6 Eco-Based Habits For A Better Earth

Greenism | Posted on May 31, 2017 |

You guys.

We’re expected to do SO much with so little time these days in our modern world. Society has put many standards on our day-to-day lives that we forget how much harm we’re doing to the Earth in the midst of all the craziness. So here are some ways we can start helping:

#1: Always keep Recycling in the forefront of your mind.

This means:

This is the price we pay for purchasing such heavy plastics – if these don’t make it to the recycle bin, imagine where it will end up if not disposed correctly. It’s not mandatory for some states to wash all containers—just roughly 30 percent of them, like milk, juice, yogurt, and peanut butter containers, etc. For example, Memphis does not require rinsing, but does recommend it for plastic bottles and steel cans.
Wash out all packaging your food comes in, no matter how gross it is.
Something I like to do is keep a paper bag in my car for any (clean) trash I find that I can then recycle later when possible. (Trashy is classy, in this case!)

#2: Practice Upcycling

This can be as simple as:

Reusing a paper coffee cup, saving the containers your Postmate’s delivery comes in, or even something more fun and crafty as these amazing ideas.
Try, if given a choice, to purchase any desired new item you need that’s completely made from recyclable materials. Otherwise, what’s the point in spending all this time recycling? For example, a popular purchase is yoga mats made from used tires (the only yoga mat you’ll ever need, trust me!)

#3: Eat Less Meat

Meaning, as a collective species, not just some.

Think about it:
Less cow raising culture, less cow farts (YES, cow farts…) emitting bad ozone-eating gasses, less water used for cows to drink, less land used for pastures. Sure cows are cute and cool, but they are costing us BILLIONS in agricultural expenses, thus killing our Earth slowly. This also means lower cancer rates from red meat (not to mention, less obesity rates from burgers).

#4: Give a Shit About Nature:

Plant more trees! These dudes help us BREATHE. Don’t like the president? Not happy about gay rights? None of this will matter if everyone you know can’t breathe clean air.
Educate your family and friends ( in a non-preachy way) about the importance of saving endangered animals and the great outdoors, and the steps we need to take everyday to help improve our planet.
Collect plants and give them love. As a result, you’ll have clean breathing air AND pleasing decor that will lower stress levels.
Don’t litter. (I mean, duh)
Use less gas, or carpool if available. Try to walk to places that are close by instead of driving. You’ll feel great psychically and mentally. If you have the means to purchase a new car, try looking into a hybrid or completely electric system (or even a bike!).

#5: Use Eco-Based Products

There’s some great products out there at your nearest market. According to a definition given by the website all-recycling-facts.com, eco-friendly products are “products that do not harm the environment whether in their production, use or disposal”. In other words, these products help preserve the environment by significantly reducing the pollution they could produce. Eco-friendly products can be made from scratch, or from recycled materials. This kind of product is easily recognizable as it is, in most cases, labelled as such.

* Some ideas we love are:

1. Cloth Napkins: Millions of napkins and diapers are disposed every day in the world, after having been used just once. The trick here is to use reusable products, often made of bamboo or clothes. They are easily washed and as a bonus will keep your baby away from the harmful chemicals used to make classic diapers.
2. Cloth or Cotton Shopping Bags: Well when it comes to shopping bags, you only have to stop using one-time plastic bags. Carry with you a cloth or cotton mesh bag to avoid any trouble. Actually, some supermarkets and shops have already made a move towards stopping to give plastic bags away, or are charging them to deter people from using too many of them.
3. Gota Dishwasher: The Gota dishwasher created by Yanko Designs looks like a little spaceship, but it actually cleans the dirty dishes by steaming them in the pre-washing cycle and keeping the water to reuse it in later phases.
4. Recycled Fabric Clothes: Buy clothes that are made from organic or recycled fabrics. This is usually signaled by a logo, a seal, or it is mentioned on the tag. Or just thrift it!
5. Nuwave Precision Induction Cooktop: The NuWave Precision Induction Cooktop (PIC) uses induction technology to reduce the amount of electricity required to cook foods traditionally prepared on electric stove. The secret is an internal copper coil. This coil generates a magnetic field within your steel and iron-based pots and pans. The magnetic field causes molecules in the pots and pans to begin vibrating rapidly, creating heat, so the cookware itself heats the food. In this way, heat is generated in the cookware and not on the cooktop surface, a process which is much more energy-efficient than cooking with traditional gas or electric ranges.
6. Rechargeable Batteries: As batteries remain complicated to recycle and contain a significant number of dangerous metals such as lead, prefer the use of rechargeable batteries. The latter will cost a bit more when you get them, but in the long run you will protect the environment while saving some cash.
7. Reusable Water Bottles: Using eco-friendly water bottles is very easy, as all you have to do is to use a water that you can reuse instead of throwing it away once it is empty (even if it is recyclable!). Think about using a bottle made of glass, stainless steel or aluminum.
8. House Cleaners: Products found in supermarkets to clean your house are full of environmentally harmful chemical components. They can be easily replaced by white vinegar, baking soda, tea tree oil and water. You will get the same cleanliness, with a much better output for the environment. Lemon is also a great tool for cleaning.
9. Solar Powered Outdoor Speakers: The brand Sunflower designed outdoor speakers that work with solar energy, allowing you to save some electricity. This speaker is also equipped with a technology which makes it detect the right angle to play the music towards right where you are standing.
10. Solar Phone Charger: With a solar phone charger, you will be done with those desperate runs for a plug with electricity, while saving energy. Just put your charger in the sun, and you will be set.
11. Water Powered Clock: The Bedol Water Clock keeps perfect time without batteries or electricity. Just open the fill cap and add water. The Bedol Water Clock uses cutting edge technology to generate its own energy. Electrodes within the water reservoir convert ions into a current strong enough to power the clock for 3-month or more. A built in memory chip ensures you never need to reset the time while changing the water.
12. Solar Lawn Mower: The company Husqvarna has released a small, fully automatic lawn mower operating on solar power. On top of offering zero emission, it will also get the job done instead of you. Amazing, huh?
13. Eco-Friendly Kettle: The eco-friendly EcoKettle contains a special compartment in which the water is stored when you fill it in. Then, you have to release a button to transfer your desired amount of water in the second compartment, which will be the only one to actually boil the water. This will prevent energy to be wasted by boiling more water than you actually need.
14. Babyliss Hairdryer: The brand Babyliss has created a new hairdryer using only half the amount of electricity needed by a classic product of the same range. The process is simple: the airflow is optimized so that less energy has to be used to heat it.
15. Eco-friendly Umbrella: The Eco Brolly eco-friendly umbrella is actually just an umbrella skeleton, allowing you whatever you have on have to put on top and cover yourself. In addition to being green, this will get you creative!
16. Moss Carpet: Nguyen La Chanh designed a bathroom only (it needs that level of moist) carpet made of imputrescible foam with moss growing on top. I read somewhere that on top of that, walking on grass is good for blood circulation.

18. LED Bulbs: LED bulbs can save significant amount of energy and carbon emissions over incandescent and fluorescent lamps. LED bulbs are available in various sizes in markets. According U.S. Department of Energy, LEDs offer the potential for cutting general lighting energy use nearly in half by 2030.
19. Eco-friendly Chair: You can now get chairs made of recycled cork. It is a great way of not producing any more waste while getting a great design that will surely stand out in your home.
20. Shower Timer: This simple device will help you monitor the amount of time you spend under the shower and, more importantly, the amount of time you spend with the water running. Seeing it right before your eyes will encourage you to be quicker and will save water and heating energy.
21. Bamboo Desktop Dry-Erase To-do Board: The Desktop To-Do Board helps make paperless, re-writable to-do lists on your desktop. The Bamboo Desktop dry-erase Board from Three by Three Seattle products are made with superior materials and produced according to the highest standards of quality.
22. Ecoflow Showerhead: EcoFlow low flow shower heads from Waterpik combine the benefits of saving water and money, without sacrificing great shower performance. The innovative water-saving features meet EPA WaterSense® performance standards.
23. Solar Candles: Versatile and decorative these solar-powered, candle lantern designed lights are great for any ambient accent lighting. The photocell sensor automatically turns light on at dusk and off at daybreak.
24. Biodegradable Pots: These square containers are great for small fruit, bareroot roses, perennials, field-dug plants, and broadleaf evergreens. Containers are fiber molded, meaning they are made of recycled material, biodegradable, and usually decompose in about a year’s time.
25. Recycled Cutting Board: You can make your home more environmentally friendly with Eco Friendly Cutting Board. Recycled paper, flax, and cork are just some of the materials that comprise eco-friendly cutting boards.

*sourced from http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/25-green-eco-friendly-products.php

#6: Pick Up Some Trash

Ever see pieces of trash on your morning walk? Of course you do. This is Trump’s America!

Just pick it up, no matter how big or small or how far the walk is to the nearest trash can. Bonus points: Pick it up in front of a stranger. This can make a great social impact on our society (monkey see, monkey do). It works, I’ve seen it happen.

Imagine if everyone, every day, picked up a single piece of trash. We’d still have a lot of work to do but at least it would be a major step in a great direction.

So there ya have it; 6 ways to implement into an eco-based lifestyle. Help your mother Earth, she needs you now more than ever.

For more information on how you can be a cool hippie, email megan@greenism.com and we can chat!