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Beginners eco-living guide to make your life plastic free

Menstrual cups

Living an eco-friendly life is a current trend among people as now we are beginning to understand the importance of a sustainable environment and what possible impact it could have on our children’s life, if we continue to tamper it with new technology and comfort. This is the main reason people are adopting a green lifestyle to conserve the nature and at the same time, live in harmony and comfort. Installing a solar energy system, rainwater harvesting, geothermal system, etc. are some of the ways to ensure you save the environment along with reducing your energy and water consumption. However, all this proves really expensive. This all inclusive guide will provide some really easy eco-friendly living tips that you can follow in your daily routine.

Ways to go green without making a hole in your pocket

If you are also thinking of choosing a sustainable lifestyle without breaking your budget, then we have brought you some budget friendly eco friendly tips that you can utilize to save your money and the environment simultaneously. These are very easy but effective budget based eco friendly ideas that would make you proud of yourself on a daily basis and that too without emptying your wallet.

Make sure to use your thermostat wisely.

use your thermostat wisely
Don’t heat your house when no one’s there. Leave it at 68 degrees F when you are at home and 55 degrees when you are away.

1. Turn off your lights when you leave the room.

You will be surprised to know how much you can save your energy bill by this trivial idea.Many electrical appliances such as Television, DVD, stereos and coffee pot consumes energy even when not in use. Unplug them from the power. Use your stereos only when you require sound.

2. Try shortening your shower time

shower timeTake showers rather than baths. It only takes 5 minutes to thoroughly clean yourself and you can conserve water and your bill to a considerable amount.

3. Replace your usual lights with energy efficient light bulbs

Using a compact fluorescent light may cost a little more than your conventional bulbs, but it helps you save over 70% of energy and lasts 10 times longer. Plus, they are also good for the environment.

4. Read news online

digital newsletterYou should also cancel your daily newspaper subscription and read news online. It not only gives you a wider affairs of the world and preferred news, but also helps you to save trees and cost.

5. Some other essential eco-friendly living tips

Use rechargeable batteries and dispose your old batteries in an accurate way. Similarly, you can also use cloth napkins rather than paper ones. Those are more durable, they’ll help you in saving plenty of money and reduce your trash output and waste processing.

6. Eat home cooked meals

Cooking foodOne of the most important eco-friendly budget friendly tips include reliable and efficient cooking. Home cooked meals saves you a lot money and as compared to purchasing pre-made food, it also don’t require packaging from cardboard or plastic. Using efficient resources while cooking can save you extra bucks. Use a pressure cooker or cook with residual heat. You can also consider buying solar kitchen appliances that operate on the energy stored from the sunlight. Don’t use disposable plates, eat less meat and try to grow your own food, if possible. And most importantly, cook and take food that you can eat. Do not waste food.

7. Make ecofriendly home renovation

And when it comes to home renovation, you can also use many budget friendly eco-friendly tips to make your home appear more beautiful than ever. You’ll find plenty of such tips on any good web magazine network that focus on environment. You can use vibrant and light color wallpapers to provide an elegant background on the walls, use do it yourself antique pieces to showcase on the shelf made from wooden frame and similar things. Install big windows on your rooms and use flowers and vase to enhance the appearance of your home. It requires a very less amount of money and still offers a unique and eye-catching exterior one could ever hope to obtain.

8. Do not forget to add some plants to your home decor

add some plants to your home decorA unique option to ensure healthy energetic lifestyle is to use energizing powers to keep yourself, your environment, your pets/plants and your relationships clean and positive. It is possible to learn in just 1 online session at drabdulsamad.com. You must give it a try as it is 100% secure (no side effect ever in last 2 decades) & positive.

Replace these 15 everyday products to make your life plastic free

Although it is clear that plastic does much more harm than good, it’s still used extensively. Because of its flexibility and affordability, it finds its use almost everywhere. Therefore, to make your life plastic free, you would more than just a single alternative. Furthermore, even in case of products where you don’t find any plastic alternative, you need to act mindfully. Plastic is a daemon that has been gathering forces for more than a century. To defeat it, we need to take one step at a time as we can’t finish it all at once.

Here is an interesting fact:

Plastic was invented in 1907 by Leo Hendrik Baekeland to make industrial packaging easier. As time passed, plastic, a cheap man-made packaging material, started making its way into every industry out there. Now a hundred years later, it has become a herculean task to make your life plastic free.

Coming to our eco-friendly living tips

As environmentalists have started raising red flags about plastic, firms are continuously introducing product alternatives. But it is an overwhelming task to think of replacing every product we use in daily life.Green living cannot be achieved overnight. Instead, we can try and replace products from each room of our houses.

Green bathroom is the first step to make your life plastic-free.

Water isn’t plastic. But the bucket that is holding the water is. Now let’s look round and find a sustainable option for every plastic product in your bath arena.

1. Bamboo toothbrush:

The average lifespan for a toothbrush is 3 to 4 months. That means we use a minimum of four brushes a year, which are non-biodegradable. Switching to an eco-friendly option like a bamboo toothbrush is an eco-friendly step. Eco-friendly is only half the reason of why you ditch your plastic toothbrush. Bamboo toothbrushes are naturally antimicrobial and come with charcoal-infused bristles which are effective in teeth-whitening.

2. Natural bar soaps:

Natural bar soapsInstead of using body washes that come in plastic containers, buying natural bar soaps is a better way to eliminate plastic from your bathrooms. Also, making soap at home is a fun process. Choose the natural ingredients which help your skin and google the DIY soap at home right now.

3. Metal tins/Glass jars:

Replace the plastic bottles you use to store your shampoo/conditioner/oil with metal tins or glass jars.

4. Menstrual cups:

Menstrual cups

On an average, every woman uses 11,000 disposable pads/tampons in a lifetime. There are several chemicals used in the pads and tampons which harm the earth after disposal. Also, polyethene plastic used in pads is a very harmful pollutant.

Switching to a menstrual cup not only saves you from the chemicals, but also helps in reducing landfill waste. The lifetime of a single menstrual cup is seven to ten years. So, we can all agree that an organic menstrual cup is the perfect sustainable option to make your life plastic free. 

Use product alternatives for items in your kitchen

1. Plastic water bottles:

Plastic water bottles

Stock one of your kitchen cupboards with a good number of stainless steel and glass bottles which are durable. Don’t buy plastic water bottles every time you go out. Instead, carry your own and refill it when necessary. Note that prolonged use of a plastic water bottle to drink from is very toxic to your body.

2. Coffee cups:

The same goes for coffee cups. Instead of waiting for cafes to switch to a sustainable container, lead the way. Those tiny plastic cups burn your fingertips, contain a minimal amount of coffee and pile up in landfills for another hundred years. One of the best alternatives to plastic cups is an eco-friendly tumbler.

3. Spoons and Forks:

wooden spoons

Spoons and Forks used in kitchens are usually made of stainless steel. But when there is a celebration at home or a picnic, people use plastic spoons and forks because they are easy to carry around. Switch to an eco-friendly option like wooden spoons and fork. You can also use plates and cups made of leaves or bamboo. Disposable cutlery doesn’t have to mean using plastic.

4. Plastic lighters:

You can absolutely avoid plastic lighters with good-old matches. Many companies which manufacture matches are using wood that is grown in sustainably managed areas. Also, the lighter needs to be refilled all the time. Instead of stock up a few boxes of matches once in a while and you are good to go.

5. Plastic Straws:

Plastic Straws

Whether it is coconut water or a fruit smoothie, they all come with plastic straws. Deny those straws. Invest in a reusable stainless-steel straw which is washable.

6. Cling Wraps:

Cling wraps are thrown away after a single use. Why aren’t we switching to beeswax wraps already? These wraps are made of thin cotton-cloths and lined with beeswax. The beeswax has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties allowing you to use to product for a couple of months. These wraps are washable.

7. Plastic bags:

Plastic-bag

To make your life plastic free, there is a lot of work to be done on your side. Note that plastic bags are often used when one packs breakfast or purchases a sandwich to go. Instead have a kit in your car consisting of a container, reusable straw, coffee tumbler, and a steel water bottle.

8. Plastic garbage bins:

Get rid of the plastic garbage bins in your home. Instead, invest in a steel garbage bin which comes with charcoal filters. These filters control the bad odours. Also, purchase BPI verified garbage bags which are entirely eco-friendly.

Don’t ignore the smaller appliances in your home

woman using applianceTo make your life plastic free, always look out for eco-friendly alternatives for plastic items, even for smaller ones. For example, scissors used in the kitchen or for stationary purposes have plastic on their holders. Instead, opt for an environmentally friendly option- scissors entirely made of stainless steel.

1. Iced Coffee Makers:

Iced coffee makers are cheap because they are made of plastic. Switch to a glass brewer which can be used to make coffee and tea. It is argued by many that coffee brewed in a glass one has better taste than a plastic one. Also, they are durable, stylish and safe.

2. Plastic Hangers:

Throw all your plastic hangers which break under a little strain. Invest in good wooden pegs which can afford to carry heavy sweaters too.

3. Juicer:

Stop using store-bought lime juice for cooking. Instead, invest in a good stainless-steel juicer which can squeeze the lime in a jiffy.

Eco-friendly grocery shopping is possible.

grocery shoppingMany individuals who are enthusiastic about making their lives plastic free face their biggest hurdle in the grocery store. The usage of plastic doesn’t stop at packaged items. Even vegetables and fruits are often packed in plastic bags and containers.

Here are some excellent alternatives to plastic containers and bags:

  • Reusable bags
  • Glass jars
  • Mesh bags for vegetables and fruits

While many of the firms are switching to sustainable packaging, grocery stores should encourage customers to bring reusable bags.

Some stores in Canada are promoting eco-friendly packaging and are providing reusable bags and containers to their customers.

Avoid buying bread and other bakery items that are packed using plastic. Instead, carry your cloth bag which is clean.

Save Water

water pollutionWhile you are taking baby steps towards green living, note that saving water is an important path. Smart use of water isn’t enough. To make your life plastic free, dumping chemical and plastic waste in water bodies is something you should protest against.

Tips for going green with your laundry

GOING-GREEN-WITH-YOUR-LAUNDRYIn our daily life laundry is inescapable, but we can follow some eco-friendly laundry ideas which guide us to complete this crucial task and helps to reduce our billing expenses & save our environment.  Dryers and washing machines are huge power exhausting appliances, but by twisting a few contexts on your dryer & washing machine & using some eco-friendly substitutes, you can save water, energy and also a lot of money for your life-long period. We’ve collected some eco-friendly living tips to boost your green laundry:

Wear clothes more than a single time:

To reduce your laundry expenses, you must wear your clothes more than a single time and wash them less. You need to wash socks, inner clothing, and handkerchiefs regularly for healthy living goals. The beginning in green laundry living style is to wear your clothes more than a single time before dumping them in the dirty clothes basket. You can save a lot of energy by wearing your clothes more than once; it saves your energy as well as prevents your clothes from damaging. Especially, wear your jeans at least thrice, wash them in cold water and skip using iron or dryer. The jeans brands also recommend washing jeans after two weeks. 

Wash clothes by hand:

Always try to wash clothes by hand to get green results. Washing by hand doesn’t mean to tear the clothes by beating, wash them with a tender care, it can do wonders. Use cold water to wash your clothes instead of hot water except you are cleaning clothes with so many Soak your clothes in cold water, try to stay away from the dryer, hang your clothes outside in sun and let them dry. Now, you might be thinking that washing your clothes by hand is very time consuming but it comes with many benefits. It gives therapeutic results for you as you will do exercise while you wash your laundry. Hand washing simply is like a test to find out the quantity of laundry in your home weekly.

Use green detergent:

Use green detergent
If you want to increase your green living habits, you must use a detergent which is free from chemical additives that damage your clothes as well as affect the environment. These toxic chemicals can cause disease like cancer, asthma, breathing disorders and allergies. Try to find green detergent, check out the detergent packaging where it’s clearly written that whether the detergent is environment-friendly and ensures that this is safe & doesn’t affect your life. It would be great if you make green detergent at home with easily available ingredients. You can use white vinegar instead of fabric softeners; it simply equalizes the level of pH in detergent and makes your clothes soft and chemical free.

Avoid ironing:

Ironing is’ not only a tiresome task but also a huge energy consuming process. So no need to follow this boring idea of ironing clothes as it’s an energy consuming and damages your clothes fabric. But being a gentleman or gentlewoman you will never want to look shabby in the office or in any event. So what to do with it? Here I am suggesting you hang out your clothes to dry just after the wash. The water present in wet clothes will get off most of the wrinkles. For your linen clothes avoid spinning them after wash and let it dry with water in it, water will make it wrinkle free. Place other clothes on these linen clothes in your cabinet and now you will not need any extra ironing.

A final note on eco-friendly living tips

These innovative and budget based eco friendly ideas would certainly help you feel proud of yourself by contributing your part to the conservation of the environment and that too without breaking your pocket. Using these eco friendly budget friendly tips may seem very common, but are quite effective if you utilize them properly and you will very much surprised to see how much you have saved in a month. Although you may find it difficult at first, Don’t panic!  With just a few mild changes in your live style you can easily follow the above-mentioned eco-friendly living tips.

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