Simple(ish) Things YOU Can do to Help the Environment:
This doesn’t really need much background. It’s important to help the environment as much as possible, and if we want to make a big change, ordinary people need to take responsibility and start. Even if they’re small actions, everything has a repercussions and consequences, from what you ate for dinner to that t-shirt you impulsively bought. Just try to make them positive effects, or none at all.
- Rewild your backyard (or front yard) (basically helping animals to thrive by themselves letting nature roam wild (you won’t have to mow your lawn ever again! and plant native plants. If you live in an apartment, you can add lots of potted plants.
- Eat less meat and dairy.
- Avoid single use plastic. Instead, carry around keep cups, a metal water bottle, cutlery and straws if you like. Also, use beeswax wrap, glass containers or jars with bamboo lids (second hand plastic containers are fine too*
- Buy as much as you can second-hand. Producing new things when a suitable replacement already exists is a waste of resources. Also, second-hand things are great value for money.
- Avoiding overpackaged (especially plastic) and overprocessed foods. I know, they’re tasty, but for one thing, they often come in plastic and have a whole lot of preservatives in them so that they have a longer shelf life.
- Before you buy something, check if it is eco-friendly and also sparks joy. (Thank you Marie Kondo)
- Freeze everything!!! Well, research first, but most things can be frozen, which is a great way to reduce food waste and saving time. On reducing food waste there’s a really good book on reducing it.**
- Grow your own food! Or at least some. Money is only going to get tighter, so you might as well start now to save money in the future.
- Compost! Composting is a good way to make use of food scraps and can get you nutrient-rich soil as well!!
- Try to fix something before chucking it. Recycle and repurpose as much as you can.
- Pick up rubbish on walks.
- Use fabric instead of paper to wrap presents. Then, the other person can use the fabric to wrap another present and the cycle continues. There’s a book with pointers on this. ***
- Keep a box or drawer of scrap paper and notebooks.
- Seriously, PLANT TREES!!
- Avoid flying AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Use public transport as opposed to cars. If you have an electric car, go nuts!
- Get solar panels.
- Anything -ism is bad!!! Don’t be anything -ist.
- Help other humans and animals. Everyone has the right to live and enjoy life.
- Appreciate the good in the world. Earth is a really cool place, and the more you care about it and enjoy it, the more you do to preserve the good things and save the planet. Because this is literally what it’s coming to. Earth is in imminent danger, and we have to respond to that threat, or else… Yay, what a nice note to end on!
Hmm, this is better actually:
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” -Albert Einstein
Helpful Sites:
*A policy I use with plastic is that if it’s not newly manufactured and is from an op shop or Facebook marketplace or I’ve already bought it, I can use it.
***Gift Wrap Green: Techniques For… by Wilkinson, Camille (amazon.com.au)
9 Ideas for Rewilding Your Yard | The Family Handyman
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