14 Tips on Sustainable Living – How to Embrace Sustainable Lifestyle?

There are many people in the world who claim that sustainable living is our only option if we want to make sure we have a future as a human race. It may sound a bit dramatic and catastrophic, but it’s not so far from the truth if you really think about it.

A sustainability lifestyle is teaching us how to, as individuals, but as a society too, reduce the usage of Earth’s natural sources, how to preserve what we have, and what mother nature gave us in the first place.

It’s about choices we make every day – to ride a bike instead of a car, to reduce energy consumption, to recycle, to choose renewable energy and use paper instead of plastic bags, etc. So if you wonder how to embrace all that, how to make sure you do whatever it needs to be done in order to know our planet is protected and taken care of, here is the list you need to follow.

1. Choose Minimalism

This may sound confusing because most people will primarily think about interior design, but we are actually talking about lifestyle. In this domain, minimalism implies you should own and use only those things that you really need.

Everything is about making sure things we possess we benefit from in the maximum capacity. People who decide to live like this practice recycling, use waste products, and show great support to those manufacturers who are being guided by sustainability as the main principle.

2. Be Part of a Community Garden

Be Part of a Community Garden
Source: earth911.com

It would be good for you to become a member of a community garden and start growing your own crops because that’s something that can connect you to your environment and raise awareness of how important it is to experience satisfying labor.

This way, you will also be able to contribute to spreading the word of importance when it comes to sustainable living in your area because more green spaces mean fewer carbon emissions in urban regions.

3. Use Natural Cleanser

We all know how damaging it is for our environment to use all those household chemicals, but we still do it because we believe the alternative is too complicated. We assure you that it isn’t, and that will take you just an hour to research and make some natural cleanser that will do the same work just fine.

For example, water and vinegar are a combination that will make most surfaces super clean. The idea is to keep our soil and water system free of harmful substances these products mostly contain.

4. Change the House Lights

House Lights
Source: show-score.com

It would be great if we could make some effort to try and be less dependent on energy resources. In order to achieve that you should change the traditional light bulbs with CFL, you should use skylights and try entering more natural light in your home, for example.

That way, you will spend less of the generated energy, but you will also reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills.

5. Say No to Traffic

You are not even aware of how much you can contribute to preserving the environment if you make a decision not to use your car in order to transport yourself from one place to another.

If you decide that instead of driving a four-wheeler, you use your bike, your legs, or at least carpool, you will significantly reduce air pollution, but you will also promote your health. Even this last option, carpooling, is the right choice because it will enable fewer car pollutants to wander on our streets.

6. Read More and Play Board Games

Read More and Play Board Games
Source: familyeducation.com

When hearing this as a suggestion that will lead to more sustainable living, most people wonder how. What is the connection between reading a book and taking care of our environment?

But the answer is very simple – if we reduce the time spent on entertainment that depends on energy resources, we will contribute to sustainability for sure. So take that book, find a perfect spot, and enjoy yourself. Also, playing board games is another great option.

7. Apply Natural Sleep Schedule

This advice can be interpreted as a continuation of the one that says how you should shift towards natural light. The idea is to live and go through your daily activities, at least most of them, during the day, when you don’t need artificial lighting.

And as the night comes along, you should bring your obligations to an end, and prepare yourself for the bed. If you follow the natural sleep schedule, you will reduce the usage of electricity.

8. Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse

Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse
Source: blog.wayst.co.uk

All those things mentioned in the caption will reduce your need to purchase new products. That will go perfectly with the minimalism principle, but also, it will create less waste, and our environment will remain cleaner and safer.

The ability to learn how to reuse some products or how to find a new purpose for other objects can be challenging, and it may take some time, but eventually, you will find joy in doing things that way, that’s for sure.

9. Unplug Devices

Most of you may not know that, but our electronic devices are still drawing electricity, even if they are turned off. In order to reduce energy usage significantly, you can unplug every home appliance you don’t use that often.

It’s okay for your TV or computer to stay plugged in, but you can definitely apply this advice on most kitchen stuff like coffee maker, toaster, mixer, etc. You will save energy and support a sustainable way of living, but at the same time, you will save some money, which will be visible on your next monthly bill.

10. Live in a Right-sized House

Live in a Right-sized House
Source: pinterest.com

There is no place for exaggerations if you want to live a sustainable way of life. The experts in this matter say that one of the most important things is to live in a house that supports and reflects your choices.

That means a smaller one, the one that will provide you with enough space but consume as little energy as possible. Another piece of advice is to follow the greenhouse standards while building it, and to purchase furniture that is made with sustainability in their mind.

11. Change Your Washing Habits

Even though this item is not physically on top of our list, in the real world, it most certainly is. It turns out that we are always watching something – our dishes, our clothes, ourselves or our home, and there are a few problems regarding that fact. First of all, scientists already proved that our immune system becomes weaker because of our obsessive need to be clean.

Second of all, we tend to spend huge amounts of water in order to provide for our goals, which is terrible for the environment. We all know there is not enough clean water in some parts of the world. So our suggestion is to stop the water from pouring when you are in a shower until you are ready to wash the soap away.

12. Choose Renewable Energy

Choose Renewable Energy
Source: twi-global.com

We are all aware that climate change is a huge problem that can compromise our future. So to stop these shifts, you should choose to use renewable energy instead of fossil fuels that are known to be harmful.

Solar panels can heat your home, lighten up your backyard, can enable you to cook and live the fullest life. The same thing is with wind turbines. But given that these things are asking for significant investment make sure to get tax credits from the government.

13. Purchase Products With Less Packaging

This may seem like a little thing, but it actually is a huge contribution to environmental protection. When you are purchasing new things, pick those that have less packaging, because most of it, if not all, will end up in your trash, and later on in landfills.

Even though that is a normal system in today’s societies, that doesn’t mean that it’s the best one since those huge piles of trash tremendously contaminate our soil. Thanks to that, the health of humans and animals is in danger as well.

14. Renounce Plastic

Renounce Plastic
Source: treehugger.com

Please, please, please, say no to plastic. It is the material that never goes away, and it’s everywhere around us. Scientists say that it takes millions of years for plastic to decompose entirely, so our planet is becoming a huge plastic trash can that doesn’t have the capacity to hold it inside anymore.

It affects our soil, the oceans, and marine life tremendously. Sea birds, seals, whales, and other fish are dying it continuously. So it’s definitely time to renounce plastic and reach for the good old paper bag.

Conclusion

It seems like it is our responsibility, and not only our choice, to embrace all this advice and start living by them. It takes so little effort to greatly contribute to this huge cause, so we urge you to accept that and become a more responsible human being. Do that for this planet of yours. For you, your kids, and all future generations.