You wish to become more eco-friendly in your lifestyle? This article will give you some tips on best way to start!

When you’re committed to an eco-friendly lifestyle, your day-to-day routine becomes filled with trying to find ways to stay sustainable. While being eco-friendly in the comfort of your own home will make an impact, you can’t let it stop there! In order to make the biggest possible difference for the planet, it’s important to keep up your sustainable habits no matter where you are. Follow these tips to go green in every aspect of life!

Be Eco-Friendly At Home

Reducing, reusing, and recycling creates the perfect recipe for a sustainable home. Reduce your carbon footprint by cooking some meatless recipes for you and your family. When it comes to kitchen utensils, avoid disposable products and commit to using only real dinnerware, silverware, and glasses. Turn off the water and the lights when you’re not using them, and unplug your devices when you’re not home. If you don’t already, get a recycling bin and dispose of recyclable products the right way. It only takes an extra second to throw your plastic or glass products in a recycle bin, and it’s well worth it

Be Eco-friendly at Work

When you go to work, you still have an obligation to make eco-friendly decisions regardless of what policies your office may (or may not) have in place. When you can, go paperless. If you need to take notes in a meeting, take them on your computer instead of on a paper notepad. Instead of printing out Powerpoint presentations to share with your colleagues, suggest discussing the presentation in a meeting or sending via email.

If you’re bringing your lunch to work, you might be used to throwing everything in disposable ziploc bags or even in larger plastic bags. Do yourself (and the Earth) a favor and buy a set of tupperware to store your lunch in. Better yet, invest in an adult lunch bag so it’s even easier to tell your lunch apart from that of your coworkers. For your beverages throughout the day, bring in a reusable water bottle or coffee cup so that you don’t have to rely on disposable plastic or paper cups.

Lastly, before you leave the office for the day, turn off any devices you have that are staying in the office. Don’t leave them on overnight, or plugged in to their charging units. You’d be surprised how much energy you’re wasting just leaving your devices on and charging when you’re not using them.

Be Eco-friendly when you go out to eat

When you’re going out for date night or a casual lunch with friends, it can be tough to know whether the restaurants you walk into will follow an eco-friendly routine as much as you’d like. Be as prepared as possible and bring your own reusable products so you can avoid using plastic if that’s all the establishment provides. Keep a reusable water bottle and a metal straw in your bag when you go out to refrain from using unnecessary single-use plastics. If you know a more casual restaurant you love that uses plastic silverware, bring your own from home. You’ll feel better knowing there aren’t any plastic products being thrown in the trash on your behalf.

Being Eco-friendly On Vacation

Traveling can have a huge negative impact on the Earth, so you want to make good choices whenever you vacation to make sure you’re minimizing any harm done to the planet. Choose to travel sustainably and support companies that are eco-friendly. If you’re a cruise-lover who can’t give up your favorite annual vacation, choose to support a company like Virgin Voyages that offers sustainable cruises and bans single-use plastics and buffets. You can still enjoy the sun, the entertainment, and excursions, while also feeling good about the changes they’re making to better the environment.
You’ll also want to be sustainable in your home before you leave. You might want to leave your lights on while you’re not home to scare intruders away, but that will use up a lot of unnecessary electricity. Same goes for your heat or air conditioning. If you have a smart thermostat, set it to an eco-mode that only turns the heat or air on when it’s absolutely needed. That way, you’re saving energy in your home while you’re away!

It’s easier than you think to stay committed to a sustainable lifestyle in your everyday routine. What are your favorite ways to stay eco-friendly at home and on the go? Comment below with your ideas!