Making Conscious Choices for an Eco-friendly Lifestyle.
Changing habits in Tiny ways !
Happy Earth Day Everyone!
Earth Day is an annual event to demonstrate support for Environment protection. The day marked on 22nd April each year is celebrated worldwide by organizing rallies, conferences, competitions, etc. Although this year the picture is different, the pandemic has had the globe in its grip and hence our planet’s very own holiday would be celebrated virtually worldwide. With the surge in the number of patients, the government has mandated to practice social distancing and stay at home. While exercising the responsibility of taking care of our health, we should not forget our responsibility to preserve nature. With this time in our hands, we can reassess our current habits to develop new ones that are better for planet earth. Living a more sustainable and eco-friendly life is important and the first step towards achieving this is making conscious choices. If you are confused about how to start an eco-friendly lifestyle and don’t know where to start then this is the right place. Our blog will introduce you to a few swaps in daily life that will not only help you in reducing your carbon footprint but also make you a conscious citizen.
The swaps mentioned are easy to implement and will save money in a long run. Somethings can be phased out gradually and you definitely don’t have to throw the existing things to replace with sustainable ones. It’s important to opt for eco-friendly choices but being conscious and mindful about it first is more important.
1. Making kitchen more green.
From food packaging to cleaning supplies the kitchen is the largest source of waste in many homes. We can swap the conventional habits with sustainable ones easily. To start, instead of throwing away the food waste, make compost and use it as a natural fertilizer for plants. Read our blog about home composting to know more. Use cloth bags for buying kitchen grocery and find a store where you can take your own containers for serials and oil. Apart from this swap the single-use plastic products with metal, glass, or copper products. Ditch the paper towels and tissues and go traditional by using kitchen cloth. Use dark-colored dish towels, they won’t show stains and you’ll keep them around for a longer time. For cleaning these utensils, make sure you use enviroscrubs made of wood, bamboo, and natural materials like coconut waste. While storing food, use stainless steel containers, mason jars, or glass containers with lids. To avoid food wastage, label one container as ‘eat first’ in the fridge to prevent spoiling. A lot of water is used for washing rice and veggies, reuse that water for plants, it contains a lot of nutrients.
2. Easy swaps to make your bathroom sustainable.
The bathroom is a space filled with disposables and impulse buys which you got just for half price, thanks to the end-of-season sale. Before swapping any products, evaluate your personal care products and make a list of products that you truly use and then plan on sustainable options. The first thing you need to do is use a bucket and mug instead of shower, saves a lot of water. Swap the plastic toothbrush with bamboo toothbrushes, they are biodegradable and easily compostable. Start using toothpowders instead of toothpaste and you can make DIY toothpowders as well. Check out its recipe here. Switch to organic soap bars instead of chemical-based body lotions which come in plastic bottles. For hair, try the traditional and organic option available that is Shikakai. It is an herb that comes in powder form and as a shampoo as well, its cleansing and antifungal properties reduce hair fall and make your hair shine, and will definitely reduce the shampoo bottle waste. Ditch the plastic razors and switch to an ‘old-fashioned’ style safety razor, here the blade can be recycled. A menstruating person will have a lot of single-use menstruation products which can be easily swapped with long-lasting products like menstrual cups (which last for at least 10 years and will cost you only two months of sanitary napkins price) or use cotton pads, they are eco-friendly as you and reuse them for a long time. Makeup removing wipes come in plastic packaging and are tossed out or flushed down the toilet after use. The simple cotton cloth which can be washed and reused again could be an easy available option. Pandemic has made cleansers and sanitizers our best friends. Both come in plastic packaging and are bought in huge numbers. Switching to homemade cleansers is very easy, you just need orange peels and white vinegar, mixed together results into a DIY cleanser.
3. Green hacks for the ‘New Normal’.
Working from home is in itself sustainable as there is no commuting but that does not mean the eco box is ticked. The carbon footprints of businesses are not reduced but dispersed to individual households. While working from home, you need to assess your daily routine which includes the energy usage, the food you eat, how much time you spend without use of any electrical appliances etc. Using natural light instead of artificial will not only save energy but will also keep you connected with the nature. When sun is bright you don’t need artificial light! Add as many houseplants as possible in your workspace, this keeps the space and your mind cool. Unplug your devices when not in use, they still use energy if are plugged in but not in use. Unsubscribe to unwanted email threads and delete the data which is not required, as a lot of energy is consumed at data storage units for storing this unwanted data. Google claims that each search on it’s site generates as much carbon dioxide as boiling half the water for a cup of coffee (7g). That means even the data itself as a carbon footprint and we have a choice to reduce it. Apart from this, we can switch on energy saving mode on computers, laptops and mobiles. When in office, people tend to use a lot of printing paper and disposable pens which eventually reduces when at home. We tend to use a lot less paper for printing, and if possible we can try and switch to not printing at all and go digital. If printing is unavoidable, please switch to recycle papers and opt for two sided printing.
Changing habit is a slow process, but what’s easy in this journey is simplifying the routine and adapting fewer necessities. The hacks and changes mentioned in this blog may take some time to fit in your routine, but soon they’ll be part of your life. Make conscious choices and contribute for a better world.
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Contributed By- Ashlesha Karande, Communication Executive at Social Lab
Social Lab Environmental Solutions is a waste management company, which helps brands take-back and scientifically dispose of post-consumer plastic waste of their products. Brands take our services to fulfill Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligation under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2018.
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