Five EASY Ways To Live More Sustainably This Year

Well, hello there, 2017! You're looking mighty fine in so many different ways. We have big plans for this year, and even though I'm not so much a resolutions person, but I AM a goal-oriented person. 

One of my biggest personal goals this year is to live a more sustainable lifestyle. As you know, we have already started this by eating a vegan diet, or cloth diapering, and recycling, but I want to be better. I want to start a compost, and try to reduce the amount of waste I create. I also want to try and buy refurbished or reused items when possible. The possibilities are endless, and at first it can seem SO overwhelming. That's why I'm writing this post. This is for the busy working professional. For the mom who has five children. For the guy who knows not one thing about living sustainably. 

These are five easy ways to live a more sustainable live to ensure that our planet is taken care of. As I've stated before, I do this for my baby. She is my motivator. I would do anything for her, so taking care of her Earth, her air, her environment? It's completely worth it.

FIVE WAYS TO LIVE MORE SUSTAINABLY IN 2017

1. Use reusable grocery store bags.

Some places, like California are catching on and realizing that plastic bags are a major luxury and completely unnecessary. Our culture is built upon convenience so having 6-10 plastic bags of stuff versus maybe fitting it all into 2 reusable bags is just insane. Plus, plastic isn't recyclable so it's literally resources that can't be reused and bogs down our landfills and in turn, negatively affects our environment.

2. Save and reuse your glass and plastic containers.

This is one that I've learned can take practice. Not all containers are practical and can sometimes result in having too much clutter lying around. But glass jars (think pasta sauce and coconut oil jars) are great for storing items that you would refrigerate in plastic tupperware! 

P.S. If you have them lying around -- use mason jars for EVERYTHING, from drinks to storing foods like fruits and veggies and granola! I found them for super cheap in a case (brand new) while thrifting and it's the best.

3. Buy local.

Buying your food and resources local reduces the cost of transportation for the items and materials you are using! This positively impacts our environment, AND allows you to lead a healthier lifestyle if you're buying local fruits and veggies. Shopping with CSA boxes allow you to buy in season produce (usually at a great discount) so make sure to see if your community has a farmer's market and check it out! Chances are you'll meet some really cool people and save the planet in the meantime.

4. Reuse your food scraps - this sounds weird but I promise it's easy!

Like I said, it sounds weird. How does one reuse food? But I promise it's actually quite simple! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Huffington Post article about how to repurpose orange peels for household uses! It's so genius and majorly sustainable. 

Another way you can reuse food scraps has to do with a video I recently posted on my blog Facebook page that shows you how to make veggie stock/broth out of vegetable scraps! This is majorly genius. Not only are you reusing something that would otherwise end up in the trash, but you're saving yourself from having to buy veggie broth in the future. I know this concept seems super simple, but we live in a world of convenience. You wouldn't believe how much JOY I get from doing things myself. For knowing that I can make a small difference.

5. Be more energy and water efficient.

This reminds me of something my grandparents used to make us do when we were growing up - it was always, "make sure you keep the turn the light off" to save money, but now it's to save energy. Lights and water are resources that (believe it or not) don't come free. There is a price to pay for every resource we consume, so lessening how much we use those, but turning off the sink while we brush our teeth, or not turning on every light in our house in the evening does make a difference somewhere out there.

I would absolutely LOVE to try something like this woman who only created a tiny ziplock size bag of waste in THIRTY DAYS. Check out the video here.

Thank you SO much for reading!

xo. L