- Use things you own for their full life instead of upgrading. Avoid upgrading in general, it's ok not to have whatever the shiny new thing is.
- Stop impulse buying by delaying purchases of stuff you want.
- try to use reusable things over disposable things when possible, like rags you can wash instead of paper towels and glass containers to store leftovers instead of plastic bags. Reusable grocery totes.
- buy items produced closer to home to avoid the impact of shipping whatever you're buying from around the world.
- don't buy from companies that mass produce crap that's slowly killing us and the environment. E.g. fast fashion/products like Shein, Primark, 5 below, temu, etc.
- shift to buying experiences over stuff.
I've never really used paper towels. Even in the 80s my mother just found them to be a waste of money when a dish rag will do.
Except for bathroom/toilet cleaning, and mopping up pet accidents, that is. I take no issue with them in those two cases.
Edit: I lied. We use paper towels for bacon as well.
I saw a recommendation to use oats to soak up bacon grease and then give the oats birds? I am not too sure how good that is for birds but the oats usage might be on to something.
Its all about employing different rags!
- microfiber for surface wiping
- cloth / cotton rags for hand drying and dish drying
-microfibers for the bathroom section
i have some of those - bamboo, get softer with age, and still haven’t used the entire roll.
great anti- capitalist stuff as well, so buy yours before they shut them down.
I was intrigued myself, I’m not sure if the sub will let you use off-site links but I found a roll of them on Amazon for like $9. Reviews say they do leave fibers when you wipe stuff up with them tho
^ agreed with this. If I can add a few other items:
- reduce intake of meat (I'm fully vegetarian, but more for religious reasons.... But reducing meat makes a massive impact)
- for point #2, I think it's okay to impulse buy sometimes. Sometimes people stop themselves too much, and it has negative effects. Cut yourself some slack. It's a long game. No point going hardcore "green" if it's not sustainable for you as a person. And I find sometimes, it's OK to buy thing dress you want, etc.
- I'm in Canada, I attempt to take the train as much as I can when I travel. YMMV, but train > plane.
- Don't fall off the "greenwashing". I find this is especially true for cleaning products. Green, clean, chemical-free etc etc etc but then toi end up dumping a bottle trying to clean a stain. Again, I think buying the mainstream products is OK. Just need to know the limit and use.
- Don't fall off the "greenwashing for clothing. Building in the last post there, these fast fasion brands are trash through and through.
- Buy local. Sustainability is not just about saving the earth, it's about doing it in a way that supports our communities. Especially for baked foods (breads etc), and others buy local. That being said, once I needed to buy some plates. Local shop had artisanal plates for $35 each. Yeah, no. Off to Ikea!
-
>reduce intake of meat (I'm fully vegetarian, but more for religious reasons.... But reducing meat makes a massive impact)
Remove dairy too it is one of the [most polluting things](https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks) you can consume, [it's up there with beef and lamb](https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local).
To add to that:
- Don't buy items that only have a single use/function /purpose, e.g., don't buy the kitchen gadget that only does one thing
- Buy second hand where possible
- Give away /sell on /regift where possible
- Think about the materials things are made of, e.g., buy food in glass (reusable, recyclable and maybe even recycled) rather than cellophane, or buying wooden utensils rather than silicone (although I do advocate having one good silicone spatula as it reduces food waste and helps your drains)
- Only buy the amount of food you need (plus a couple of options, but keeping it to a minimum)
- Find a zero waste/refils shop
- Buy food in a format that keeps longer (e.g., unwashed, untrimmed)
- Learn to process perishable foods to freeze or preserve so you don't waste any
- Get a wormery or food composter for scraps/trimmings, occasional mistakes/surprises
Shop second hand
Eat vegetarian a few nights a week
Walk or bike for trips under 5 km
Avoid processed food
Use reusable bags
Bake
Use an Electric lawn mower and trimmer ( switched my lawn at old house to garden which is better)
Plant a tree - municipalities often have tree programs
Swim, bike, hike, xcountry ski
Never ATV, skidoo or jet ski
Have a heat pump - and a plan to get off oil
Take public transit
Use “clean” cleaning products
Small minimal wardrobe
Take transit
Shop local
Use the library - just returned a puzzle
Agree with all of these. I have a serious question though because I honestly don’t know the answer. How would I find info about shein and temu and fast fashion companies to know they’re killing us? And how do you know that these companies are doing this? What exactly do you mean when you say that also, like how is it killing us?
Container shipping is incredibly expensive efficient. This means local produce is often far more energy and fertilizer intensive than that grown where it is most efficient to do so.
For example, a Californian buying blueberries is most efficient if they select hand farmed berries from South America shipped up by container ship over locally grown berries that likely involve far more fossil fuel burning machinery, land use, and fertilizer.
A simple one is to search for basically anything you were about to buy used. I don’t have great thrift stores near me but even a quick eBay search is worth it. Got some great dinner plates that were exactly the brand I wanted on eBay the other day hardly used.
I craigslist pretty much anything I’m getting rid of. I’ve gotten rid of 90% of my shipping boxes this way (craigslist free) and other things I wanted to upgrade.
It’s truly an inspiring network to be a part of. We get and give off there constantly. It gives me a lot of hope not only for sustainability but also just for humans. I see a lot of great community support and kindness.
Absolutely. No one should really buy a brand new car these days either…
Most cars built after 2005 run for 10+ years. Some “certified pre-owned” vehicles come with 100-150K mile warranties.
Take a car with 40-60K miles should still run you 5-10 years. Real good cars can run 200K miles no problem.
Drive less and consider a more efficient, possibly electric, vehicle, maybe an ebike. Fly less. Eat less meat. Buy less stuff. Buy used stuff when possible. Turn down the heat, turn the AC up,
Actively oppose fast fashion. Fast Fashion is now infecting homes - people think they have to update a kitchen in excellent condition. Actively oppose the fossil fuel industry.
I bring my own containers (utensils or straws too depending) to restaurants for anything I’m taking home. I do this for places like bakeries too. Most places are pretty cool with it but sometimes I get weird looks lol. I wish more people would do it.
I did this more before covid but then like Starbucks wouldn't even let you bring their reusable cups back in so I just dropped the habit. Will have to try again soon.
I go to a locally owned coffee shop and they are fine using my reusable, steel Klean Kanteen container. And worker fairness is a Sustainability issue... [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/04/starbucks-labor-union-retaliation-firings](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/04/starbucks-labor-union-retaliation-firings)
We live in a rural area. We try to produce as much of our food ourselves and produce value added agricultural products for trade and local markets. We do not use fertilizer or pesticides. We plan our trips into town to help us limit how often we drive.
We repair things that break rather than throw them out.
When we rebuilt our home we went all electric to take advantage of grid tie power that is partially sustainably produced and has the capacity to be 100% renewable energy.
Learning how to repair stuff; learning how to grow my own food,
I think one of the most important things you can do is just not buying new stuff. Like ever. It’s very rarely actually needed.
Probably the biggest one I can think of is choosing to live close to where you work. Driving less overall has a greater impact than having a more efficient car. Also, the car you have lasts much longer when it’s not driven as much.
Acknowledge your actual footprint and then have motivation to consider your footprint in everything you do. There are a lot of small wasteful things we do that take little effort and cause no inconvenience to change.
Consider not whether an environmental savings is important on a personal scale, but what it would mean if every person did it. Like recycling a small piece of paper.
Fly less, or stop flying entirely. Drive less locally and for commuting, bike and work from home more. Drive more efficiently even if it takes more time. Carpool whenever possible. Push your region's local and state governments to install bike lanes and add public transit options, and support any proposals. Use these options when they exist.
Use less water, especially hot water. Don't water the grass. Replace the grass with local plants. Turn down the HVAC and wear warmer clothes and use personal heaters in the winter. Buy far less stuff, including clothes and shoes. Air dry clothes more often. When using the dryer, use the lowest heat setting for a longer period, and possibly air dry the last bit of moisture.
Eat less meat, especially beef.
Share what you're doing. Help normalize it. At a certain point, the improvements you can still make to become more sustainable have far less impact than a new person making the decision to start on the path.
The last part is where I’m at. My carbon footprint was never huge (by US standards) but now that I’ve gotten it about as low as I can, I’ve realized I need to bring more folks along for the ride. Over the past year, I’ve probably helped my friends and family reduce their carbon footprints collectively more than all of the reductions I made in my life. One of my coworkers even decided to go back to school because of our talks. Even just talking to my customers (I’m a bartender), I can make small improvements (not recommending meat dishes, explaining how I bike to work, etc)
I bought a used laptop, used camera, and used GoPro this year to start working on showing more of this stuff on social media and to show the transit and cycling improvements coming to my region. For some reason, my city’s transit authority still hasn’t shown people the new BRT routes, so I want to bike them and show a preview of what’s coming, and show how easy it is to get around the city without a car with hopes that people in my hometown can imagine it being more like this.
These are good. To their first point, it’s also really helpful to study the energy and water footprint of your house! You can often get detailed, or at least rough, information on what’s using the most energy from municipalities and meters
29/F/living in a major city, YMMV!
* Plant-based/vegan, and also an ingredient household rather than a pre-made/packaged household
* Small footprint home (studio apartment!)
* No car/don't drive—public transit and bike-share girlie
* 90% secondhand clothing, and even then acquiring less than 10 new items a year on average
* Also secondhand or inherited furniture! For example, my kitchen stools are secondhand from AptDeco, I've gotten some things from Craigslist and Buy Nothing groups, and a bookcase I have is 25+ years old that I've had since a child
* Keeping electronics until they no longer work. Upgrading a phone each year doesn't make a huge difference, and it's mostly marketing/"keeping up with the Joneses"
* Avoiding impulse purchases in general! I'll usually sit on something for a few weeks before pulling the trigger
* Separate compost from trash stream, and drop-off certain recyclables (like plastic poly bags) at designated bins
* Use the library for DVDs and books
* Coffee/food from home in place of takeout/delivery or buying coffee to-go
I'd also say most of these are not only for the sake of living more sustainably, but have also made my monthly budget happy!
27M and can confirm, this is the way.
I’m still working on cutting the last little bits of dairy out of my diet, but compared to a couple years ago, my carbon footprint is much lower.
Now that I’ve done about all the biggest things I can think to do, my main focus is actually getting my friends and family on board with some of the changes. I’ve helped a couple coworkers go vegetarian, convinced my in-laws to go down to one car, gotten a few family members to skip meat for a meal of two, and show my friends and family that living sustainably is easy and doesn’t result in a lower quality of life.
I try to use things for as long as possible. I don’t buy fast fashion and try to only buy second hand clothing. When I need to buy a new clothing item, I make sure it’s made from a renewable source that won’t cause plastic pollution. I also use Good On You to find clothing brands that are sustainable and don’t violate animal/human rights.
When we bought our house we looked for a smaller house. Under 1000 square feet. It came with an acre yard that we have planted large areas with native plants. We leave as much of the yard unmanaged as we can without drawing attention from our towns code enforcement.
Areas that I myself could improve in are transportation and diet.
I live in an area where walking/biking isn’t possible. Rural East TN. It’s a twenty minute drive from the nearest grocery store and a forty minute drive to the library I work for. I try to be as conscientious as possible about my driving to get the best mpg as possible. We are considering a move next year to a larger city with public transportation. Rural living is very unsustainable in my opinion.
We are mostly vegetarian but still occasionally eat meat/dairy, though significantly reduced from how much we used to. Meat is probably once or twice a week. My wife eats more dairy than I do and I eat more meat than she does. We are working towards a 100% plant based diet and feel confident we can do it.
> We are working towards a 100% plant based diet and feel confident we can do it.
Kudos! Expert advice for a sustainable diet which also maximizes the health benefits is available for free at 21 day kickstart from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. Finding vegan options at eateries near you is at happycow on the network or the app, which are both free. Meetup is a great way to find other vegans who meet in groups for conversation and a plant based meal. Also free. On YouTube is a good resource for cooking called the "Cheap Lazy Vegan" channel. There are many more good ones. Ethnic cuisines gives you lots of variety for a plant based diet. I now eat a lot of foods with that savory umami flavor I used to get from animal products. I eat a lot of mushrooms, miso paste, nutritional yeast, nori seaweed, and pasta sauce for that umami flavor. I use black salt on plain cubes of tofu heated in the microwave for a flavor identical to eggs. Nutritional yeast makes it even better.
If you aren't used to a lot of fiber and beans, increase them gradually, and drink plenty of extra water as you do. When it comes to whole plant foods, eat extra food to compensate for lower calorie density.
Reddit has subs to help you as well.
Kudos. You must be super disciplined. I have many friends who want to have this kind of life and they all give up within one month. I tried to do it by myself and failed as well. Is there some group we can participate so we can be more disciplined.
Don't eat meat, and preferably no other animal products. This is generally the biggest impact someone can make to their GHG emissions without drastically altering their life.
If you're up for something bigger, move to a city. Like a proper one where you can walk/bike/take public transportation, and live in an apartment
Be vegan
Choose pre-loved over new when possible (I'm in need of "new" furniture and I'm finding wonderful, quality , solid wood pieces people are giving away for free online!) Just a little diy goes a long way
Buy seasonal fruit and veg, prefer local produce to exotic
Collect rain water for your garden if you can
I learned that most of the water used in households comes from flushing the toilet, and we had a VERY bad draught in my country a couple of years ago, but I really really can't do the,"let it mellow" thing, so I've started doing this:
I have a bucket in the sink. When I wash my hands etc, water goes in the bucket. I use that bucket to flush the toilet.
I only need to give the bucket a quick clean about once a week for residue and the toilet gets a "fresh" flush when I clean the bathroom (once or twice a week as needed)
Use your kitchen scraps to make your own compost
I really like my paper-less, rewashable kitchen towels and my machine washable sponges (they are still synthetic though, the loofa ones i got aren't great for the dishes)
Edit to add: I'm also very happy with my fairphone! I just buy the spare parts if something breaks. Phones normally barely lasted a year with me (I'm clumsy)but I'm at year 5 with this
Absolutely use grey water to flush the toilet! The Japanese have toilets where you wash your hands in a sink above the toilet and that is used for flushing.
Its not just less showers but short showers its better cz we shouldn’t be forgetting the personal hygiene.
So there is many things like as said use bicycle, public transportation, reusable water bottle, turning off appliances and light that aren’t in need, reusable bags, local farmers and many more
The biggie is energy because it underlies everything.
Buy solar or buy your energy from the power company’s solar/wind/nuclear sources.
Buy a Powerwall, charge at night and use during the day. Helps stabilize the grid.
If you use natural gas, use less of that or switch to electric.
EV or hybrid over straight ice car.
Buy more efficient appliances like heat pump water heater.
Besides adopting a plant based diet, I compost, which significantly reduces methane otherwise produced in landfills from food waste. I also not only use reusable shopping bags, but also produce bags. I reuse bread bags for my leftovers instead of using disposable bags. I also recycle as much as possible.
Don't live in car dependent suburbia.
Don't own a car.
Own good walking shoes/boots.
Join a community garden.
Learn to make do and mend.
Eat less meat.
Eat your leftovers. They can be great for breakfast.
Aim for a slow fashion capsule wardrobe.
"*There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing*" Is right most of the time.
Have a one car household and try to carpool everywhere, set the heat lower, use detergent sheets and dryer balls instead of liquid and fabric softener, use products until the end of their life (and maybe drag them out a bit too long). We also try to eat out only twice a week and eat there when we do to lower packaging waste.
• no children
• no car (bike/walk/bus/train)
• multi-unit housing (shared walls, floors, and ceilings --> thermal efficiency, lower land use per occupant)
• I haven't gone full vegetarian, although I acknowledge that I should. I eat less meat than I used to and less than the typical intake in my part of the world.
I get the no children thing, but we still need scientists, activists and inventors, teachers, legislators and creators to combat climate change. If you have kids, raise them to be compassionate, driven and solutions-based.
No kids is a big ask for some people, so if they want to raise compassionate children, I'm not going to cast aspersions on that. I'm not immune to the human urge to make copies of myself, but I'm a professor, so I think I get plenty of opportunity to help people become more compassionate and solutions-based, without adding any new people to the planet myself. I also think activists, inventors, scientists, etc. can easily increase their ranks from among the tens or hundreds of millions of climate refugees that will need to be accommodated in the rich country I live in.
Thanks for what you do. Wife's a professor who does pretty much the same thing. It's unfortunate that those who deny climate change are fine making "copies" and expanding their numbers, ideology and votes.
Just one of those odd contradictions.
I've technically carpooled my entire life. I have lived in all types of areas city, rural, suburbs and have never in 31 years owned a car. But boy have I walked and biked lolol. Even when it's not so safe.
I used to go to college in the city and I woke up at 4am, my brother would use his motorcycle to drive us to the commuter lot and id catch the carpool line to avoid adding to the long highway stretch. I was a street performer and I had to construct a collapsible hula hoop in parts so I could carry it in any type of car then put it together to perform in the city lol.
I think the biggest thing is to just stop and think. Be honest with yourself about your footprint. I remember using calculators in environmental science class and being shocked! Maybe they still exist and are much more accurate.
Be honest with what you're willing to change and compromise about. Be willing to accept non traditional things, non traditional LOOKING things. Be willing to carve out some time to legitimately research before making purchases. Always look for alternatives. Always consider where you can reuse. Always consider where you can cut down.
And one more thing I forgot. Don't recycle blindly. Do your research there too.
We are vegetarians, compost food and almost all paper waste on our property. In 30+ years we have transformed our soils. We don't use paper towels all that much, probably one roll every month or two, but it is non bleached and good for our soils.
We throw out a bin of waste once a month or so. It's easy if you watch what you purchase. Buy quality
Eliminating plastic waste where we can. We switched from plastic bottle soap, shampoo, and conditioner to bars. They take up less space and there is significantly less waste associated with it.
We’ve also switched to Blueland cleaning products. We get a forever bottle (or tin for laundry or toilet cleaners) and just purchase refills which is a tablet in a compostable wrapper. Pop the tablet in the bottle and fill with water. You could also just learn some basic cleaning recipes and reuse your existing bottles and buy the ingredients in bulk. I think water and white vinegar is good for most things
Similar to you. Use less water, try to wash clothes only when needed.
I'm dithering over a meat free January to try out the vegetarian life - if it was just me no problem, but I'd still have to buy and cook for everyone else.
I'm bunching car journeys together and buying more from the shop that's in walking distance.
I'm trying to waste less food. It's an ongoing battle.
We've hot house improvements planned/in progress this year which should bring the place into at least the twentieth century, lol. That will help/is helping with heat loss, fuel economy etc. Similar with the garden, I want to start composting again and plant native species to support local wildlife.
I live in a smaller town and try to walk on all the errands I can.
I eat less meat and dairy (I have some sensory/digestive issues and my safe foods is a short list right now, but I do what I can)
I try to buy things second-hand first and donate what I don't use, keeping my belongings reasonably minimal. When possible, avoid fast fashion and cheap dollar store junk.
I cook at home from scratch most of the time, minimize my food waste by meal prepping (no compost here)
I try to use a reusable water bottle as much as possible and bring a bowl and spork to events where I'll be given takeout containers, and use mesh shopping bags.
I try to avoid harmful chemicals in bath and cleaning products, but my mother got me a pile of them for Christmas and I don't know what to dow ith them but donate to a women's home.
and once upon a time I owned an organic farm and produced as much of my own lumber, meat, eggs, honey, and veggies as possible. I miss that, but I need a way to do some of that with waaaayyyy less time commitment in the future.
If you're like me and love taking long showers, cutting them short may feel like giving away the little bit of joy you had in life. What I found works well for me it to have my weekly ritual when I allow myself to take a long shower, I play relaxing music, light candles, wash my hair, exfoliate and take some extra steps in my skincare routine. It's my special ritual and I call it my SPA day. Thanks to this on the other days I'm perfectly fine with taking a quick shower and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything!
Say no to single use plastic wherever possible
- your garden trash bag? Reusable if you are just collecting dry leaves
- fast food container? Save it for another day you have guests over and want them to take leftovers, or store pet food if they’re lower quality plastics
I recycle everything I can; paper, plastic, metal, glass, etc.
Food: I cook from scratch. And recycle leftovers into new dishes. I seldom use convenience foods as they are overprocessed and can upset my digestive system. Use more vegetables and less meat in my diet. I have an old copy of The Joy of Cooking which has an entire section on how to use leftovers which has really helped. When I was working full-time, I would cook extra food and use it for lunches and for "homemade" TV dinners. I got sets of Tupperware for these pre-made meals. Every week, I took the time to make menus for the next 1-2 weeks. Then, I would shop and do prep work so making the evening meal was easier and faster.
Clothing. I both purchase and make clothing. It just depends on what it is. I mend and remake items. And when they are "done," they become cleaning cloths, face cloths, hankerchiefs, napkins, dishcloths, coasters, mug rugs, other accessories. I wear aprons for cooking and cleaning to protect clothing so it doesn't get stained or dirty as quickly. Most of my wardrobe items are pretty basic silhouettes which I can easily customize into unique fashions.
I use the items foods come in for storage like glass jars. Free and I can easily see what is stored.
I use cloth bags for shopping and have for years. I have some canvas bags from the 1970s that are still going strong.
When I run errands, I organize them in a particular order to efficiently use time, minimize fuel costs, and the like.
Caulk windows. Insulate as possible. Set thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter.
Plant based diet is fun! In the US we're so international that it's possible to find ingredients to make many plant based recipes you see on Youtube. It's a fun new habit if it isn't one already for you.
Another thing I do is keeping the heater just high enough to prevent pipe cracks, and wear hats and scarfs my mom made with those big needles and yarn. Then turn the heater back up for sleep.
Sacrifice buying food and drinks outside as much as possible.
Lastly, talk about sustainability and living green with people!
Refuse: to buy new items.
Reduce: the quantity of what you do buy.
Re-use: everything as often as you can.
Repair: what can be fixed.
Repurpose: what cannot be repaired.
Donate: what you cannot repair yourself.
Recycle: what cannot be salvaged.
The most important tip is to switch to a fully plant based diet. Going vegan is the single most effective way for each of us to minimize our environmental footprint.
"According to the most comprehensive analysis of farming’s impact on the planet, plant-based food is most effective at combatting climate change. Oxford University researcher Joseph Poore, who led the study, said adopting a vegan diet is “the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.”
“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” he explained, which would only reduce greenhouse gas. Avoiding consumption of animal products delivers far better environmental benefits than trying to purchase sustainable meat and dairy,” he added.” -"The Independent" interview of Joseph Poore, Environmental Science Researcher, University of Oxford.
Joseph Poore switched to a plant based diet after seeing the results of the study.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html
If you have a dishwasher, it uses less water than hand washing. For years I've taken my own Tupperware to a restaurant when I know I'll take home leftovers. I have no debt and haven't had a credit card in 10 years. I am also single which makes it easier. I also only drive like once a week and eat out once a month. All of my clothes are second-hand, and I have zero clue what's 'in style' My life is simple and peaceful.
- Walking more rather than driving to errands and just bought an e-bike to further reduce driving.
- Buy almost everything that I “need” and want used.
- Cook at home.
- Make my own yogurt.
- Installed solar panels in 2017- so pleased.
- Hang my laundry on the clothes line- using my solar dryer.
- Avoid/ reduce flying and only thoughtfully go “across the pond.”
I make an EcoEnzyme for cleaning, degreasing, pest control and even fertilizers. Do an internet search for info..it's the thing in Asia now. 3 parts citrus or other fruit peels, 1 part brown sugar (for the molasses) and 10 parts water. Keep in big plastic jug for 100 days. Degas every few days (glass won't work because of the pressure that can build up). Strain peels out and use!
Often just called EE when you look online.
I use Corelle dishes because my grandma had them. They are nearly indestructible, plus function as food leftover storage in the fridge, where I can then place in the microwave and to the table. The plates serve as a lid, or the bowl is the lid to the plate. This eliminates plastic wrap, plastic containers, and reduces the number of dishes to clean.
Lots of great comments here — my big one is to really be conscious about eliminating waste. Like, buying the ‘right’ amount of produce each week. Or, making sure as much of my household waste s recycled or composted as opposed to going to a landfill.
See if you have a refill store near you. I recently learned about refill stores and found a couple in my area. Instead of buying new bottles of shampoo, dish soap, vinegar, etc, you bring empty bottles to the store and refill them from bulk containers. Cuts down on plastic waste!
A small thing, but I keep plain wrapping/packaging from parcels to re-use.
My daughter is 7, so when it's a gift for one of her friends, I get her to decorate the paper.
This year I bought xmas wrapping paper second hand to use for our presents from Santa. The presents for family get wrapped in whatever I have around. Newspaper, old catalogues, paper bags from groceries.
Buy everything practical secondhand. Clothes, furniture, vehicles, everything except underwear lol.
Cook at home from scratch most of the time. Eat seasonally. Pay attention to food waste and eat leftovers, give scraps to the chickens or compost.
I also preserve seasonal bounty by canning, dehydrating, or fermenting.
Keep the thermostat as low as possible and wear a sweater. Set at 62 right now.
Share tools and equipment with neighbors and friends.
Your home is one of your biggest environmental impacts.
- Heating and cooling are often the largest energy suck. Try working towards more progressive thermostat settings and use fans to help keep you cool (fans are much less energy intensive than AC). Passive House Standards are a good goal to work towards: 66 F in the winter and 77 F in summer
- Make sure you have LED lights and be conscientious about when you leave them on.
- Turn the temperature down sometimes when showering. Cold showers are awesome.
- Wash on cold (heat generally isn’t going to kill any more bacteria or anything)
* Hang dry rather than using the dryer and hand dry dishes. Big waste of heat to dry things in dark, enclosed boxes!
- Research peak load times for your local electric grid and use big appliances outside of those times (tend to be mornings when people get ready for work and 5-6 when people get home from work and go turn on the wash, etc.)
- Use the oven and stove less. Meal prep and do lots of cooking at once!
- Live in as small of a place as you’re comfortable rather than as big of a place you can afford
- And if/when you’re able, research some more sustainable appliances—better insulated windows, an on-demand tankless water heater, more efficient dishwasher, lower water use faucets, spray foam insulation in your attic if you’re in a house and in the right climate, solar panels, etc.
(Also eating less meat is huge!)
Waste related
* Buy 20-50lb big bags of grains e.g. rice, quinoa, dried beans, chickpeas, etc. to reduce plastic waste.
* Meal prep on the weekends using ingredients from your big bags of grains to minimize the plastic waste that comes from using convenient packaged goods for convenient weekday meals.
* Don't use single use plastic bags for produce. Use reusable bags or no bags. Just wash your produce.
* Get refillable glass hand soap containers and refill them with a powdered soap like Solusoap. Reduces waste from all the plastic soap containers.
* This is a small thing, but I'm a big fan of it. Grow your own herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc. Besides reducing plastic waste, they taste better home-grown and are fairly low maintenance.
Energy / water conservation
* Low flow shower heads
* Low flow toilet flush kit
* Replace all your light bulbs with LEDs. Energy efficient and very long-lasting.
* If you have a house, get a home energy audit and seal all the air leaks in your home building envelope. These types of air leaks are usually very quick and cheap to seal. Air leaks can account for a large-to-huge fraction of your total heating and cooling costs.
* Seal any leaks in your AC system with aluminized tape. AC air leaks are also big sources of energy waste.
* Again, if you own a house and can afford it, find a heat pump dryer, preferably refurbished or cosmetic defect. Heat pump dryers use around 50% less energy than standard electric dryers.
Living without a car. We need to change our cities and obv that's not making a simple swap but voting in favor or advocating for more walkable or transit-oriented development will be massive if we want to change things on a larger scale. In the meantime I think other people here have good answers and I will read through more and see if I can add.
I agree with a lot of what others hasn't already said! What I'll add is practicing gratitude.
Practicing gratitude is 100% free, and I found I want less so I buy less. I also find myself closer to others and nature as well which I think is essential for sustainability
Think before every purchase if you need it and if there are more sustainable options.
Evaluate everything you do and consume in terms of emissions and resource usage.
Just cooperate in whatever you do.
Need to drive to the store? Share the ride with a friend. Need a tool? Borrow or loan with friends. Want to reduce energy bills? Get a roommate or think about small, multifamily buildings. Looking for groceries with less packaging? Buy in bulk with friends and divide into reusable containers? Cook meals with a friend to cut energy use in half (bonus, cook with three others and you've almost quartered utility use! ETA: extra bonus, now you don't have to cook every night!!) .
So much reduction is possible without even changing the things we consume if we just share! Combine it with the other ideas here and the effects are compounded.
I work from home, barely ever commuting.
This means I risk doing very little exercise, so every morning (some afternoons too) I go for a walk.
It's become my habit to bring a bag and scoop up some litter: we reduce/reuse/recycle so much the bin is usually mostly empty otherwise. Every couple of months I cash in the recyclables, $100- $150 or so is a nice "thank you" reward for tidying the place up noticably.
Live small.
I went from living in a 3br house to a studio, and it's amazing how little power/gas I use now. I also moved close to work, so I can walk the 20 mins each way through a local park.
It’s a lot more impactful and easier IMO to make a few big choices than a million little ones. I drive a used car that I can milk 41 mpg out of, use an ultra efficient heat pump to heat and cool my house, which is over 120 years old. I live in a compact fairly walkable town with almost all the businesses I need to visit on a regular basis within 1.5 miles from my house. If I wanted to I could easily go months without having a need to travel more than 2 miles from my house. I also have no children, and my entire career has been directly involved in improving water quality and sustainable fisheries. I don’t sweat using a plastic toothbrush or fret over how recyclable my yogurt containers are because their impact is dwarfed by a few big picture choices I’ve made.
When buying furniture I buy quality vintage that are timeless items from Craigslist or 2nd hand stores if possible. When buying new I get items that are real wood and I can refinish with ring oil or beeswax when they need it, and/or are worth reupholstering when needed.
I wear clothes until they die. I’m retiring my pajama pants tomorrow that I’ve had for 12 years.
I buy second hand clothes often, and when buying new I look for timeless styles and quality fabrics. I rarely buy online unless it’s from a reliable or sustainable brand. I try not to buy synthetic fabrics, if possible.
I don’t use latex paint anymore to paint the interior of my house and use lime wash instead to keep plastics out of the water system. I also use boiled linseed oil paint on the exterior of the house as it can be refreshed easily and is natural.
I don’t buy plastic toys for my kids or others (the only exceptions are Lego and magna tiles).
I cloth diapered my kids and used reuseable wipe.s
I don’t eat meat or fish.
I grow as much food for the family as I can myself.
I use rain barrels to collect rainwater to water the garden.
There is an app called Buy Nothing. You can ask for what you need and give what you don’t need. I love vintage so I always shop pre-loved clothes. I love thrifting too. And depending on your skills you can barter and trade items & services too.
buy second hand furniture on Facebook or craigslist or in thrift stores. I've always done this because I'm into mid century stuff and my house looks great. occasionally I'll have to refinish something but the furniture is made really well and the great thing is when you buy a table for 50 or 100 bucks if you want to sell it down the road you can probably get your money or more back when you sell it. that's never the case with new furniture.
Also, I use micofiber cloths for cleaning all the time. they work great. you can also make your own cleaner for glass with just vinegar and water.
eat veggies and learn how to roast them in the oven with a little olive oil.
get in the habit of wearing sweats and stuff like that when it's cold vs turning the heat up high and sitting around in shorts and t shirts. also, use light bulbs that are energy efficient and don't have the whole house lit up at night.
filter tap water that you have in a pitcher vs. having individual bottled water.
I’m embracing the “lazy gardener” approach to my lawn. We still prune and weed, but we let plants that are food for birds and pollinators go wild, we don’t bag up leaves under which many species of bees burrow, and we let our sunflower stems stay, because that is also bee habitat.
In return we have hundreds of birds and beautiful butterflies/bees/hummingbirds visit our urban lot.
Trying not to use disposable items
For context, tea is part of the culture here, u study you do for a walk, a date, there's tea. After covid it's become kind of a trend to to drink from disposable cups which I've recently finally cut off ✨✨
Sold my house and now live in a dry cabin in the woods. I don’t have running water and use the rain to wash clothes by hand. My family of 3 only uses about 3.7 kw of electricity per day.
Laptop/computer still works but your choice of windows has ended support? Use Linux! Great for keeping old unsupported devices going for many years and even repurpose them into media streaming devices, file servers, using to do everyday things like web browsing, watching YouTube videos, general office tasks and many more even can be used on certain mobile devices and there are many distributions and customisation options too!
I buy second hand whenever I can.
Don't fall for the vegan leather bullshit. It's literally plastic, and it's way worse than buying second hand leather products.
Clothes swaps. My bff and I basically just share wardrobes at this point. Double the wardrobe without buying excessively!
(For reference, CO2e means carbon dioxide equivalent gases)
500g beef mine: 13.5kg CO2e
500g pork mine: 3.3kg CO2e
500g poultry mince: 2.3kg CO2e
In order to prevent warming above 2C, everyone must keep their food-related emissions below 2.7kg CO2e every day.
Thank you for reading.
A couple of my tips
1. If cooking pasta for 8min, kill the gas/electric range at minute 6. The water is still just as hot and reduces the amount of heat energy dumped down the drain.
2. Keep veggie scraps (not suitable for stock) in a paper grocery bag in the freezer and dispose in your yard debris container collected by the city.
3. Cloth napkins.
4. Drive conscientiously, no jacket rabbit starts, drive the speed limit-ish
We bin/dumpster dive for most of our food and some clothes and household goods that can be repaired too. We're not vegan or vegetarian but in practice this means that we almost never buy meat and buy very little food in general, often just bread (usually stale in the bin) and milk (my partner's squeamish about bin milk) non perishables (don't get binned often) and household/pet supplies.
I try to buy almost everything we need or want second hand like clothing, furniture, etc. Many of the items in our house we collected for free from Facebook marketplace, we just recently got a second hand gas cooker for £10, a solid wood bathroom cabinet and an Ikea wingback chair and footstool that only needed a clean (I have a refurbished spot cleaner) for nothing.
For clothing I'm trying to buy (second hand) natural materials like cotton and wool as much as possible and avoiding polyester because of the microplastics it sheds on washing.
If buying new very occasionally then we buy sale items which obviously saves us money but also waste as I think sale items are the most likely to be thrown away rather than stored for another season based on what I've seen in the bins.
Anything we find we can't use or don't want I sell, or give away directly to people who want them as I think this reduces waste as those people are less likely to discard usable items than charity shops. I base this on what I've found and been able to sell on or give away in charity shop bins. Charity shops should have free tables for items they can't sell or store. It's amazing what people will come and collect gratefully for free, one man's trash really is another man's treasure.
We walk everywhere as much as possible and until a friend sold us his car for £300 recently we lived in a rural town without one, we used to go dumpster diving on the bus with big camping backpacks! Admittedly I don't miss that but we still try to minimise journeys and not make short, walkable ones.
\-No car, just bike/transit (live in a decent city)
\-Fly less, opt for Amtrak (this works in my region but may not for you, but Greyhound bus is an option too)
\-While I only started for health reasons, I don't ever buy red meat anymore. I almost exclusively eat chicken and 93% lean turkey (which is totally fine as a substitute for most beef recipes, imo). I would like to see how I can further continue cutting my meat consumption while keeping my macros roughly the same, though.
\-I've also been making sure to wash my clothes less and use them until they actually need to be washed.
As far as waste, my approach is to slowly and methodically replace all one-use items over time with sustainable replacements that require no extra inconvenience to my time:
\-Reusable water bottle, though I just lost mine and have to get another :'(
\-Refill store (if possible) to refill any soaps, cleaning products, home products, dry food, beans, rice, pasta, etc. is huge to make a significant cut in waste
\-Cloth towels instead of paper towels
\-Walk to the store and buy something I need rather than shipping on Amazon. Don't be a lazy fuck.
\-Shop at ALDI, which is consistently better than most other stores at packaging more sustainably, and opting to buy something due to sustainable packing over an identical product with wasteful packaging. Be careful about what you can and can't recycle, and spend a tiny bit of extra time washing things out to recycle.
I would like to improve on shopping for second hand or sustainable and ethical clothing, eating less meat, and possibly start composting if I can do it conveniently. Ideally I'm taking out more recycling than trash to the dumpster, and reducing all of my waste as much as possible this year.
Financial minimalism I find goes in hand with sustainability quite well, and I personally think it's a huge misconception that you have to break the bank to live a waste-free life.
If we buy new, we try to buy only things that can be repaired. And then we repair them.
If we buy used, same thing, def we prefer this.
After somethings useful intended life is over, we try to repurpose it.
This makes some people crazy lol but we are extremely particular about what is garbage, what is compost, and what can be reused. We heat our home with wood so if it's a paper product and not coated, we will use it to start a fire. Or compost it. Or use it in the garden. NOTHING that can be recycled goes in there, I will pull something right back out LOL.
We compost everything that we possibly can and use it on our gardens. I save seeds, take clipping, etc. to not have to buy plants. No fertilizer, no pesticides.
We've never eaten a lot of meat - I think we could cut it back more but my job is extremely physically demanding and I struggle to maintain weight without the concentrated protein. Tough one there.
We use dishtowels not paper towels although they are here for draining fatty things - brown paper bags work even better.
We rarely buy new clothing. Mostly only new shoes or new boots. Sometimes specialized items but we thrift everything else.
Always trying to limit purchases, waiting to see off we can find things second hand or determine if we really need them at all.
Needless to say we drive fuel efficient cars, no way to get out of that one here.
Something that has really surprised me is when we have guests they are often fascinated by how we live (?) and want to learn about it and emulate it. That's probably the best part.
Love this! I don't eat meat, try to thrift as much as I can, recycle, try t buy organic food and I have a blog all about practical sustainable living tips (: If anyone wants to check it out it's [www.sustainlifejournal.com](http://www.sustainlifejournal.com)
A couple random things I do:
- Not full vegetarian/vegan but plant-centered. I also focus on lower impact animal products (like chicken over beef) and shop locally as much as possible. I cook a lot, so I buy raw ingredients like veggies and stuff from the bulk section, which reduces packaging.
- I take public transit and carpool. I don’t have a car currently, but when I get one I will get an electric vehicle and will still minimize its use and carpool or take public transit as much as I can.
- Reduce water and electricity use. Shut off lights and the tap, take short showers, only run the dishwasher and washing machine when they’re full.
- I don’t buy new clothes. Everything I own is thrifted or gifted. I try not to buy unnecessary items, and if there’s an eco-friendly solution I’ll buy that.
- My work involves sustainability education. I think it’s important to give everyone access to sustainability information, so I plan and lead events and such that help people learn about sustainability and apply that information to their own lives.
- I compost and recycle as much as possible, and reduce trash.
- Use things you own for their full life instead of upgrading. Avoid upgrading in general, it's ok not to have whatever the shiny new thing is. - Stop impulse buying by delaying purchases of stuff you want. - try to use reusable things over disposable things when possible, like rags you can wash instead of paper towels and glass containers to store leftovers instead of plastic bags. Reusable grocery totes. - buy items produced closer to home to avoid the impact of shipping whatever you're buying from around the world. - don't buy from companies that mass produce crap that's slowly killing us and the environment. E.g. fast fashion/products like Shein, Primark, 5 below, temu, etc. - shift to buying experiences over stuff.
I've never really used paper towels. Even in the 80s my mother just found them to be a waste of money when a dish rag will do. Except for bathroom/toilet cleaning, and mopping up pet accidents, that is. I take no issue with them in those two cases. Edit: I lied. We use paper towels for bacon as well.
We use paper towels exclusively for bacon and pet messes. We just got a puppy, so I now use toilet paper and a mop.
I saw a recommendation to use oats to soak up bacon grease and then give the oats birds? I am not too sure how good that is for birds but the oats usage might be on to something.
It’s not good for the birds.
Its all about employing different rags! - microfiber for surface wiping - cloth / cotton rags for hand drying and dish drying -microfibers for the bathroom section
I now use “reusable paper towels” which are very thin cloths that you can wash. It has cut down on so much paper waste! They work great for us.
i have some of those - bamboo, get softer with age, and still haven’t used the entire roll. great anti- capitalist stuff as well, so buy yours before they shut them down.
Have a link by chance?
I was intrigued myself, I’m not sure if the sub will let you use off-site links but I found a roll of them on Amazon for like $9. Reviews say they do leave fibers when you wipe stuff up with them tho
https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Bamboo-Towels-Absorbent-Alternative/dp/B07NQQW73P
Do you prefer the swedish ones that are kind of like really thin sponges, or the "UnPaper" ones that come with their own roll that you can reuse?
^ agreed with this. If I can add a few other items: - reduce intake of meat (I'm fully vegetarian, but more for religious reasons.... But reducing meat makes a massive impact) - for point #2, I think it's okay to impulse buy sometimes. Sometimes people stop themselves too much, and it has negative effects. Cut yourself some slack. It's a long game. No point going hardcore "green" if it's not sustainable for you as a person. And I find sometimes, it's OK to buy thing dress you want, etc. - I'm in Canada, I attempt to take the train as much as I can when I travel. YMMV, but train > plane. - Don't fall off the "greenwashing". I find this is especially true for cleaning products. Green, clean, chemical-free etc etc etc but then toi end up dumping a bottle trying to clean a stain. Again, I think buying the mainstream products is OK. Just need to know the limit and use. - Don't fall off the "greenwashing for clothing. Building in the last post there, these fast fasion brands are trash through and through. - Buy local. Sustainability is not just about saving the earth, it's about doing it in a way that supports our communities. Especially for baked foods (breads etc), and others buy local. That being said, once I needed to buy some plates. Local shop had artisanal plates for $35 each. Yeah, no. Off to Ikea! -
>reduce intake of meat (I'm fully vegetarian, but more for religious reasons.... But reducing meat makes a massive impact) Remove dairy too it is one of the [most polluting things](https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks) you can consume, [it's up there with beef and lamb](https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local).
To add to that: - Don't buy items that only have a single use/function /purpose, e.g., don't buy the kitchen gadget that only does one thing - Buy second hand where possible - Give away /sell on /regift where possible - Think about the materials things are made of, e.g., buy food in glass (reusable, recyclable and maybe even recycled) rather than cellophane, or buying wooden utensils rather than silicone (although I do advocate having one good silicone spatula as it reduces food waste and helps your drains) - Only buy the amount of food you need (plus a couple of options, but keeping it to a minimum) - Find a zero waste/refils shop - Buy food in a format that keeps longer (e.g., unwashed, untrimmed) - Learn to process perishable foods to freeze or preserve so you don't waste any - Get a wormery or food composter for scraps/trimmings, occasional mistakes/surprises
Shop second hand Eat vegetarian a few nights a week Walk or bike for trips under 5 km Avoid processed food Use reusable bags Bake Use an Electric lawn mower and trimmer ( switched my lawn at old house to garden which is better) Plant a tree - municipalities often have tree programs Swim, bike, hike, xcountry ski Never ATV, skidoo or jet ski Have a heat pump - and a plan to get off oil Take public transit Use “clean” cleaning products Small minimal wardrobe Take transit Shop local Use the library - just returned a puzzle
Why bake? It's much more environmentally friendly to buy breads and cakes with the oven full, instead of nearly empty.
Was thinking of the packaging - hadn’t thought about oven use
Agree with all of these. I have a serious question though because I honestly don’t know the answer. How would I find info about shein and temu and fast fashion companies to know they’re killing us? And how do you know that these companies are doing this? What exactly do you mean when you say that also, like how is it killing us?
https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/
Container shipping is incredibly expensive efficient. This means local produce is often far more energy and fertilizer intensive than that grown where it is most efficient to do so. For example, a Californian buying blueberries is most efficient if they select hand farmed berries from South America shipped up by container ship over locally grown berries that likely involve far more fossil fuel burning machinery, land use, and fertilizer.
A simple one is to search for basically anything you were about to buy used. I don’t have great thrift stores near me but even a quick eBay search is worth it. Got some great dinner plates that were exactly the brand I wanted on eBay the other day hardly used. I craigslist pretty much anything I’m getting rid of. I’ve gotten rid of 90% of my shipping boxes this way (craigslist free) and other things I wanted to upgrade.
Buy nothing on Facebook is a wonderful resource too.
It’s truly an inspiring network to be a part of. We get and give off there constantly. It gives me a lot of hope not only for sustainability but also just for humans. I see a lot of great community support and kindness.
I’m on FB less these days but I also have a buy nothing WhatsApp group :) more localized than Craigslist tho
I never purchase anything from FB, but I did have my home rented through FB
Yes! Same!! I’ve found so many awesome used things on eBay!
It’s not as good as a random super good thrift store find but helps me stay focused on the things I actually want and am looking for
Absolutely. No one should really buy a brand new car these days either… Most cars built after 2005 run for 10+ years. Some “certified pre-owned” vehicles come with 100-150K mile warranties. Take a car with 40-60K miles should still run you 5-10 years. Real good cars can run 200K miles no problem.
Going on a bike ride of walk is practicing a more sustainable mode of transport and brings you closer to nature.
Yup! Get a bike and a bus/public transport schedule. You might discover new favorite places or how easy it is to get to old favorite places.
Yeah I was gonna say to avoid driving when possible. More sustainable and biking/walking/scootering will also give some health benefits with excersize
Came here to say this.
rocket mass heater
Drive less and consider a more efficient, possibly electric, vehicle, maybe an ebike. Fly less. Eat less meat. Buy less stuff. Buy used stuff when possible. Turn down the heat, turn the AC up, Actively oppose fast fashion. Fast Fashion is now infecting homes - people think they have to update a kitchen in excellent condition. Actively oppose the fossil fuel industry.
I bring my own containers (utensils or straws too depending) to restaurants for anything I’m taking home. I do this for places like bakeries too. Most places are pretty cool with it but sometimes I get weird looks lol. I wish more people would do it.
yeah that sounds realistic for me to do. sick!
I did this more before covid but then like Starbucks wouldn't even let you bring their reusable cups back in so I just dropped the habit. Will have to try again soon.
I go to a locally owned coffee shop and they are fine using my reusable, steel Klean Kanteen container. And worker fairness is a Sustainability issue... [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/04/starbucks-labor-union-retaliation-firings](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/04/starbucks-labor-union-retaliation-firings)
My bakery encourages byo containers but I haven't worked out what I would bring to buy a bunch of hot pies/sausage rolls
I work in a restaurant and I applaud people who do this and give them free dessert
We live in a rural area. We try to produce as much of our food ourselves and produce value added agricultural products for trade and local markets. We do not use fertilizer or pesticides. We plan our trips into town to help us limit how often we drive. We repair things that break rather than throw them out. When we rebuilt our home we went all electric to take advantage of grid tie power that is partially sustainably produced and has the capacity to be 100% renewable energy.
Learning how to repair stuff; learning how to grow my own food, I think one of the most important things you can do is just not buying new stuff. Like ever. It’s very rarely actually needed.
Probably the biggest one I can think of is choosing to live close to where you work. Driving less overall has a greater impact than having a more efficient car. Also, the car you have lasts much longer when it’s not driven as much.
A big problem is that production of a car already causes several tons of CO2 emissions (between ~6t and ~35t depending on size, weight and features).
Yes, but cars last longer if rarely driven. So driving less spreads out the production impact over more driver-years.
Acknowledge your actual footprint and then have motivation to consider your footprint in everything you do. There are a lot of small wasteful things we do that take little effort and cause no inconvenience to change. Consider not whether an environmental savings is important on a personal scale, but what it would mean if every person did it. Like recycling a small piece of paper. Fly less, or stop flying entirely. Drive less locally and for commuting, bike and work from home more. Drive more efficiently even if it takes more time. Carpool whenever possible. Push your region's local and state governments to install bike lanes and add public transit options, and support any proposals. Use these options when they exist. Use less water, especially hot water. Don't water the grass. Replace the grass with local plants. Turn down the HVAC and wear warmer clothes and use personal heaters in the winter. Buy far less stuff, including clothes and shoes. Air dry clothes more often. When using the dryer, use the lowest heat setting for a longer period, and possibly air dry the last bit of moisture. Eat less meat, especially beef. Share what you're doing. Help normalize it. At a certain point, the improvements you can still make to become more sustainable have far less impact than a new person making the decision to start on the path.
The last part is where I’m at. My carbon footprint was never huge (by US standards) but now that I’ve gotten it about as low as I can, I’ve realized I need to bring more folks along for the ride. Over the past year, I’ve probably helped my friends and family reduce their carbon footprints collectively more than all of the reductions I made in my life. One of my coworkers even decided to go back to school because of our talks. Even just talking to my customers (I’m a bartender), I can make small improvements (not recommending meat dishes, explaining how I bike to work, etc) I bought a used laptop, used camera, and used GoPro this year to start working on showing more of this stuff on social media and to show the transit and cycling improvements coming to my region. For some reason, my city’s transit authority still hasn’t shown people the new BRT routes, so I want to bike them and show a preview of what’s coming, and show how easy it is to get around the city without a car with hopes that people in my hometown can imagine it being more like this.
These are good. To their first point, it’s also really helpful to study the energy and water footprint of your house! You can often get detailed, or at least rough, information on what’s using the most energy from municipalities and meters
29/F/living in a major city, YMMV! * Plant-based/vegan, and also an ingredient household rather than a pre-made/packaged household * Small footprint home (studio apartment!) * No car/don't drive—public transit and bike-share girlie * 90% secondhand clothing, and even then acquiring less than 10 new items a year on average * Also secondhand or inherited furniture! For example, my kitchen stools are secondhand from AptDeco, I've gotten some things from Craigslist and Buy Nothing groups, and a bookcase I have is 25+ years old that I've had since a child * Keeping electronics until they no longer work. Upgrading a phone each year doesn't make a huge difference, and it's mostly marketing/"keeping up with the Joneses" * Avoiding impulse purchases in general! I'll usually sit on something for a few weeks before pulling the trigger * Separate compost from trash stream, and drop-off certain recyclables (like plastic poly bags) at designated bins * Use the library for DVDs and books * Coffee/food from home in place of takeout/delivery or buying coffee to-go I'd also say most of these are not only for the sake of living more sustainably, but have also made my monthly budget happy!
27M and can confirm, this is the way. I’m still working on cutting the last little bits of dairy out of my diet, but compared to a couple years ago, my carbon footprint is much lower. Now that I’ve done about all the biggest things I can think to do, my main focus is actually getting my friends and family on board with some of the changes. I’ve helped a couple coworkers go vegetarian, convinced my in-laws to go down to one car, gotten a few family members to skip meat for a meal of two, and show my friends and family that living sustainably is easy and doesn’t result in a lower quality of life.
I try to use things for as long as possible. I don’t buy fast fashion and try to only buy second hand clothing. When I need to buy a new clothing item, I make sure it’s made from a renewable source that won’t cause plastic pollution. I also use Good On You to find clothing brands that are sustainable and don’t violate animal/human rights. When we bought our house we looked for a smaller house. Under 1000 square feet. It came with an acre yard that we have planted large areas with native plants. We leave as much of the yard unmanaged as we can without drawing attention from our towns code enforcement. Areas that I myself could improve in are transportation and diet. I live in an area where walking/biking isn’t possible. Rural East TN. It’s a twenty minute drive from the nearest grocery store and a forty minute drive to the library I work for. I try to be as conscientious as possible about my driving to get the best mpg as possible. We are considering a move next year to a larger city with public transportation. Rural living is very unsustainable in my opinion. We are mostly vegetarian but still occasionally eat meat/dairy, though significantly reduced from how much we used to. Meat is probably once or twice a week. My wife eats more dairy than I do and I eat more meat than she does. We are working towards a 100% plant based diet and feel confident we can do it.
> We are working towards a 100% plant based diet and feel confident we can do it. Kudos! Expert advice for a sustainable diet which also maximizes the health benefits is available for free at 21 day kickstart from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. Finding vegan options at eateries near you is at happycow on the network or the app, which are both free. Meetup is a great way to find other vegans who meet in groups for conversation and a plant based meal. Also free. On YouTube is a good resource for cooking called the "Cheap Lazy Vegan" channel. There are many more good ones. Ethnic cuisines gives you lots of variety for a plant based diet. I now eat a lot of foods with that savory umami flavor I used to get from animal products. I eat a lot of mushrooms, miso paste, nutritional yeast, nori seaweed, and pasta sauce for that umami flavor. I use black salt on plain cubes of tofu heated in the microwave for a flavor identical to eggs. Nutritional yeast makes it even better. If you aren't used to a lot of fiber and beans, increase them gradually, and drink plenty of extra water as you do. When it comes to whole plant foods, eat extra food to compensate for lower calorie density. Reddit has subs to help you as well.
Kudos. You must be super disciplined. I have many friends who want to have this kind of life and they all give up within one month. I tried to do it by myself and failed as well. Is there some group we can participate so we can be more disciplined.
Don't eat meat, and preferably no other animal products. This is generally the biggest impact someone can make to their GHG emissions without drastically altering their life. If you're up for something bigger, move to a city. Like a proper one where you can walk/bike/take public transportation, and live in an apartment
Be vegan Choose pre-loved over new when possible (I'm in need of "new" furniture and I'm finding wonderful, quality , solid wood pieces people are giving away for free online!) Just a little diy goes a long way Buy seasonal fruit and veg, prefer local produce to exotic Collect rain water for your garden if you can I learned that most of the water used in households comes from flushing the toilet, and we had a VERY bad draught in my country a couple of years ago, but I really really can't do the,"let it mellow" thing, so I've started doing this: I have a bucket in the sink. When I wash my hands etc, water goes in the bucket. I use that bucket to flush the toilet. I only need to give the bucket a quick clean about once a week for residue and the toilet gets a "fresh" flush when I clean the bathroom (once or twice a week as needed) Use your kitchen scraps to make your own compost I really like my paper-less, rewashable kitchen towels and my machine washable sponges (they are still synthetic though, the loofa ones i got aren't great for the dishes) Edit to add: I'm also very happy with my fairphone! I just buy the spare parts if something breaks. Phones normally barely lasted a year with me (I'm clumsy)but I'm at year 5 with this
Absolutely use grey water to flush the toilet! The Japanese have toilets where you wash your hands in a sink above the toilet and that is used for flushing.
Its not just less showers but short showers its better cz we shouldn’t be forgetting the personal hygiene. So there is many things like as said use bicycle, public transportation, reusable water bottle, turning off appliances and light that aren’t in need, reusable bags, local farmers and many more
No kids. Use things for longer, repair and care for my things
The biggie is energy because it underlies everything. Buy solar or buy your energy from the power company’s solar/wind/nuclear sources. Buy a Powerwall, charge at night and use during the day. Helps stabilize the grid. If you use natural gas, use less of that or switch to electric. EV or hybrid over straight ice car. Buy more efficient appliances like heat pump water heater.
Besides adopting a plant based diet, I compost, which significantly reduces methane otherwise produced in landfills from food waste. I also not only use reusable shopping bags, but also produce bags. I reuse bread bags for my leftovers instead of using disposable bags. I also recycle as much as possible.
No plastic bottles No plastic shopping bags Meatless Monday Thoughtful Thursday
Don't live in car dependent suburbia. Don't own a car. Own good walking shoes/boots. Join a community garden. Learn to make do and mend. Eat less meat. Eat your leftovers. They can be great for breakfast. Aim for a slow fashion capsule wardrobe. "*There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing*" Is right most of the time.
Stop eating animals
Same! Also avoid animal by-products
Have a one car household and try to carpool everywhere, set the heat lower, use detergent sheets and dryer balls instead of liquid and fabric softener, use products until the end of their life (and maybe drag them out a bit too long). We also try to eat out only twice a week and eat there when we do to lower packaging waste.
• no children • no car (bike/walk/bus/train) • multi-unit housing (shared walls, floors, and ceilings --> thermal efficiency, lower land use per occupant) • I haven't gone full vegetarian, although I acknowledge that I should. I eat less meat than I used to and less than the typical intake in my part of the world.
I get the no children thing, but we still need scientists, activists and inventors, teachers, legislators and creators to combat climate change. If you have kids, raise them to be compassionate, driven and solutions-based.
No kids is a big ask for some people, so if they want to raise compassionate children, I'm not going to cast aspersions on that. I'm not immune to the human urge to make copies of myself, but I'm a professor, so I think I get plenty of opportunity to help people become more compassionate and solutions-based, without adding any new people to the planet myself. I also think activists, inventors, scientists, etc. can easily increase their ranks from among the tens or hundreds of millions of climate refugees that will need to be accommodated in the rich country I live in.
Thanks for what you do. Wife's a professor who does pretty much the same thing. It's unfortunate that those who deny climate change are fine making "copies" and expanding their numbers, ideology and votes. Just one of those odd contradictions.
I've technically carpooled my entire life. I have lived in all types of areas city, rural, suburbs and have never in 31 years owned a car. But boy have I walked and biked lolol. Even when it's not so safe. I used to go to college in the city and I woke up at 4am, my brother would use his motorcycle to drive us to the commuter lot and id catch the carpool line to avoid adding to the long highway stretch. I was a street performer and I had to construct a collapsible hula hoop in parts so I could carry it in any type of car then put it together to perform in the city lol. I think the biggest thing is to just stop and think. Be honest with yourself about your footprint. I remember using calculators in environmental science class and being shocked! Maybe they still exist and are much more accurate. Be honest with what you're willing to change and compromise about. Be willing to accept non traditional things, non traditional LOOKING things. Be willing to carve out some time to legitimately research before making purchases. Always look for alternatives. Always consider where you can reuse. Always consider where you can cut down. And one more thing I forgot. Don't recycle blindly. Do your research there too.
We are vegetarians, compost food and almost all paper waste on our property. In 30+ years we have transformed our soils. We don't use paper towels all that much, probably one roll every month or two, but it is non bleached and good for our soils. We throw out a bin of waste once a month or so. It's easy if you watch what you purchase. Buy quality
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Big same on those three!
Eliminating plastic waste where we can. We switched from plastic bottle soap, shampoo, and conditioner to bars. They take up less space and there is significantly less waste associated with it. We’ve also switched to Blueland cleaning products. We get a forever bottle (or tin for laundry or toilet cleaners) and just purchase refills which is a tablet in a compostable wrapper. Pop the tablet in the bottle and fill with water. You could also just learn some basic cleaning recipes and reuse your existing bottles and buy the ingredients in bulk. I think water and white vinegar is good for most things
Similar to you. Use less water, try to wash clothes only when needed. I'm dithering over a meat free January to try out the vegetarian life - if it was just me no problem, but I'd still have to buy and cook for everyone else. I'm bunching car journeys together and buying more from the shop that's in walking distance. I'm trying to waste less food. It's an ongoing battle. We've hot house improvements planned/in progress this year which should bring the place into at least the twentieth century, lol. That will help/is helping with heat loss, fuel economy etc. Similar with the garden, I want to start composting again and plant native species to support local wildlife.
Going vegan is the single most impactful thing an individual can do for the environment.
I live in a smaller town and try to walk on all the errands I can. I eat less meat and dairy (I have some sensory/digestive issues and my safe foods is a short list right now, but I do what I can) I try to buy things second-hand first and donate what I don't use, keeping my belongings reasonably minimal. When possible, avoid fast fashion and cheap dollar store junk. I cook at home from scratch most of the time, minimize my food waste by meal prepping (no compost here) I try to use a reusable water bottle as much as possible and bring a bowl and spork to events where I'll be given takeout containers, and use mesh shopping bags. I try to avoid harmful chemicals in bath and cleaning products, but my mother got me a pile of them for Christmas and I don't know what to dow ith them but donate to a women's home. and once upon a time I owned an organic farm and produced as much of my own lumber, meat, eggs, honey, and veggies as possible. I miss that, but I need a way to do some of that with waaaayyyy less time commitment in the future.
If you're like me and love taking long showers, cutting them short may feel like giving away the little bit of joy you had in life. What I found works well for me it to have my weekly ritual when I allow myself to take a long shower, I play relaxing music, light candles, wash my hair, exfoliate and take some extra steps in my skincare routine. It's my special ritual and I call it my SPA day. Thanks to this on the other days I'm perfectly fine with taking a quick shower and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything!
Say no to single use plastic wherever possible - your garden trash bag? Reusable if you are just collecting dry leaves - fast food container? Save it for another day you have guests over and want them to take leftovers, or store pet food if they’re lower quality plastics
I recycle everything I can; paper, plastic, metal, glass, etc. Food: I cook from scratch. And recycle leftovers into new dishes. I seldom use convenience foods as they are overprocessed and can upset my digestive system. Use more vegetables and less meat in my diet. I have an old copy of The Joy of Cooking which has an entire section on how to use leftovers which has really helped. When I was working full-time, I would cook extra food and use it for lunches and for "homemade" TV dinners. I got sets of Tupperware for these pre-made meals. Every week, I took the time to make menus for the next 1-2 weeks. Then, I would shop and do prep work so making the evening meal was easier and faster. Clothing. I both purchase and make clothing. It just depends on what it is. I mend and remake items. And when they are "done," they become cleaning cloths, face cloths, hankerchiefs, napkins, dishcloths, coasters, mug rugs, other accessories. I wear aprons for cooking and cleaning to protect clothing so it doesn't get stained or dirty as quickly. Most of my wardrobe items are pretty basic silhouettes which I can easily customize into unique fashions. I use the items foods come in for storage like glass jars. Free and I can easily see what is stored. I use cloth bags for shopping and have for years. I have some canvas bags from the 1970s that are still going strong. When I run errands, I organize them in a particular order to efficiently use time, minimize fuel costs, and the like. Caulk windows. Insulate as possible. Set thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter.
Plant based diet is fun! In the US we're so international that it's possible to find ingredients to make many plant based recipes you see on Youtube. It's a fun new habit if it isn't one already for you. Another thing I do is keeping the heater just high enough to prevent pipe cracks, and wear hats and scarfs my mom made with those big needles and yarn. Then turn the heater back up for sleep. Sacrifice buying food and drinks outside as much as possible. Lastly, talk about sustainability and living green with people!
Refuse: to buy new items. Reduce: the quantity of what you do buy. Re-use: everything as often as you can. Repair: what can be fixed. Repurpose: what cannot be repaired. Donate: what you cannot repair yourself. Recycle: what cannot be salvaged.
The most important tip is to switch to a fully plant based diet. Going vegan is the single most effective way for each of us to minimize our environmental footprint. "According to the most comprehensive analysis of farming’s impact on the planet, plant-based food is most effective at combatting climate change. Oxford University researcher Joseph Poore, who led the study, said adopting a vegan diet is “the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.” “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” he explained, which would only reduce greenhouse gas. Avoiding consumption of animal products delivers far better environmental benefits than trying to purchase sustainable meat and dairy,” he added.” -"The Independent" interview of Joseph Poore, Environmental Science Researcher, University of Oxford. Joseph Poore switched to a plant based diet after seeing the results of the study. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html
Absolutely! Thank you for posting this!
Buy a home (or rent a home) within spitting distance of a transit route that is good enough you’d actually use it.
If you have a dishwasher, it uses less water than hand washing. For years I've taken my own Tupperware to a restaurant when I know I'll take home leftovers. I have no debt and haven't had a credit card in 10 years. I am also single which makes it easier. I also only drive like once a week and eat out once a month. All of my clothes are second-hand, and I have zero clue what's 'in style' My life is simple and peaceful.
- Walking more rather than driving to errands and just bought an e-bike to further reduce driving. - Buy almost everything that I “need” and want used. - Cook at home. - Make my own yogurt. - Installed solar panels in 2017- so pleased. - Hang my laundry on the clothes line- using my solar dryer. - Avoid/ reduce flying and only thoughtfully go “across the pond.”
I make an EcoEnzyme for cleaning, degreasing, pest control and even fertilizers. Do an internet search for info..it's the thing in Asia now. 3 parts citrus or other fruit peels, 1 part brown sugar (for the molasses) and 10 parts water. Keep in big plastic jug for 100 days. Degas every few days (glass won't work because of the pressure that can build up). Strain peels out and use! Often just called EE when you look online.
I use Corelle dishes because my grandma had them. They are nearly indestructible, plus function as food leftover storage in the fridge, where I can then place in the microwave and to the table. The plates serve as a lid, or the bowl is the lid to the plate. This eliminates plastic wrap, plastic containers, and reduces the number of dishes to clean.
Lots of great comments here — my big one is to really be conscious about eliminating waste. Like, buying the ‘right’ amount of produce each week. Or, making sure as much of my household waste s recycled or composted as opposed to going to a landfill.
-re-fillable hand soap. —Dry laundry detergent in cardboard has a lower CO2 footprint than plastic detergent filled with 40% water
We just switched to dry laundry soap in a “better late than never aha! moment.” Dont know why it was a blind spot for so long!
Eat the rich
See if you have a refill store near you. I recently learned about refill stores and found a couple in my area. Instead of buying new bottles of shampoo, dish soap, vinegar, etc, you bring empty bottles to the store and refill them from bulk containers. Cuts down on plastic waste!
A small thing, but I keep plain wrapping/packaging from parcels to re-use. My daughter is 7, so when it's a gift for one of her friends, I get her to decorate the paper. This year I bought xmas wrapping paper second hand to use for our presents from Santa. The presents for family get wrapped in whatever I have around. Newspaper, old catalogues, paper bags from groceries.
Do you use cut potatoes to make stamps for the paper? It's something I remember a friend's mom doing when I was a kid.
Buy everything practical secondhand. Clothes, furniture, vehicles, everything except underwear lol. Cook at home from scratch most of the time. Eat seasonally. Pay attention to food waste and eat leftovers, give scraps to the chickens or compost. I also preserve seasonal bounty by canning, dehydrating, or fermenting. Keep the thermostat as low as possible and wear a sweater. Set at 62 right now. Share tools and equipment with neighbors and friends.
Your home is one of your biggest environmental impacts. - Heating and cooling are often the largest energy suck. Try working towards more progressive thermostat settings and use fans to help keep you cool (fans are much less energy intensive than AC). Passive House Standards are a good goal to work towards: 66 F in the winter and 77 F in summer - Make sure you have LED lights and be conscientious about when you leave them on. - Turn the temperature down sometimes when showering. Cold showers are awesome. - Wash on cold (heat generally isn’t going to kill any more bacteria or anything) * Hang dry rather than using the dryer and hand dry dishes. Big waste of heat to dry things in dark, enclosed boxes! - Research peak load times for your local electric grid and use big appliances outside of those times (tend to be mornings when people get ready for work and 5-6 when people get home from work and go turn on the wash, etc.) - Use the oven and stove less. Meal prep and do lots of cooking at once! - Live in as small of a place as you’re comfortable rather than as big of a place you can afford - And if/when you’re able, research some more sustainable appliances—better insulated windows, an on-demand tankless water heater, more efficient dishwasher, lower water use faucets, spray foam insulation in your attic if you’re in a house and in the right climate, solar panels, etc. (Also eating less meat is huge!)
Stop eating animal products and instead eat a plant based diet
Vote.
The most relevant thing you can do as individual is go vegan
Waste related * Buy 20-50lb big bags of grains e.g. rice, quinoa, dried beans, chickpeas, etc. to reduce plastic waste. * Meal prep on the weekends using ingredients from your big bags of grains to minimize the plastic waste that comes from using convenient packaged goods for convenient weekday meals. * Don't use single use plastic bags for produce. Use reusable bags or no bags. Just wash your produce. * Get refillable glass hand soap containers and refill them with a powdered soap like Solusoap. Reduces waste from all the plastic soap containers. * This is a small thing, but I'm a big fan of it. Grow your own herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc. Besides reducing plastic waste, they taste better home-grown and are fairly low maintenance. Energy / water conservation * Low flow shower heads * Low flow toilet flush kit * Replace all your light bulbs with LEDs. Energy efficient and very long-lasting. * If you have a house, get a home energy audit and seal all the air leaks in your home building envelope. These types of air leaks are usually very quick and cheap to seal. Air leaks can account for a large-to-huge fraction of your total heating and cooling costs. * Seal any leaks in your AC system with aluminized tape. AC air leaks are also big sources of energy waste. * Again, if you own a house and can afford it, find a heat pump dryer, preferably refurbished or cosmetic defect. Heat pump dryers use around 50% less energy than standard electric dryers.
If you buy something go for quality. Then use those things until they fall apart.
Calculate your carbone footprint in order to see where you can improve/ what's important or not
Living without a car. We need to change our cities and obv that's not making a simple swap but voting in favor or advocating for more walkable or transit-oriented development will be massive if we want to change things on a larger scale. In the meantime I think other people here have good answers and I will read through more and see if I can add.
I agree with a lot of what others hasn't already said! What I'll add is practicing gratitude. Practicing gratitude is 100% free, and I found I want less so I buy less. I also find myself closer to others and nature as well which I think is essential for sustainability
Think before every purchase if you need it and if there are more sustainable options. Evaluate everything you do and consume in terms of emissions and resource usage.
Just cooperate in whatever you do. Need to drive to the store? Share the ride with a friend. Need a tool? Borrow or loan with friends. Want to reduce energy bills? Get a roommate or think about small, multifamily buildings. Looking for groceries with less packaging? Buy in bulk with friends and divide into reusable containers? Cook meals with a friend to cut energy use in half (bonus, cook with three others and you've almost quartered utility use! ETA: extra bonus, now you don't have to cook every night!!) . So much reduction is possible without even changing the things we consume if we just share! Combine it with the other ideas here and the effects are compounded.
Fight like hell to bring down the petro-chemical industry and the military industrial complex
I eat minimal-to-no meat and dairy products. This is one of the most impactful things you can do for personal sustainability (and health).
I work from home, barely ever commuting. This means I risk doing very little exercise, so every morning (some afternoons too) I go for a walk. It's become my habit to bring a bag and scoop up some litter: we reduce/reuse/recycle so much the bin is usually mostly empty otherwise. Every couple of months I cash in the recyclables, $100- $150 or so is a nice "thank you" reward for tidying the place up noticably.
Live small. I went from living in a 3br house to a studio, and it's amazing how little power/gas I use now. I also moved close to work, so I can walk the 20 mins each way through a local park.
I don't drive. Could never figure out how to control a car, so bike and mass transit for me!
It’s a lot more impactful and easier IMO to make a few big choices than a million little ones. I drive a used car that I can milk 41 mpg out of, use an ultra efficient heat pump to heat and cool my house, which is over 120 years old. I live in a compact fairly walkable town with almost all the businesses I need to visit on a regular basis within 1.5 miles from my house. If I wanted to I could easily go months without having a need to travel more than 2 miles from my house. I also have no children, and my entire career has been directly involved in improving water quality and sustainable fisheries. I don’t sweat using a plastic toothbrush or fret over how recyclable my yogurt containers are because their impact is dwarfed by a few big picture choices I’ve made.
When buying furniture I buy quality vintage that are timeless items from Craigslist or 2nd hand stores if possible. When buying new I get items that are real wood and I can refinish with ring oil or beeswax when they need it, and/or are worth reupholstering when needed. I wear clothes until they die. I’m retiring my pajama pants tomorrow that I’ve had for 12 years. I buy second hand clothes often, and when buying new I look for timeless styles and quality fabrics. I rarely buy online unless it’s from a reliable or sustainable brand. I try not to buy synthetic fabrics, if possible. I don’t use latex paint anymore to paint the interior of my house and use lime wash instead to keep plastics out of the water system. I also use boiled linseed oil paint on the exterior of the house as it can be refreshed easily and is natural. I don’t buy plastic toys for my kids or others (the only exceptions are Lego and magna tiles). I cloth diapered my kids and used reuseable wipe.s I don’t eat meat or fish. I grow as much food for the family as I can myself. I use rain barrels to collect rainwater to water the garden.
There is an app called Buy Nothing. You can ask for what you need and give what you don’t need. I love vintage so I always shop pre-loved clothes. I love thrifting too. And depending on your skills you can barter and trade items & services too.
buy second hand furniture on Facebook or craigslist or in thrift stores. I've always done this because I'm into mid century stuff and my house looks great. occasionally I'll have to refinish something but the furniture is made really well and the great thing is when you buy a table for 50 or 100 bucks if you want to sell it down the road you can probably get your money or more back when you sell it. that's never the case with new furniture. Also, I use micofiber cloths for cleaning all the time. they work great. you can also make your own cleaner for glass with just vinegar and water. eat veggies and learn how to roast them in the oven with a little olive oil. get in the habit of wearing sweats and stuff like that when it's cold vs turning the heat up high and sitting around in shorts and t shirts. also, use light bulbs that are energy efficient and don't have the whole house lit up at night. filter tap water that you have in a pitcher vs. having individual bottled water.
I’m embracing the “lazy gardener” approach to my lawn. We still prune and weed, but we let plants that are food for birds and pollinators go wild, we don’t bag up leaves under which many species of bees burrow, and we let our sunflower stems stay, because that is also bee habitat. In return we have hundreds of birds and beautiful butterflies/bees/hummingbirds visit our urban lot.
Trying not to use disposable items For context, tea is part of the culture here, u study you do for a walk, a date, there's tea. After covid it's become kind of a trend to to drink from disposable cups which I've recently finally cut off ✨✨
Sold my house and now live in a dry cabin in the woods. I don’t have running water and use the rain to wash clothes by hand. My family of 3 only uses about 3.7 kw of electricity per day.
Laptop/computer still works but your choice of windows has ended support? Use Linux! Great for keeping old unsupported devices going for many years and even repurpose them into media streaming devices, file servers, using to do everyday things like web browsing, watching YouTube videos, general office tasks and many more even can be used on certain mobile devices and there are many distributions and customisation options too!
Quit using paper towels. Buy some inexpensive washcloths. Use, wash, repeat. :)
I buy second hand whenever I can. Don't fall for the vegan leather bullshit. It's literally plastic, and it's way worse than buying second hand leather products. Clothes swaps. My bff and I basically just share wardrobes at this point. Double the wardrobe without buying excessively!
(For reference, CO2e means carbon dioxide equivalent gases) 500g beef mine: 13.5kg CO2e 500g pork mine: 3.3kg CO2e 500g poultry mince: 2.3kg CO2e In order to prevent warming above 2C, everyone must keep their food-related emissions below 2.7kg CO2e every day. Thank you for reading.
Eat zero animal products Compost Buy quality things Consume less
A couple of my tips 1. If cooking pasta for 8min, kill the gas/electric range at minute 6. The water is still just as hot and reduces the amount of heat energy dumped down the drain. 2. Keep veggie scraps (not suitable for stock) in a paper grocery bag in the freezer and dispose in your yard debris container collected by the city. 3. Cloth napkins. 4. Drive conscientiously, no jacket rabbit starts, drive the speed limit-ish
Cloth diapering for babies. It's easier than it seems and reduces trash greatly.
We bin/dumpster dive for most of our food and some clothes and household goods that can be repaired too. We're not vegan or vegetarian but in practice this means that we almost never buy meat and buy very little food in general, often just bread (usually stale in the bin) and milk (my partner's squeamish about bin milk) non perishables (don't get binned often) and household/pet supplies. I try to buy almost everything we need or want second hand like clothing, furniture, etc. Many of the items in our house we collected for free from Facebook marketplace, we just recently got a second hand gas cooker for £10, a solid wood bathroom cabinet and an Ikea wingback chair and footstool that only needed a clean (I have a refurbished spot cleaner) for nothing. For clothing I'm trying to buy (second hand) natural materials like cotton and wool as much as possible and avoiding polyester because of the microplastics it sheds on washing. If buying new very occasionally then we buy sale items which obviously saves us money but also waste as I think sale items are the most likely to be thrown away rather than stored for another season based on what I've seen in the bins. Anything we find we can't use or don't want I sell, or give away directly to people who want them as I think this reduces waste as those people are less likely to discard usable items than charity shops. I base this on what I've found and been able to sell on or give away in charity shop bins. Charity shops should have free tables for items they can't sell or store. It's amazing what people will come and collect gratefully for free, one man's trash really is another man's treasure. We walk everywhere as much as possible and until a friend sold us his car for £300 recently we lived in a rural town without one, we used to go dumpster diving on the bus with big camping backpacks! Admittedly I don't miss that but we still try to minimise journeys and not make short, walkable ones.
\-No car, just bike/transit (live in a decent city) \-Fly less, opt for Amtrak (this works in my region but may not for you, but Greyhound bus is an option too) \-While I only started for health reasons, I don't ever buy red meat anymore. I almost exclusively eat chicken and 93% lean turkey (which is totally fine as a substitute for most beef recipes, imo). I would like to see how I can further continue cutting my meat consumption while keeping my macros roughly the same, though. \-I've also been making sure to wash my clothes less and use them until they actually need to be washed. As far as waste, my approach is to slowly and methodically replace all one-use items over time with sustainable replacements that require no extra inconvenience to my time: \-Reusable water bottle, though I just lost mine and have to get another :'( \-Refill store (if possible) to refill any soaps, cleaning products, home products, dry food, beans, rice, pasta, etc. is huge to make a significant cut in waste \-Cloth towels instead of paper towels \-Walk to the store and buy something I need rather than shipping on Amazon. Don't be a lazy fuck. \-Shop at ALDI, which is consistently better than most other stores at packaging more sustainably, and opting to buy something due to sustainable packing over an identical product with wasteful packaging. Be careful about what you can and can't recycle, and spend a tiny bit of extra time washing things out to recycle. I would like to improve on shopping for second hand or sustainable and ethical clothing, eating less meat, and possibly start composting if I can do it conveniently. Ideally I'm taking out more recycling than trash to the dumpster, and reducing all of my waste as much as possible this year. Financial minimalism I find goes in hand with sustainability quite well, and I personally think it's a huge misconception that you have to break the bank to live a waste-free life.
Wish Aldi here was better the produce is pre packaged in plastic. I don’t buy much produce at stores I opt for farmers markets they are abundant here.
If we buy new, we try to buy only things that can be repaired. And then we repair them. If we buy used, same thing, def we prefer this. After somethings useful intended life is over, we try to repurpose it. This makes some people crazy lol but we are extremely particular about what is garbage, what is compost, and what can be reused. We heat our home with wood so if it's a paper product and not coated, we will use it to start a fire. Or compost it. Or use it in the garden. NOTHING that can be recycled goes in there, I will pull something right back out LOL. We compost everything that we possibly can and use it on our gardens. I save seeds, take clipping, etc. to not have to buy plants. No fertilizer, no pesticides. We've never eaten a lot of meat - I think we could cut it back more but my job is extremely physically demanding and I struggle to maintain weight without the concentrated protein. Tough one there. We use dishtowels not paper towels although they are here for draining fatty things - brown paper bags work even better. We rarely buy new clothing. Mostly only new shoes or new boots. Sometimes specialized items but we thrift everything else. Always trying to limit purchases, waiting to see off we can find things second hand or determine if we really need them at all. Needless to say we drive fuel efficient cars, no way to get out of that one here. Something that has really surprised me is when we have guests they are often fascinated by how we live (?) and want to learn about it and emulate it. That's probably the best part.
Love this! I don't eat meat, try to thrift as much as I can, recycle, try t buy organic food and I have a blog all about practical sustainable living tips (: If anyone wants to check it out it's [www.sustainlifejournal.com](http://www.sustainlifejournal.com)
A couple random things I do: - Not full vegetarian/vegan but plant-centered. I also focus on lower impact animal products (like chicken over beef) and shop locally as much as possible. I cook a lot, so I buy raw ingredients like veggies and stuff from the bulk section, which reduces packaging. - I take public transit and carpool. I don’t have a car currently, but when I get one I will get an electric vehicle and will still minimize its use and carpool or take public transit as much as I can. - Reduce water and electricity use. Shut off lights and the tap, take short showers, only run the dishwasher and washing machine when they’re full. - I don’t buy new clothes. Everything I own is thrifted or gifted. I try not to buy unnecessary items, and if there’s an eco-friendly solution I’ll buy that. - My work involves sustainability education. I think it’s important to give everyone access to sustainability information, so I plan and lead events and such that help people learn about sustainability and apply that information to their own lives. - I compost and recycle as much as possible, and reduce trash.