How to Create an Eco-Friendly Daily Routine
Photo by: Alena Koval
While we continue to rely on digital technologies and quality of life innovations, it’s never too late to create an eco-friendly daily routine. From the moment you wake to when you fall asleep again, you and you alone are in charge of the way you live your life.
According to Forbes, 77% of people want to learn how to live more sustainably, with 93% showing genuine concern for the environment. Additionally, 87% of people stated that they made efforts to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, with 72% wanting to leave a better planet for their children.
Given the growing concerns for energy consumption, global littering, business energy rates as well as increased population and migration, concerns about the planet are very justified. That said, we can all be part of the change and contribute to an eco-friendly planet in our own ways – let’s jump right into it.
Air out your Environment
A simple yet effective way to adopt a greener lifestyle is to start with your work and living environments. Specifically, make sure to air out your rooms, office space, and living areas on a daily basis to allow for fresh air to come in.
This will not only improve your mood, and productivity but also allow any plant life or pets you might have to freshen and liven up. Make it a habit to avoid artificial refreshers and rely on natural air – you will undoubtedly breathe more easily as a result.
Separate Waste for Recycling
To do our part as citizens of the world, we should do our best to ensure safe, quick and efficient recycling of collective waste. As such, you can introduce a segmented recycling system to your household or office space by hosting different waste disposal bags for different materials.
Plastics, glass, paper as well as organic waste all behave differently when it comes to waste processing and recycling. Make the waste disposal facility’s job easier by taking out your trash in clearly marked bags for different materials in order to do your part.
Increase Walking & Cycling
It goes without saying that mechanical vehicles which rely on fuel consumption leave a huge mark on our environment. While community transportation such as buses and trains are a necessary evil, you can do your part and introduce a more eco-friendly personal solution.
Depending on how far your work or daily chores are from the place of residence, you can walk or cycle to and from your destination. This will not only help make your routine more eco-friendly but also add to your overall health, mood and productivity for the day.
Become Paperless
As a civilization, we’ve become overly reliant on paper, cardboard and their byproducts for communication and information storage – but is this really a necessity? With the aforementioned shift to digital technology, becoming paperless is more than just a utopian idea – it’s a goal we can all contribute toward daily.
Tools such as Evernote are available at a button press, while more extensive platforms such as Google Docs allow for a plethora of writing possibilities. Besides the obvious shift toward digital devices, checking out the best paper writing site to outsource your writing or formatting needs is also an option.
Unplug Unnecessary Electronics
Energy consumption plays a pivotal role in creating an eco-friendly daily routine and can have a drastic impact on the world we live in tomorrow. While innovations such as solar panels and power-saving energy modes have become a norm in modern households, it’s still worth unplugging unnecessary electronics.
Make it a habit to sweep your home before leaving for work or extended periods for any electronics which are non-essential. Night lamps, entertainment systems, audio and video devices, as well as phones and heating units, can all go on stand-by while you are away. In contrast, essential devices such as refrigeration units or home alarm systems should remain operational, leading to a far greener, eco-friendly energy consumption.
Reuse Shopping Bags
Whether for groceries or new accessories, we are all bound to go shopping at some point during the week. However, that doesn’t mean we should ask for bags every time we visit a store, especially if we frequent the same ones out of habit.
You can make your shopping more straightforward and efficient by reusing bags and by writing lists – check out a review of TrustMyPaper as a solution. Taking such an approach to shopping will not only make your lifestyle more eco-friendly but also reduce unnecessary expenses for your household going forward.
Introduce Vegan Days
Lastly, thermally processing meats, cheeses and animal byproducts will leave a mark on your living environment and body as a whole. While meat products shouldn’t be eliminated out of your diet outright, you can slowly shift toward vegan foods and fresh produce to amend for them.
Eating more fruits and vegetables will bring a plethora of benefits to your eco-friendly daily routine, including more energy, better mood and far less waste. Give vegan foods a shot and see how your body, as well as family members, reacts to a greener change of pace and healthy eating.
Long-Term Eco-Friendliness (Conclusion)
It would be disingenuous to say that going eco-friendly is easy – otherwise, everyone would do it. Giving up on old habits and turning toward energy conservation and greener living takes time and self-discipline.
Likewise, to really contribute to the world around you, you will have to double-down on your eco-friendly lifestyle until you are used to living it. Once you arrive at the point of feeling better about yourself and your living environment, the struggle will be worth the effort.
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About the author: Daniela McVicker is a freelance writer, blogger, and contributor to Essayguard. She graduated from Durham University and has an MA in psychological science. Her passion is traveling and finding ways to enrich students’ learning experiences.