suggests, supporting local doesn’t even just mean local to you! Support the small business wherever they are.
- Grow Something! – it does not have to be a huge garden. No one ever said you had to move to a farm or have a green thumb. You can grow micro-greens and sprouts in a windowsill Find even just one thing to plant in a container on your porch. If it’s successful, branch out the next year. It means less processing of food, the most extreme form of local food, and more money in your pocket!
Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 6 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
