Green Living: One Habit at a Time
Going green. Being environmentally friendly. Embracing sustainability. It’s not just a once-in-awhile thing anymore. It’s a lifestyle. Enter: “green living.” Green living is the planetary equivalent of healthy eating and regular exercise. They are not things to do every now and then but are important long-term habits to cultivate to help us thrive. And if we want to keep on thriving, we have to not only take care of our individual health, but the health of our planet.
The idea of sustainable living can be intimidating. Do you remember “No Impact Man”? He and his family lived in the middle of New York City and resolved to live with no environmental footprint – no impact on the planet – for one year. That’s right: no cars or carbon emitting transportation of any kind, no electricity, no Netflix! Rest assured; nothing so drastic is required. Green living through sustainable practices is something we can work towards without giving up all of our daily comforts.
When it comes to making lifestyle changes, start out with a few new activities and continue to build from there. The list below is broken into different categories of our daily lives. Pick one from each category to get started and make your living greener.
Green Living Category 1: Consumption
We love stuff. Especially new stuff. But all that stuff adds up. Sustainable living in part requires us to think about our consumption patterns differently. What do we buy? From whom? How do the things we consume get to us? Where do the things we don’t want any more go? The production, distribution, and disposal of goods takes an enormous toll on the planet. A few green living tips can help us approach “out with the old and in with the new” differently:
- Freecycle Most neighborhoods have access to online groups wherein people list things they may not want anymore but another person could use. Check out your own freecycle options with an online search. It’s a great alternative to the landfill!
- Upcycle Give new life to old pieces of furniture with repurposing or a makeover. You can also offer old pieces by posting them for sale on Facebook or Craigslist. Upcycling can apply to creative uses for other components of consumption, too, like plastic water bottles or egg cartons turned into planters for an herb garden.
- Resell Who doesn’t like to make a little extra cash? While throwing something away often seems like the most expedient response to spring cleaning or home organization, it’s certainly not your only option. There are plenty of platforms for selling gently used items and clothing. Check out Poshmark or ThreadUp both for selling and buying. After all, new to you is still new! The fashion industry is responsible for generating 20% of the world’s wastewater and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing your consumption of new clothing means more sustainable living. Green never looked so good!
- Store Storage is another alternative to the landfill. We tend to think if we are not using something at this moment, we should get rid of it, meaning we end up replacing things down the road. More consumption, more production, more pollution, more waste. If you aren’t feeling the whole outdoorsy vibe right now, for example, consider putting your hiking boots and additional gear into storage. Chances are you’ll use them again and will have saved yourself financial and environmental cost. Good on ya!
Green Living Category 2: Energy
Here’s another area wherein what’s good for the planet is also good for your bank account. With an uptick in energy costs, reducing your energy usage and getting smart about alternatives can save real cash and increase your green lifestyle.
- Unplug Simple yet effective. Many of us tend to keep our phone or device chargers plugged into an outlet at all times. Doing so, however, means we are still drawing energy. Develop the habit of unplugging all chargers when not in use.
- Regulate the temperature Don’t worry, I am not going to tell you to conduct an entire energy audit or your home and reinstall insulation throughout. Energy audits are a good idea and an excellent way to identify and remedy energy inefficiencies, but there are a few approaches to home energy you can deploy today. Regulating the temperature in your home is one. Anytime your home will be empty for four or more hours, adjust the temperature down (or up for summer) by 5-8 degrees. Ideal thermostat settings for winter and summer are 68 and 78 degrees, respectively. Put on – or remove – clothing to make that temperature more comfortable for you rather than touching the thermostat.
- Find the right light We’ve known for some time that LED lightbulbs are the most energy-efficient lighting option. What’s new is the range of LED bulbs available to us: dimmable, solar-powered, indoor, outdoor, and any wattage and color you can imagine. With bulbs to fit just about all fixtures, there’s no reason not to go LED throughout your home. Lighting accounts for roughly 15% of a home’s electricity use. LEDs use 90% less energy than standard bulbs and last 25 times longer. Shine some light on your commitment to green living!
Green Living Category 3: Food
What we eat represents a lot when it comes to the sustainability of life in general – and the sustainability of our own lives. To make that life green and sustainable means paying close attention to our food choices. What we eat, how it’s grown or raised, where it comes from and how it gets to us are all issues relevant to green living.
- Less meat Meat production is one of the biggest sources of polution, accounting for nearly 60% of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere. Taking meat out of your diet for a few meals each week results in less production and is healthier for you in both the short- and long-term. Your body – and the planet – will benefit.
- Less packaging Our food is packaged in a variety of ways and each method has implications for the environment. Plastic food packaging, for example, accounts for 60% of all plastic production. To embrace green living, start to think about how your food is packaged. The best option is to forgo packaging altogether. Skip the additional bag for your produce at the grocery store, for example. Look for paper or cardboard packaging when possible as both are compostable. Finally, review your community recycling guidelines so you know how to dispose of various packaging in the best way.
- Less distance Did you know the food we buy from the grocery store travels an average of 1,300 miles to get to us? When you buy your food from a local market, the average distance is 3 miles. That’s a pretty significant difference! Buying your food locally is a step toward green living and it supports the local economy. Get thee to a farmer’s market!
Green Living Category 4: Water
You may have heard the phrase “all climate issues are water issues and vice versa.” Water issues in general will become more pointed, prevalent, and problematic in the coming years. Incorporating strong sustainable living habits when it comes to water is something we can all do now.
- Talk about it Have a conversation with your family about water use and get on the same page. Talk about saving water and the role each of you can play in doing so. Be sure to let your kids know it’s ok to flush the toilet (my mistakes are your gain) but encourage them to do simple things like turn off the tap when brushing teeth and be more efficient in the shower.
- Measure it Water utilities have all the info you need to determine your household usage. You can check your bill or your online account to learn more or get in touch with the utility directly. Encourage your household to improve its water efficiency by making it a family challenge, complete with the reward of knowing you are reinforcing sustainable living values your kids will appreciate.
- Get creative with it Think about all the water you use in your home and find a way for that water to do double-duty. Running the shower until the water is warm enough? Put your watering cans in the shower to capture the water and use it for your plants and garden. Undrunk glasses of water can go into the pets’ water bowls and any old water in Fido’s bowl can in turn be used for the plants. Are these things going to save the world’s water supply? No. Will they shift your consciousness when it comes to water use? Absolutely. And that is an important first step to long-lasting green living.
Sustainable living does not have to be intimidating and it is not something you need to do all at once. Forgo a sudden lifestyle overhaul in favor of altering a few behaviors and thinking patterns at a time. Before you know it, you’ll be living green for the long term.
