If you’re looking for easy eco-friendly tips, you’ve come to the right place! We’re going to share our top 10 tips that are easy to implement. It’s not so difficult to save the Earth (and often save a bit of money in the process).
A little change here, a small thing there can really add up over the course of a year. Imagine if everyone made a series of small changes? It’d be a powerful thing!
But first of all, for some serious inspiration, then you’ll want to check out this list:
Top 25 Eco Friendly Bloggers to Follow in 2018
These are my favourite eco-friendly bloggers that I check out on a regular basis. Inspiring, enlightening and committed to caring for our Earth.
Enough of an introduction. Let’s get to the tips!
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #1: Go Vegan, at Least One Day a Week
Meat requires a lot of resources to produce it. If you eat lower down on the food chain (plants), it goes a long way towards making a more sustainable future for everyone.
If you’re a serious carnivore, I recommend starting small. Perhaps choose one day a week and aim to eat vegan? There are lots of delicious things you can eat, so don’t worry about suffering. You won’t. Trust me.
My family eats vegan for probably 80% of our meals (with the exception of a glass of milk for the kids). Some of our favourites include:
Breakfast: fried potatoes (+ other veggies) with guacamole and salsa, fruit salad with granola, toast
Lunch: hummus with veggies and crackers, PB + J sandwiches, vegetable soup with rice
Dinner: Tacos (roasted cauliflower or black beans for the “meat.”), tofu stir-fry, homemade baked beans (or from the can) on toast
Check out the Thug Kitchen for some more inspiration.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #2: Reduce Food Waste
Food waste is a huge problem! Not only is it a huge waste of money, but it’s also hard on our Earth. It only makes sense to reduce food waste as much as possible, especially when you consider that food is a big part of the family budget.
My family throws away perhaps only a single cup of food in a week. Here’s how we do it:
I serve small portions to everyone for most meals (my kids are 8 + 10). I give them 2/3 of what I think they’ll probably eat. The rule is that they have to finish everything before getting seconds.
The rest of the food is on the stove, so you have to get up, out of your seat before getting more. This prevents mindless eating. When the kids go to get more, I remind them, “You have to eat everything you take. Just take a little. You can get more if you’re still hungry, etc.”
I used to stay this stuff all the time, but now they monitor themselves pretty well. Even if they don’t love something, they’ll usually just eat it if it’s on their plate because they know throwing it out isn’t a great option in our house.
The leftovers go in the fridge and we eat them for lunches. Or, if they start to build up, we have a “leftover fiesta” for dinner. I pull them all out of the fridge and everyone makes themselves a plate.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #3: Clean out the Cupboards and Freezer
Food lingering at the back of your cupboard expires. Things left in the freezer for months get freezer burnt. We HATE throwing out food. That’s why we have any “everything must go” event a couple times a year.
We purposely buy way fewer groceries (only fruits and veggies) for 2-3 weeks. Then we focus on eating what’s in our cupboards and freezer. Once it gets to the point where we know exactly what’s in there, we resume normal shopping again.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #4: Turn off the Lights + Open the Curtains
Why use artificial light, if the sun does a great job? Turn off the lights, and open the curtains during the day. Most rooms will be light enough that you don’t need any artificial lights on at all. Try it out!
Of course, make a point to turn off all the lights every single time you leave, or go outside. It’s a little thing, but it adds up over time.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #5: Start a Garden
Gardening is one of the most frugal things you can do. It’s also an excellent way to take advantage of dead space in your yard and turn it into something eco-friendly awesome.
The key to making your gardening experience as useful as possible is to make a commitment to yourself. That’s to eat every single thing that comes out of your garden, no matter what. This may mean eating salads every single day for a couple weeks. Or, canning the abundance of ripe tomatoes. Or, freezing those green beans to eat throughout the winter.
Whatever it takes, do it! Don’t let any of those delicious fruits and veggies go to waste, okay?
Green Talk is one of my favourite gardening blogs. Check it out!
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #6: Reusable Water Bottles
Okay, so I’m sure you do this one already, but it’s to get yourself a reusable water bottle instead of using plastic. It’s so, so, so simple.
In case you think that the water that comes out of plastic bottles is better for you, think again. It’s often identical to tap water, because it actually is tap water! If you’re fortunate enough to live in a country where clean drinking water comes straight out of the tap, why not take advantage of it and drink all you can?
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #7: Turn Down the Heat
If you live in a cool climate, you may be keeping your house too hot during the winter. My test is if people can wear a t-shirt inside my house. If yes, it’s too hot! Still cold with a sweater? It’s too cold and I turn up the heat a little.
Ideally, people would feel comfortable in pants and a sweater. Experiment and see what works at your house.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #8: Bike or Walk, Somewhere
Are there a few places you can commit to bicycling, or walking to instead of driving in your life? For example, my massage therapist is only a 10 minute walk away, and my bank is a 15 minute bike ride. I’ve committed to never driving to either of those places.
Can you do the same? Or, how about getting the kids to walk to school instead of driving them? The rule at my house is that the kids have to walk if it’s not raining or snowing.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #9: Save Gift Bags
You know all those gift bags that you get presents in? Save them, and then “wrap” all your gifts with them. Make it a goal to never, ever buy wrapping paper again!
It’s easy, simple, and it’ll save you a ton of money as well.
Easy Eco-Friendly Tip #10: Do the Online Thing
The final easy eco-friendly tip is about doing things online.
Bills, subscriptions, reading, watching things. You can do it ALL online. Don’t buy DVDs. Stop getting paper bills. You don’t need to read a physical magazine.
It’s so, so simple to reduce your ecological footprint by doing more stuff online. Really, so, so simple.
Bonus Tip: Go Eco-Friendly for your Period
You’ll also want to consider going green for your period. You can learn more here: Eco-Friendly Periods.
