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Ultimate Guide To Eco-Friendly Living

A Beginner's List

By Alex HermesPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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When you think about living an eco-friendly life, you may immediately think of giving up everything from mint chocolate ice cream to those new must-have ugly sweater party staples. But what the word “eco-friendly” really means is being aware of how your actions and habits impact the environment around you. This means reducing your carbon footprint by making small changes in your everyday routine that have a big impact over time, like replacing synthetic materials with natural alternatives and choosing products that are recyclable or sustainable. Living an eco-friendly lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up anything, but rather making conscious choices in your day to day life so that the world remains a beautiful place for future generations.

1) Go Environment-Friendly From The Inside Out

Although changing your lifestyle from the inside out is the best way to make a difference, it doesn’t mean it’s not important to change the way you interact with the world around you as well. As an eco-friendly person, you’ll want to ensure that you’re not contributing to any harm to the planet by making small changes in your daily routine, such as: Using reusable shopping bags to reduce your carbon footprint. If you’re using paper or plastic bags to carry your groceries home, you’re adding to the carbon emissions that come from the production and transportation of those bags. Using energy-efficient light bulbs in your home or office. Most bulbs are filled with harmful chemicals. Since the electricity that powers them is made mostly with fossil fuels, they’re not eco-friendly either—switching to LED bulbs will reduce your carbon footprint while saving you some cash on your electric bill too. Going paperless. Paper requires a lot of resources to produce, including water. If you can go paperless with bills and other important documents, you’ll save a ton of trees. Eating less meat. Raising animals for food produces a ton of harmful greenhouse gases. Eating less meat is the best way to reduce your carbon footprint.

2) Travel By Foot Or Carpool

Many people choose to get around their town with the use of vehicles, and if you’re eco-friendly, you may feel the urge to ditch the car and start walking more often. But you’ll also want to be conscious of not overdoing it. With that said, you can help reduce your carbon footprint by carpooling or walking to destinations whenever you can. This can be a great way to meet new people as well, which can also help you live an eco-friendlier lifestyle by expanding your social circle and reducing your feelings of isolation. You can also travel by train or bus instead of flying if you have to get somewhere that’s farther away. These forms of travel are much cleaner than flying and are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.

3) Ditch The Dishes Made From Petrochemicals

You might think that dishes don’t impact the environment at all, but an alarming amount of water and energy is required to produce them. Instead, you can choose to use eco-friendly dishes that are made from plant-based bioplastics. This is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment out at the same time. Another way to reduce your carbon footprint is by opting for a reusable water bottle instead of plastic water bottles. Water bottles made from plastic take a long time to break down, and many end up in landfills. Plus, drinking water from reusable bottles will help keep your wallet full because it’s much cheaper than buying bottled water.

4) Go Organic And Rotational With Your Crops

If you’re a farmer or live in a rural area, one of the best things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to go organic and use a rotational system with your crops. This means growing your crops without synthetic chemicals like pesticides and fungicides. This will help protect the environment and reduce your carbon footprint while producing healthier foods that are less likely to have been contaminated with harmful residue. If you don’t live on a farm, there are many ways you can support organic farmers in your area. Buy organic and fair trade products whenever possible and encourage your friends and family to do the same. This is one of the best ways to support organic farmers who need your help to make a living.

5) Don’t Forget About Recycling

Another way to reduce your carbon footprint and help the planet out is by recycling. Many people think that recycling is something that only children and environmentally conscious adults do, but it’s actually a very easy thing to do. The most basic way to recycle is to separate your trash so that different materials go into different bins. This is called single-stream recycling, and it applies to just about everything except food (which goes in the compost bin). Besides being eco-friendly, recycling can also save you a lot of money.

All in all, living an eco-friendly lifestyle isn’t difficult at all. It’s simply about making conscious and mindful decisions that benefit your health and planet. By following the tips above, you can make a big difference for the environment and help future generations live in a healthier and more sustainable world.

Sustainability
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About the Creator

Alex Hermes

Hi friends! I'm Alex and I'm a mindfulness copywriting environmentalist. I write about topics such as eco-friendly lifestyles, travelling, cooking, history etcetera. I'd love to share my interests with you! Don't hesitate to contact me.

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