Published on April 9th, 2013 | by Guest Contributor

Aspects of Green Living in Everyday Life

Behaving in a sustainable manner doesn’t necessarily mean making extreme sacrifices and having to pay huge amounts of money for everyday products. Sure, sometimes you may have to pay a little more than normal but in most cases you are paying for quality which can prove more efficient at the end of the day.

Including little sustainable habits into your day doesn’t require much time or effort either. All that is really needed is awareness and consideration. Of course, larger financial investments like installing these kinds of solar panels are a great ways to live self-sufficiently but looking at the little things can also be just as beneficial if everyone is involved. Some examples for of habits that can easily be integrated into one’s everyday life are:

The idea of recycling – buying deposit bottles: Since deposit bottles can be reused over and over, there’s no real need to encourage the production of ‘one-time use’ bottles. When looking at CO2 emissions, energy use, and the disturbing amount of plastic in our oceans already, choosing to recycle your bottles can make you sleep a little easier at night.But recycling can carry on to more in depth activities like creating a compost bin, (see Gardening ideas). It is not the ‘prettiest’ of tips but many households around the world have benefited from the humble compost bin. This is also a more practical exercise for consumers to understand the ecosystem as well how much food we are throwing away.
Refrain from using plastic bags: Avoiding plastic bags is such a simple eco habit. Supermarkets around the world are starting to lower their production as well by encouraging customers to pay for them. Countries like Germany are taking things a step further by making it mandatory to pay for grocery bags, meaning customers are encouraged to use tote bags instead. It can be a harder habit to get into as it is easy to forget bringing your own grocery bags. A good tip is to always leave a few in the boot (trunk) of your car or in your normal day bag in case you encounter a sporadic trip for grocery supplies.
Taking a day to analyze the energy efficiency of your home:
Many organizations around the world are catching on to this and encouraging people to ‘energy proof’ their home. Looking at these holistic ideas of how you and your home consume energy can be a real money saver. You may realize that your cozy abode may not be so eco-friendly, call for drastic measures like installing better insulation. However there are other practices that are easier like keeping an eye out on your energy and water meter.

Biking photo from Shutterstock

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Tags: plastic, Recycling, reduce, Reuse, solar

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