7 principles on how to become more eco-friendly in your everyday habits

Taking care of nature means thinking about how your actions can affect the world around you and avoiding negative, destructive influences. How to become more eco-friendly in your everyday habits-in our material. 7 principles on how to become more eco-friendly in your everyday habits.

Step 1: Find the water balance

Therefore, being eco-friendly in this matter is a big decision.

In fact, you should reduce your water consumption whenever possible: take a shower instead of a bath, while reducing the consumption by 5 times, turn off the water while brushing your teeth, saving up to 6 liters at a time, use ECO mode in the dishwasher and washing machine, trying to load them completely and reducing water consumption by up to 50%.

No matter how surprising it may seem, but the best helpers in everyday life can be recipes that are no worse than the well-known means to cope with a burnt frying pan, and with greasy spots. It is the use of soda, citric acid and vinegar instead of household chemicals that consumers come to think about the cleanliness of waste flushed into the sewer and remember the water cycle in nature.

In addition, by installing a water filter (cassettes for which are recycled) or preferring to deliver water in reusable bottles instead of buying disposable ones, you can significantly reduce your eco-footprint.

Step 2: Turn off the light at the end of the tunnel

The first and main step in this direction is the choice of led lamps that are highly environmentally friendly.

A useful household habit will be turning off the light when leaving the room or installing motion sensors, disconnecting electrical appliances from the network in idle mode, repairing, and not buying new gadgets.

You should also reconsider your views on the numerous electrical appliances in everyday life — at least, give the tired smartphone to charity and hand over the batteries for recycling. It is well-known that electronic waste, when it gets to landfill, releases lead, cadmium and mercury, which seep into the ground and groundwater, negatively affecting not only the environment, but also the health of each of us.

Step 3: Stop with the paper history

Every day, 270,000 trees are cut down for paper production, destroying entire ecosystems. Using leaves to print on two sides, as well as donating used paper for recycling, we can save millions of trees and the lives of animals.

What else can I do? Refuse paper napkins and towels, disposable coffee cups, atm receipts, boarding tickets, and utility bills. Switching to online payment for all regular payments will not only save money, but also significantly save time and money.

Step 4: Go to  you  with trash

Even beginners in labeling and sorting can always start somewhere. Carry a shopping bag to the store, buy reusable Shoe covers and bags for vegetables and fruits. It is not worth taking a container of food to work or giving preference to products in packaging that are taken for processing.

Use thermos cups and reusable bottles. Many coffee shops offer discounts to customers who take " coffee with them” in their containers. In addition, this is a good way to save money – you can just make coffee or tea at home and take it with you.

Step 5: use your own bottle

In large cities, water vending machines are also often installed, where you can also use your own bottle. Before buying the latter, we recommend paying attention to the material and its possible service life – for example, not all food-grade plastic is durable, and glass containers can be quite heavy.

Usually, special sports bottles made of thermoplastic are more or less wear-resistant. Also recently, so-called infusers have become popular-mainly glass bottles with special strainers or containers for sliced fruits, vegetables or berries. This way, you can add any flavor to the water without adding extra calories.

Step 6: Maintain food interest

Here's another reason to finally start planning the menu for the week and make a list of products before going to the store.

It is this habit that will not only help to make the diet more balanced and varied, but also significantly reduce the amount of food leftovers. It is worth noting that by preferring local and seasonal food, you can significantly reduce the path from the manufacturer to the refrigerator, which means that you can produce less fuel for transportation, less greenhouse gases and waste. Especially advanced people may think about composting, the products of which are successfully used as fertilizers in parks, gardens and in their own cottages.

Step 7:  Consume wisely

In fact, many purchases are spontaneous, clutter up the space, and do not affect the feeling of well-being.

At the same time, spending on travel, for example, brings happiness. And the term "responsible consumption" has been strengthened and developed in the economy, implying the economical use of natural resources within the framework of meeting only necessary needs.

Spending money on things today is not true, is much more valuable investments are considered to be education (in the broadest sense) and experience travel.

© 2021 Elena Petrova