There are plenty of reasons why its good to live more eco-friendly: The plastic pollution of the sea, the deforestation of the rainforests for the oil industry and the cultivation of crops or in general the exploitation and pollution of our planet are just some of the good reasons. Any of them is valid by itself and it‘s always good and appreciable. Being willing to change something is already the first step.
Anyhow, quite often I experience that people don‘t know where to start as soon as they get informed about environmental issues. That‘s why I‘m going to help you with 30 simple tips for a more eco-friendly live. If you already just try to do some of them you will help to protect our so sensitive environment. You can start today if you haven‘t already done it so far. Every contribution counts, no matter how little it is. Let’s changes something together.
30 simple tips
- Use public transport, your bike or walk instead of taking the car.
- Avoid packaging waste.
- Buy products out of sustainable materials.
- Turn off the wireless router when you leave the house. This not only saves electricity but also money. You can save about 30 € a year.
- Turn off the light when you don‘t use or need them.
- Use energy-saving light bulbs.
- Pay attention to the energy rating of your household appliances such as washing machine and dishwasher.
- Do not wash your laundry until the washing machine is full.
- Use recycled paper, toilet paper, etc. instead of common ones.
- Always have a reusable bag with you while shopping or going out so that you don’t need to use plastic bags.
- Use the water stop button when flushing the toilet.
- Turn down or turn off the heater and put on a sweater instead.
- Make your own cosmetics. It‘s easier than you might think. You‘ll find some receipes soon here on my blog.
- Give away sustainable products as birthday presents like a homemade bath oil or a delicious herbal oil.
- Eat regional and seasonal.
- Upcycle, repair or sell the things you don‘t need any longer or that are broken.
- Buy second-hand if possible.
- Do sport activities outside in the nature instead of going to a gym.
- For the girls: Use a menstrual cup instead of pads or tampons. This is not only good for the environment, but it also saves money, it‘s better for your health and it will give you unknown freedom. I know what I‘m talking about.
- Open the window and let air in instead of using room sprays.
- If possible, buy products locally from farmers to reduce transport and thus CO2 emissions.
- Turn off your electrical appliances when you don‘t need them. Don‘t leave them on stand-by. Useful are sockets with a switch* or master-slave sockets*.
- Convert to using green energy instead of using electricity from coal or nuclear power plants.
- Only buy as much as you really need. Avoid to throw away food.
- Use the lid on the pot while cooking. It saves 2/3 of the energy. Additionally, you can use the residual heat.
- Separate garbage.
- Eat less meat. If you just eat max. 59 g meat per day you can save 920kg of CO2 per year. Even more savings can be achieved with a vegetarian diet where you can save 1,230 kg CO2 per year or a vegan diet with 1,560 kg per year.
- Buy products in green or zero waste shops. A lot of countries already have some. For Germans: If you don‘t know whether you have one in your city, you can check on city.utopia.com in a large database to find a shop close by.
- Use organic sunscreen without any chemical ingredients, especially if you go swimming.
- And last but not least, check out my 10 easy tips to avoid plastic garbage, as well as the more advanced tips for avoiding packaging waste
What are you doing to live a greener life? Do you already do some of the mentioned tips? Or are there tips missing? Let us know.
The links marked with an asterisk (*) are so-called affiliate links. If you click on such an affiliate link and buy through this link, I get from the relevant online store or provider a commission. For you, the price does not change.