- November 22, 2018
- Green Earth, Green Planet, Nature
- No Comments
48 Simple and easy ways to live an eco friendly life and save Earth
Everyone has to know that we have only one earth and it is the responsibility of every citizen of the world to choose and make a sustainable choice. All our actions in some way directly or indirectly destroying the planet.Few of ideas here helps you save more money on electricity for life time though there is an initial set up price is required.Here is the 48 ways to live an eco friendly life and how an individual can reduce his/her carbon footprint and save the planet.
1) Use Cycle and opt for Walking.
Going for the grocery shop, commuting to office or visiting someone nearby, always use the cycle or opt for walking.Cycling and walking does promote good health while leaving Zero carbon footprint which is good for the environment.
2) Take stairs
Consider taking the stairs instead taking elevators. You can also burn more calories while walking up the stairs.
3) Work From Home
Do consider working from home, so you reduce your fuels consumption and save more money on fuel as well
4) Use Cane furnitures for office and home
When you want to furnish your home or your office, go for furnitures made from cane or bamboo. They are rustic, sturdy and 100% eco friendly. Wide range of finished products are available in the market and buying these items promotes rural employment opportunities and craftsmanship.
It is a win-win-win.
5) Use Coir or Cotton mattress:
Cotton is a proven sustainable commercial crop grown by large number of farmer. Coir is a brown fibre derived from coconut husk and has a wide variety of application. Both these materials are eco friendly and used in the mattress to provide softening and padding.
6) Use Eco Friendly clothes
Environment friendly fabrics and threads are made from sustainably produced organic cotton and uses natural dyes. They are also sometimes made from old and recycled materials. Consider buying hand loomed fabrics and hand sewed dresses.
7) Use Cloth Diapers
Disposable diaper adds lots of waste to the environment while the Cloth diapers are eco friendly and reusable. While using disposable diapers you are getting exposed to different types of VOC(Volatile Organic compound) which may cause skin rashes sometimes.
You can save more money on using reusable cloth diapers than using the disposable one. When cloth diapers is no longer needed, it can washed and shelved and later can be used for the next baby or sold with or without inserts.
Next time when your invited for a baby shower grab a set of cloth diaper as a gift.
8) Use Cloth Banners
Banners are widely used for advertising and marketing purposes. The Flex banners can be replaced by cloth banners. Also consider printing the other side of the flex banner instead of getting a new one.
Cloth banners are gaining traction and many organizations had started using them.They are economical and eco friendly.
9) Avoid plastic Jewellery
Avoid using plastic beads jewellery. Consider buying metal and natural stone jewelleries.
8) Reuse and recycle leather
Tanning of leather involves using lot of harsh chemical and pollutes the ground water and nearby water bodies. If you really want to have a leather item, go for the leather using vegetable tanning.
Use shoes and sandals made from recycled leather and rubber.
10) Avoid tissue paper
Use towel or handkerchief to wipe your hands after washing instead of tissue paper. Tissue paper involves cutting down of trees.
11) Wash clothes and dry outside
Wash your clothes using hands and use the hanger outside to dry them instead of using a dryer. This helps you cut your electricity.
12) Leverage Solar power
Install solar power harvesting equipment at home and live off the grid for the entire life. This can give you a huge saving on the electricity bill. It’s a clean energy and its renewable.
13) Solar Cooking
The gas cylinder prices are soaring and why don’t you consider cooking your food using solar power on the sunny day and on the weekends ?
14) Use the Daylight
Have your windows and doors opened and utilize the day light as much as you can, instead of switching on the lights.
15) Use solar water heater
Avoid hot water bath and in case if you can’t then install Solar water heater, which will provide hot water for life time with zero impact on the environment
16) Harvest Rain water
The rain water can be harvested by installing effective pipeline. The water can be store in underground tank, small ponds and directly captured in the well and can be used later. It will improve the groundwater table.
17) Conserve Water
Fix the leaking taps and pipes in the home.
Use the water used to wash the vegetable, fruits and rice to water the plant and trees in your garden.
18) Produce Biogas at home
Use the food waste to produce biogas instead of throwing it in the sewage. This biogas can used for household cooking and the slurry produced by the digestor can be used as a fertilizer for the home garden.
You can reduce your dependency on the LPG cylinders, save on transport of cylinder. Totally reducing the impact on the environment.
19) ECO Friendly utensils
Try using Terracotta pots to store water during summer. When you drink water from Terracotta pots, it is said to have many health benefit and cools down your body.
Switch to the utensils made from Wood,Copper, Aluminium and Brass.
20) Drink Tender Coconut
Escape from dehydration by drinking tender coconut in the summer instead of the bottled beverages which leaves us with the plastic bottle
21) Use Reusable jars and water bottles.
Make sure your kitchen cabinet has got the groceries filled in glass jars and glass containers. Consider taking water from home in a reusable water bottle instead of buying one.
Avoid plastic bottles and plastic containers.
22) Make Earth friendly parties
Make sure to use eco friendly areca palm leaf plates, bowls and cutlery for your next party instead of using plastic and foam based disposable plates. Palm leaf plates are 100% eco friendly and biodegradable.
23) Eco Friendly Toys
Toys are an essential part of childhood and make sure you get the right one for your child. Buy wooden toys,ethnic toys and organic soft toys.
Cheap plastic toys contains harmful chemicals like BPA in them and are not good for the child and for the environment. Buy non painted wooden pacifier for babies. These are considered to be safe.
24) Grow your own food
Have some left over area in the backyard ? then consider growing your own herbs,vegetables and fruits. Buy seeds from the near agriculture store and sow them correctly. Enjoy reaping organic veggies and fruits from your garden.
See if you can implement a terrace garden.
25) Buy and consume Local produce
When you don’t have space to grow your food, then consider buying the local produce. Exotic veggies and fruits has be transported across miles to reach you. So consume fruits and vegetables that are native to your place.
26) Homemade Body wash
Homemade items are trending now and they are best for the people who don’t want to use chemical based body wash and shampoo. You can make your own shampoo and body wash using items coconut milk,raw rice, dals, aloe vera, turmeric which are readily available in home. Dried flower petals, lemon and orange peeled skins can also used to make your own body wash. Research and find the one that best suits you.
27) Home based Dish wash
One of the top pollutant of the environment is the chemical in the dish wash soaps and liquids. They may cause skin irritation. So consider creating one by yourself. Lemon extract, tamarind, coconut fibre can be used to clean the dishes and it also removes the smell and stain effectively.
28) Use homemade organic pesticide
Have a home garden and don’t want to add chemical based fertilizer and pesticide ? Compost the unusable fruits, vegetable and foods and when composed properly, it can used to nourish the plants. Create your pesticides using neems leaf and some of readily available items at home.
29) Cook your own food
Cook your own food, instead ordering from the restaurant. They come with paper and plastic wraps. Cooking your own food has the advantage of knowing what’s in your food and you include healthy items to it.
30) Buy milk from Local vendors
The packed milk comes in a polythene cover or plastic can and the milk also contains preservatives. It also processed in the factory and transported and transported to you. Milk from local vendor is fresh and contains no preservatives and sometimes requires minimal transportation. It promotes local employment as well.
31) Use electric vehicles
Electric vehicles are taking over the roads and our government is also having a vision to make 100% electric vehicle for public transportation by 2030. Bikes,Cars small auto rickshaw are available in the market but little over priced than the conventional one.
Electric vehicle can get to long distance and has zero carbon emission.
32) Use e-invitation
Use online invitation or invitation cards produced from recycled material for inviting your friends and family for your occasions. Both the options are cheap and reduces the impact on the environment.
33) Give away Eco Friendly gifts
Wondering what to give as a return gifts to guest ? no more spending energy on thinking. Try giving tree sapling or seed papers to your guests.
Just think of it this way, how many weddings and birthday parties happening all over the world. If every single host decides to give away sampling and seeds as the return gifts, as a result of this activity how many trees could be planted in a day. Why don’t we make pledge to make it a habit and so it gets ingrained in the minds of our people and eventually becomes a part of the culture.
34) Buy used items
Buying a pre-owned item, prevents one more item entering into the landfill. It saves you more money.
35) Donate anything you don’t need
Donate anything that is in good quality and you no longer need it. The donation not only brings light in the face of the receiver and a fulfillment to you, but also prevents this getting into waste.
You can donate your unworn clothes, clothes that doesn’t fit, shoes, toys, books and any other thing that you think will be helpful to others.
36) Plant Trees as much as you can.
Trees when strategically planted in your compound can provide shade during summer and prevents your home from heating. This can help you cut down the electricity bill. Plant trees as much as you can and encourage your kids to plant trees.
37) Avoid plastic bags
Carry your own cloth bags to do the grocery shopping. Paper bags cost you extra penny and isn’t eco friendly. To make a paper bag, a tree is cut down somewhere in the world.
Use terracotta pots to grow plants indoor and outdoor instead using plastic growing bags.
38) Install a Water purifier at home and office
Instead of buying water bottles, install a water purifier and just connect it to the tap. Buying water bottles leads to plastic waste accumulation.
39) Go Digital
To jot down your notes or prepare a list, do it in a smartphone or tablet instead of a paper. Read news online.
40) Avoid Smoking
Avoid smoking cigarettes.It’s not good for the health and also for the environment. Fireworks and firecrackers should also be avoided during festival times.
41) Improve energy usage
Replace your existing bulbs with the energy efficient bulbs.Switch and unplug the devices and appliances when not in use.
42) Go Vegan
Raising cattle is one direct way of harming the environment. Because the livestock produces more methane which is one of Greenhouse gas and can trap heat.
43) Execute multiple outside chore in one trip
Plan ahead accordingly and make a outside chore list. Then execute the outside chore in a single trip.
44) Use hand pump or manually fetch water from the well
This could one best exercise for the body, by the same time no electricity used.
45) Reuse grey water
Modify plumbing to use the grey water from first floor to flush the toilet in the ground floor.
46) Avoid printing and paper bills
Do not print until it is necessary and you can’t go without it. Also subscribe for electronic bill instead of paper bills and pay electronically
47) Avoid wasting Foods
When there is lot of leftover food donate it.
48) Use coir mats instead of rubber mats
Rathi co-founded CrozBorder Exports in the year 2017 and deals with manufacturing, consolidating and supplying eco-friendly products(Areca plates) to global customers.