Live environmentally conscious
Sustainable everyday life without sacrificing
Have you ever looked where there are unpackaged shops near you?
© Natalia Deriabina / Shutterstock
Living environmentally conscious on a daily basis is easier than most of us assume. We’ll show you simple ways, such as shopping, furnishing and recycling, to conserve resources and live sustainably.
In principle, there are only small everyday habits that you can change and you not only reduce your personal CO2 footprint, but also do something against your guilty conscience that you cannot do anything. Living environmentally conscious is not difficult! To prove this to you, we have collected a selection of ideas on how you can effortlessly organize your everyday life more consciously.
1. Shopping:
… with the jute bag
Neither plastic nor paper bags are ideal for sustainable shopping. We recommend having your own cloth bag or shopping basket. And if it does happen and you have to buy a bag, it’s half as bad. The fewer bags that are bought, the better. And then you can use it a few more times.
Solid instead of liquid
The good bar of soap is celebrating its comeback! Whether for the hair, the body or the hands – packed in cardboard is even better than in plastic and therefore a super sustainable alternative to liquid soap, liquid shampoo and shower gel.
Ugh outside, hui inside
Of course, completely doing without packaging is even better! Have you ever asked where there are unpackaged shops near you? There are a lot more packaging free grocery stores out there than you think. Business is booming, especially in large cities. No wonder, more and more people are getting the taste to have their containers filled up and thus reduce packaging waste. And let’s be honest: It doesn’t have to be all of the weekly shopping, small steps are enough.
Double the thrift
As the British “Huffington Post” writes, a 2015 study found that a woman spends an average of around 20,000 euros on period articles in her life. Tampons and pads are expensive, but luckily there are menstrual cups, so-called “menscups”, thanks to which we can save not only money, but also a lot of waste. Just try it out, ladies!
2. Recycle
Recycling and upcycling means reducing waste, deliberately disposing of it and reusing products that most of us would probably throw away. Ask what you are disposing of: Is the part still usable or could it serve another purpose? Wonder how you dispose of it. For example, many fashion and cosmetics companies are taking back plastic packaging and not only making it easy for the buyer on the inside, but also rewarding them for it with low refill prices. In general, when it comes to sustainable shopping, it is important to focus on quality and to make long-term conscious purchases.
Make-up removal in a different way …
You can also save a lot of waste with reusable make-up removal pads made of cotton or cotton swabs made of silicone. Unusual at first, but we use our toothbrush several times. If you don’t like that, you should dispose of conventional cotton pads properly. Because: cotton wool is disposed of in the residual waste and therefore cannot be recycled!
3. Feed:
Less is more
For many people, the salami slice ends up on bread in the morning, turkey breast in salad at lunchtime and beef on burger in the evening. For the sake of the environment, how about eating meat only once or twice a week instead of several times a day? That doesn’t mean that we have to be vegan overnight! Still, it doesn’t hurt to know that the production of meat requires up to 28 times more space than the production of grain. In addition, the production of one kilogram of meat is just as harmful for the environment as driving 250 kilometers by car, because large amounts of air pollutants are generated by keeping animals and providing feed.
Leftovers Cooking
Have you ever heard of no-waste cuisine? That’s how much food ends up in the trash every year. You can use valuable resources sparingly by avoiding spontaneous shopping and only ending up in the shopping cart that is really supposed to be used. If this is difficult for you, we recommend planning a creative cooking day once a week. Here leftovers are looked for in their own kitchen and spontaneously thought about what kind of dish can be conjured up from the leftover ingredients.
4. Set up:
Environmentally conscious life, in everyday life and in your own four walls? No problem! Furniture, decoration, lighting, wall paints or plants – we can also easily minimize our own ecological footprint with sustainable furnishings. First, don’t go with every living trend. The fashion and interior sectors are fast moving. Means that not every flower vase that is currently being hyped has to be bought. Find your own taste, then you will benefit from the interior for a long time. Second, buy second-hand furniture. Third, pay attention to the quality, the materials and avoid furniture made from tropical woods.
Sources used: Umweltberatung.at, utopia.de