Ways to Live a More Sustainable Life

To live a more sustainable life does not have to take much effort or a complete shift in your everyday routine. You can start by making a difference in one action or behavior throughout your to day to day; allowing you to contribute to the efforts to preserve our beautiful planet. Here are some ways that can help you to do your part and do just that. Every little bit counts and makes a difference! 1. Use Reusable Bags When Shopping Normally, plastic items take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills. But plastic bags we use in our everyday life take 10-20 years to decompose. Bringing a reusable bag will decrease the amount of bags that end up in the landfills and even save you the hassle and money in some parts of the country and certain grocery stores where grocery bags are not provided. 2. Use Refillable Water Bottles Bottled water wastes fossil fuels in both production and transport, and the plastic bottles continue to end up in our landfills. Not to mention that they can take up to 450 years to decompose. Using a refillable water bottle is great, and an amazing way to begin to do your part, and at the same time saving you money on purchasing cases of water. 3. Cutback on Buying Items Wrapped in Plastic or Styrofoam Styrofoam and plastic aren't sustainable and are heavily polluting materials. If you do purchase these items, try to find ways to reuse them in ways that are beneficial to you. It can be rather difficult to avoid purchasing items that are completely free of extra plastic or Styrofoam, but you can take steps to decreasing your use. Some examples are:

-when you pick out fruits and vegetables, skip filling them in that thin plastic that grocery stores often provide. -Bring your own reusable shopping bags to avoid bagging your groceries or shopping items in plastic bags. 4. Reuse Unsustainable Items:

Let’s face it, everything seems to be wrapped in plastic. So, it is understandable when a material like plastic is inevitably going to come into your possession, but when it does try your best to repurpose these supplies. Reusing plastic bags and products for storage, art projects, and other individual efforts will allow you to repurpose items that may otherwise contribute to pollution. 6. Go Electronic Whenever Possible We live in a time that utilizes electronics more than any generation before. We are able to have access to things at the touch of our fingers. Instead of printing paper, we can access needed documents, tickets, ect via our computers, tablets, cell phones, ect. Instead of printing out paper confirmations for outings such as movie, flights, or events, utilize the ability to access such things on your devices. By using an alternative to printing when available, less paper and therefore less trees will inevitably be needed for production. A bonus is, you will not only be saving money on the expense of copy paper and ink but will also be contributing to the environment in a positive way. Trees are needed in order to recycle CO2, allowing us to breathe fresh oxygenated air. Therefore, the less trees that are cut down, the better! 8. Utilize Other Means of Transportation How do you usually get around? That most likely depends on where you currently live and what is available and most convenient. If you live in a city, public transportation is most likely very accessible and probably more cost and time effective than driving a car around. However if you reside in the suburbs or a rural area, than public transportation may be scarce or not available at all. You can help cut down on air pollution and reduce your carbon footprint in either scenario. Maybe you have a bike that you can ride to school, or to visit your friends instead of starting up your car. Taking a walk is something that is not only great for the environment but for your health and well-being. Getting outside and in the fresh air and staying active is an important way to keep your mood and energy levels up! Taking a walk can give you dedicated and quiet alone time each day that you can grow to look forward to. Although these suggestions all sound great and beneficial, we understand that the options (public transportation, walking, riding a bike) are not always feasible in regards to distance and convenience for every lifestyle. However, carpooling is always another option when possible. Instead of meeting up with friends or colleagues by individually commuting to a location, perhaps plans can be made to carpool together. Saving on gas, air pollution, and giving you time to get your social fixing and bonding during this transit time. 9. Reduce Household Energy Use. Conserving energy is not only beneficial for the environment but for your pockets as well! When making home purchases, keep an open-mind to products that are energy efficient and will make long-term impacts throughout your future uses. Here are some ways that you can conserve energy at home: -Turn off appliances and lights when they are not in use -Use an electric teakettle rather than a stove-top kettle to boil water. -Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). -Smaller changes, such as switching to water-saving shower heads and adding aerators to your sink faucets, are also effective ways to significantly reduce household water use. 10. Eat and Buy Locally. We often forget how we pay for convenience in many aspects of our lives. Going to the grocery store and being able to pick- up anything you desire is something that comes at a price. The products that fill commercial grocery stores consume large amounts of fossil fuel energy to get from those global locations to your local supermarket. Eating local not only helps to preserve this energy that is used, but it also supports local business that would greatly appreciate your business. Local food supports the local economy.The money that is spent with local farmers and growers all stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in your community. 11. Recycle. When you transform something old into something new, it benefits the environment in a number of ways. Materials and natural resources aren’t wasted. Energy is saved during the manufacturing process. There’s less waste going to landfills. Not to mention, it helps keep wildlife safe. Recycling also helps create well-paying jobs. Although recycling is offered in a vast majority of apartments and other public places today, compared to the past, there are still times when its services are not accessible. When this happens, it is best to find local locations that do offer recycling services where you will be able to bring your recycle items 12. Resell and Donate Items. Items that you no longer need can get an extended life through resale and donation. By extending the life of any product, you help reduce dependence on disposable or cheaply made single-use products that end up in landfills. Try reselling items that you no longer find useful to secondhand or consignment retailers or consider donating them to a nonprofit resale organization such as Goodwill or charity organization such as the Salvation Army. These organizations will redistribute them to those in need. 13. Purchase Fair-Trade Products.

When you purchase items that are imported from all over the world — particularly coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, chocolate, and fruit — look for the fair-trade certification. This designation tells you that these items were grown using sustainable methods of agriculture and that local people are receiving fair prices for the goods they produce. Items that don’t have the fair-trade certification may have been produced unsustainably and may be the product of exploitative labor practices that don’t benefit the local people.

Main sustainability tip: When you make a purchase, consider the item’s life expectancy: How long can the item be used? Will it have more than one use? When you’re done with it, will it end up in the trash? Start investing in reusable products for the items you most often throw away.

Here are some items that can help you maintain or start your sustainability journey:

What are some of your sustainability habits? What are some eco-friendly goals that you hope to adopt in the future? Go green