For the purpose of this blog post, I am defining environmentally friendly as trying to reduce the amount of waste that I am sending to landfills. Also, the motto red
1. Start small
I already have a reusable water bottle, containers, and shopping bags that I use frequently. But when I decided that I wanted to be more eco-friendly I had to resist the urge to buy everything I thought would help me reduce waste. Instead, I slowly bought stuff over time not all at once to spread out the cost. Recently I bought reusable makeup removing cloths that only require water and are machine washable. I bought these using and mesh produce bags using Amazon gift cards.
2. Use what you have
This is two-fold because you are reusing items that you already have and saving money. Before you buy something to get creative and look around your house. I used Auri as my inspiration. She works for Buzzfeed and vlogs about her zero waste journey. She says you don’t need fancy gadgets and to look around your house. I included one of her videos as an example of how she slowly started her
2. DIY aka Do it yourself
Instead of buying something try making it yourself. For example, I sewed my own cloth napkins using pillowcases I bought from a thrift store for 75 cents. You can save money and feel accomplished because you made something yourself. It doesn’t have to be perfect it just needs to be functional.
3. Embrace secondhand items
One big way to reduce the amount of waste you send to landfill is to embrace used stuff. You can find so many things that are still in great condition used. However, this does not mean you need to find everything used. You might not be able to find everything this way and that is okay. Also remember that you can clean or wash secondhand items such as clothes.
I learned about buy nothing groups from the Frugalwoods. They are Facebook groups that you can request or give goods or services to other members of the group. There is no bartering or payments involved it is all free. Instead, they want to focus on creating a sense of community. I joined one a few months ago and loved how it builds a sense of community and allows people to give items away instead of throwing them in the trash. I have seen people offer clothes, toys, art supplies and so much more.
5. Reusable shopping bags
I always try to carry a reusable bag or shopping bag with me wherever I go. In case I go shopping or need a bag to carry more stuff. This way I am not resorting to using a plastic or paper bag. But if you do use reusable shopping bags make sure you wash them to keep them clean.
To summarize this blog post I remember the best advice I learned about being more environmentally friendly is it is a journey and progress is what matters.