5 ways to make your lifestyle more sustainable
We all want to live a more sustainable life, living a lifestyle with the smallest environmental impact possible – a lifestyle that our planet can support indefinitely so that our children and grandchildren can also enjoy. With the impact and dangers of climate change growing stronger every year, this becomes ever more important. And as Black Friday weekend is on the horizon, this weighs heavily on our minds!
Is it that hard? Not really, but while most of us want to make changes to live a more sustainable lifestyle, many don't know where to start. In this article, we share 5 easy and manageable ways to make your lifestyle more sustainable.
1. Go minimalist
Minimalism is a way of life where every purchase is thoughtfully considered to ensure you own only things you love and that are useful – put simply, ‘do more, with less’. By effectively de-cluttering our lives, it is proven to increase wellbeing and happiness while reducing stress while also meaning we consume and throw away less ‘stuff’. Yes, very Mary Kondo…
At its core though, practicing minimalism means thinking carefully before buying each and every item: do I really need this? Is there an alternative which will last longer or can be used for multiple purposes, not just one? An added benefit of minimalism is the positive effect it has on your bank balance by helping you avoid unnecessary spend!
To make it even more helpful, there are growing trends in the fashion and homeware scenes that push for renting or buying second-hand items to ensure they have a longer lifespan, reducing our consumerism, decluttering the planet and saving us a few ££ in between. Have you tried it yet?
2. Lessen your dependence on plastic
Plastic takes millions of years to decompose when thrown away, while being harmful to wildlife such as sea creatures. Plastics that end up in landfill and the wider environment disintegrate into microplastics (particles smaller than 5mm) which poses additional problems for the ecosystem and are incredibly difficult to clean up. Avoid single use plastic at all costs and when buying new items, look for non-plastic alternatives.
Did you know Form uses plastic-free packaging? Everything we send you can be recycled or is biodegradable, leaving no trace behind!
For more on this subject. check out our recent article that shares 5 easy swaps to reduce our plastic usage.
3. Use renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy from a source which is endless or is replenished quickly enough so that our use won’t deplete the source. While being sustainable indefinitely, it is also far less polluting than conventional power sources which often involve the burning of limited reserves of fossil fuels releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
When choosing your utility provider, look for those that supply only ‘clean’ / ‘green’ energy from renewable sources. You can even go one step further by installing a renewable generator on your home by adding solar panels, small wind turbines or geothermal if your home environment allows.
4. Conserve energy
Sticking with the energy theme, if the switch to renewable energy is not possible look to reduce your energy usage. This reduces the amount of fossil fuel that needs to be burned to meet our energy demands. It can be as simple as turning off the lights when not in use or to switching to more efficient appliances. You can even mix energy conservation and exercise by picking up your bicycle or walking instead of using your car.
5. Conserve water
We have become a society that relies heavily on high water use. From bathing to washing dishes and the laundry the average person today uses well over 100L of water a day. Even though 72% of the Earth’s surface area is water, less than 3% of this is freshwater, making it a limited resource. Processing water into clean water is energy intensive, while our used wastewater often ends up in rivers, lakes and oceans which can be harmful to wildlife and ecosystems. Try to reduce the volume of water you use each week by:
Choosing showers over baths
Using eco settings on dishwashers and washing machines
Saving up laundry to do large loads rather than multiple small loads
Airing laundry instead of tumble drying it
Installing a water-saving toilet
Steaming vegetables, don’t boil
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