It’s no secret that our planet is suffering. It would be easy for us to sit back and presume that changing our lifestyle wouldn’t make the slightest difference. But what good does adding to the damage do? Living a green lifestyle often leads to a healthier mind. A cleaner conscience. Surprisingly, it can also help to save a fair penny when it comes to household bills. Here are 5 steps you can take to live a greener lifestyle.
1. Compost kitchen scraps
You can turn almost any organic matter into compost. The best bits, however, are from the kitchen. Vegetable peels, egg shells and fruit cores all biodegrade to create a great natural fertiliser for your plants.
2. Grow your own fruit and veg
This is also a great way to connect with your children. Allow them to plant their own little vegetable patch in the garden, or grow herbs from small plant pots indoors. To put the cost into perspective a 6 pack of tomatoes costs 69p, whereas you can purchase 60 tomato seeds for under £2.
3. Don’t use the car every day
You could cut down your emissions by just cutting out one day of driving to work a week. If you’re fairly close, consider walking or cycling to work. It will keep you much fitter, which is an added bonus. If walking or cycling isn’t really an option, see if you can car-share a couple of days to have a similar effect.
4. Use energy-saving lightbulbs
Although these may be more costly in the first instance, they’re a much sounder investment in terms of longevity. They last up to ten times longer than regular incandescent bulbs and use up to 30% less energy. Meaning you’ll save on household bills as well!
5. Commit to recycling
Many of us try to recycle but don’t stick to it as well as we could. Designate a separate bin indoors for your recyclable waste. You can even split this into sections (e.g. paper, plastic etc.) to prevent you having to sort by hand later. A new bin or extra 5 minutes sorting your recycling is a small price to pay for the amount of recyclable rubbish you’ll keep out of a landfill.
6. Fill washing machines before use
Using a washing machine that isn’t full wastes unnecessary water. The same goes for dishwashers. Rather than turning on just to wash a few dishes, try hand-washing and save the dishwasher when you know there’s enough to fill it. Before long, there’ll be a significant change in your water bills.
7. Buy sustainable
There are a huge amount of products you can swap out for their sustainable alternatives. From sustainable wood flooring and clothing to reusable coffee cups and biodegradable bags – do your research and see where you can make the swap.
The above are some of the simple steps to take when you’re looking to live a greener, more environmentally conscious lifestyle. There are of course plenty more things you can do – what have you found that works for you?
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