Small Steps Towards an Eco-Friendly Tomorrow!

March 26th 2019

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It doesn’t take a lot to help the planet a little each day~

I have been on the journey to being more eco-friendly for a few years now. I am by no means perfect or even close to perfect when it comes to some of my habits and choices, but I continue to try to educate myself each day in the hopes that, little by little, my small changes will amount to big changes.

I find that many people continue to make environmentally damaging choices, not because they don’t care for the environment, but because they feel that taking steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle would be too expensive or require too much change. However, there are a few small ways that you can move towards a more environmentally friendly lifestyle without draining your energy or bank account!

1. Cut down on single use plastics- Reusable straws and cups are a great way to cut down on waste while still getting to enjoy your morning cup of coffee. I got a reusable cup from Starbucks around Valentines Day and use it every time I get Starbucks while at work. Since then, I have kept over 20 single-use plastic cups out of landfills and it has been absolutely no hassle! Buying a reusable water bottle is also a great way to ditch single use plastics.
2. Upcycle- Upcycling is like recycling but better, in my opinion. When you upcycle, you take an old object and give it new life! Using empty glass jars as small planters, cereal boxes for craft supplies, or old clothes as scrap fabric for new projects, you are not only giving new life to old items, you are also keeping them out of landfills!
3. Donate & Thrift- I love thrifting. I started going thrifting when I was around 17 years old as a way to find unique pieces of clothing while spending as little as possible. However, aside from the financial perks of thifting, it is also incredibly sustainable. Giving new life to someone else’s old clothes is a great way to avoid contributing too heavily to fast fashion. Although I still shop at some fast fashion retailers, I find that thrifting helps me lessen my footprint even a little. And donating your old clothes is a great way to serve the community and be sustainable.
4. Carpool- This one is probably the easiest of them all and it has perks. Carpooling is a great way to get all of your friends from point A to point B with a smaller carbon footprint! Plus, carpool lanes exist to reward drivers for their sustainability by allowing them a faster moving lane which rocks!
5. Recycle your toothbrush- I just learned about this recently, but TerraCycle and Colgate actually paired up to create a toothbrush recycling initiative! This allows for oral care products that usually couldn’t be recycled to be recycled FOR FREE! The website has all of the information to make it easy for you to get started and it won’t hurt your wallet.
6. Check your sunscreen- With beach season right around the corner, check your sunblock! Sunblocks containing oxybenzone and octinoxate have been shown to damage coral reefs, thus hurting ocean life. Making a simple change and avoiding such ingredients is a small price to pay for keeping our oceans alive and well for generations to come.

Overall, committing to making small changes to help the environment is really not a huge feat! With so many small ways to educate yourself and with so many companies trying to get behind eco-friendly initiatives, it doesn’t take much to make a change! Start small today by ditching a straw in your drink or catching a ride with a friend. The Earth will thank you~

Jess~