Part of changing your thoughts and changing your life is to expand your awareness and be open to new ways of living. Living sustainably is for some of us a new and excellent way to create and sustain peace, happiness and abundance. It is important to understand the concept of sustainable living and apply the tips, techniques and strategies that may be suitable for you. Sustainable living can have a different meaning for different people. Generally the aim is to conduct your lifestyle and create habits that are in favour of the environment and in balance with the earth’s natural ecology.
Sustainable Living, on a deeper level, is a feeling of oneness and interconnectedness to everything and everyone. It’s really a way of being – acting with integrity and living consciously with an appreciation and respect towards our planet.
Many people who practice sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by choosing different types of transportation, energy consumption, eating habits (foods) and products that are more eco-friendly.
The secret to sustainable living is really about simplifying your lifestyle which can result in a greater amount of freedom, joy and gratitude towards what you already have. It requires you to be more conscious about your actions and more aware about your lifestyle choices. It often requires taking small steps and changing one or two things at a time.
So how does one get started on the path to sustainable living? It’s very easy but often we forget or overlook simple ways to make a difference. Here are 10 eco-friendly tips and simple ways to embrace and experience sustainable living:
1. Say no to spam. Contact the distributing company or marketing association to have your name removed from their mailing list. You can also stick a “no junk mail” sign on your mail box. Not only will this save you time by not having to sort the mail into recycling but it will also help to reduce the thousands of trees destroyed each year to create the junk mail that is sent to your home.
2. Receive and pay your bills electronically. Almost everything from your phone bill to your credit card statement can be viewed online and often these companies will discount you a few dollars for going paperless. Ask your service providers about it and set it up to reduce paper production.
3. Turn off your electronics when not in use. A computer left on for 24 hours can use a lot of electricity – up to 1000 kilowatts. And, even when your TV or computer is off, it is still using power. Either unplug all your electronic devices or use a power strip and flip of the switch when you’re done.
4. Use less disposable items. Try eating ice cream in a cone, rather than a cup. Use your travel mug when buying coffee. Keep your water bottle handy. Buy more of your food from the bulk bin and re-use your own eco-friendly bags or containers to reduce the amount of packaged products purchased. Some stores even sell stuff like laundry detergent, soap, and other house hold cleaning products in bulk and often at a discount. Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags.
5. Take shorter showers. Try reducing your shower time by five minutes, or better yet, take a five minute shower. Just cutting two minutes from your shower time can save ten gallons of water. I often do the 5 minute cool shower in the dark (sometimes I will light a candle) which is so very refreshing. Check out this ultimate eco-shower for sustainable design.
6. Collect and save water. Put containers with removable covers outside to collect rainwater that you can use to water your lawn, flower beds and gardens. Try using a bucket once a week in the shower to collect water that you can use to water your houseplants (make sure the water is at the right temperature before watering). It’s also a good reminder to water the plants.
7. Upgrade your lights. Changing light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones can save four times the amount of energy than a regular bulb. Energy-efficient CFLs can also last up to ten times longer than traditional ones. The light from these bulbs will give off light as bright as your old bulbs or brighter and save you money. Don’t forget to turn off lights when not in use. If you can get motion-sensitive lights, give them a try – they turn off when no more motion is detected. Also, if you like using outdoor lights go for the solar powered ones.
8. Reuse your clothes. What you wear each day can often be worn for more than one day. Be mindful before you toss that shirt into the dirty laundry and ask yourself if you can get one more day out of wearing it. Not only will you save water and detergent but also the time it takes to do that extra load of laundry. The same can be applied for sheets and blankets. Call me old fashion but I like to do the old sniff test.
9. Recycle whenever and whatever you can. Check with your city or town to find out everything that you can recycle. My city picks up the glass, plastic, paper, cardboard and metal every week. Visit your local recycle depot to see exactly what and how the recycle. Take a field trip and make it an adventure. Don’t forget to invite your friends along – you may need to buy the coffee.
10. Walk or bike whenever possible. Take the bus or carpool if one of these is not practical. Walking or cycling reduces the amount of gas spewed into the air by cars thus lowering carbon emissions greatly. In addition to having less of an impact on our planet you can become a little more fit and healthy, so make it part of your exercise program.
As we advance into this new millennium we are shifting into higher consciousness which means we may be accelerating and shifting towards more renewable energy, sustainable travel and business, eco-friendly products, green technology and sustainable designs which will change the way we live. Don’t get left behind. Enjoy and explore the alternatives.
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Steven, I’m so happy that you are addressing this topic on your blog. I feel personal development is so intertwined with living consciously in an eco-friendly way.
Jai, I love your light-hearted approach and your ten top tips are excellent. Even though I am pretty eco-friendly, I still picked up a few new points. Thank you so much. Personally though, I would not go for CFL bulbs since they contain mercury. This can be problematic for people who are sensitive if they are ever broken.
Jai, I love your light-hearted approach and your ten top tips are excellent. Even though I am pretty eco-friendly, I still picked up a few new points. Thank you so much.
This is my favorite line: “Sustainable Living, on a deeper level, is a feeling of oneness and interconnectedness to everything and everyone.” Recognizing our interconnectedness is so key to transforming our our life and the health of the planet.
Sandra Lee recently posted..How to Meditate- Eight Simple Steps
Jai,
Thanks for sharing the tips here. There is always room to improve in these areas, particularly when we’re used to living a life of excessive. I try to do as much as I can electronically to avoid wasting paper. I wish there was some way to avoid the automatic printing of paper receipts when using a card, a little area for innovation if anyone has ideas. Overall, it comes down to changing habits and really making the effort to reuse or reduce consumption. Thanks for the inspiration in this regard.
joe Wilner recently posted..Rise and Grind – Inspiration to Conquer the Coming Week
These are great tips because they all make a big impact over time yet none of them are difficult to do. I think sustainable living, like many other things in life, can seem overwhelming at times when we see how much we COULD do–like solar panels and using building materials made of recyclable materials and eco-friendly cleaners etc. When you’re on a tight budget, it can be difficult to use all the best cleaners and materials.
But all these tips are doable and don’t require extra time or money. Thanks!!
Ande Waggener recently posted..Yes- You Can Be Courageous
Hi Jai
I came over here from another site that Steven had guest posted on. I love that I have found this blog. I am into sustainable living and living simply. Good to know you are encouraging it here on this blog. I sell organic products and blog in my small niche about similar things although all to do with one small flower…the lovely lavender. I’m so pleased to read your article…spot on. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be back.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia@lavenderuses recently posted..Lavender Product Review-The Truth- The Whole Truth…
This is why more bikes lanes need to be placed in New York and Brooklyn. It also easy access and the ability to reuse hazardousness fumes from destroying our ecosystem. I just hope people get the picture, before, they get torn out the frame. Long live going Green and recycling.
jonathanfigaro recently posted..Do You Have What it Takes to Be Great
that’s Good advice Kai
hope people can follow it
Hi Kai!
You also did another point:
11. Inform and help people to understand how they can do that and what’s in it for them
Andrzej
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Kai,
I will start doing number three. We just moved the tv and computer that hooks up to it to a different room, and I realized we must be using a ton of energy. My wife keeps it on 24×7 to watch her favorite shows.
People in general can be so inconvenienced by having to do something as simple as getting up to turn off a power strip. I’ll see what progress I can make there.
Bryce Christiansen recently posted..Personal Growth Lesson 3- Why Cancer is Not All Bad
I thought these were excellent tips. I was surprised that I’m actually doing quite a few of them, especially since I’m not the most “green” conscious person. The one I have to work on is the shower!!! It’s really hard when it’s cold to not use a ton of hot water and stay longer, but I will work at this!
Thanks for the reminder:~)
Sara recently posted..Story Photo- Sleeping Cat
These are all great tips! We have been donating a lot of items lately that we don’t use so that others who need them can have them. We are trying to avoid throwing away as much as possible.
One nice thing with our garbage disposal service is that they now allow food scraps to go into the yard waste container instead of the garbage cans. It’s hard to break the habit though, I’m still used to throwing the scraps away. But I am trying to change my habit to put them in the yard waste for composting.
Stacy recently posted..Generosity Killed the Cat
A very nice article Jai! I found a lot of information I can use. Your article shows that you have been living a simple life for quite some time now. Mentioning the sniff test shows your earnestness and courage. I follow it too. In fact, I am already following some points here.
From now on, I am going to unplug my computer at night and use CFL bulbs only.
Till a few weeks ago, I was a software developer in New York taking 20 minute, hot water showers every day.
I left my job there to do things I really want to do. This also forced me to move back to India and I am taking 5 min, cold water baths out of a bucket now.
I am enjoying living a more conscious and simple life and I love to come across other conscious beings such as you.
Keep it up!
I love this, Jai … if it is to be, it us up to you and me! There is no getting around it… if we want to see a positive change in the world it starts with the simple actions we take TODAY. I know I can easily implement these… especially #3.
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Hi Jai,
Great post and outstanding tips. I personally use a few additional techniques as well to go along with the ones you mentioned. One of them is taking advantage of natural light. I make sure to open all of my window to maximize the use of the light that comes in during the day to reduce my use of electricity. Another good technique I use is the power saver power strip. It has reduced my energy bill greatly and makes being green a whole lot simplier.
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Thank you all for your wonderful comments. I will respond briefly here to everyone as I just arrived to Kauai, Hawaii – my new home & sustainable organic farm. I am currently borrowing an internet connection right now from a neighbor.
Thanks for your input and enthusiasm about making some small changes that can have a positive impact on your well-being and the well-being of our planet.
@ Sandra thanks for staying connected and I believe sharing awareness and communication is the key.
@ Joe – reducing is the number one way to be more sustainable and eco friendly. Just use less.
@ Ande – ones step at a time on your path to becoming more sustainable. All the little things add up and you do find away to go bigger when the time is right.
@ Patricia – I would love to learn more about lavender. Perhaps you would want to do a guest post about it on PlanetWell.com
@ Jonathan – write a letter to your congressman about creating more bike efficiency. Great point – bile lanes and paths are much needed in our cities.
@ Bryce – It’s amazing how much energy is used by constant currents running through TV’s computers and other electronics.
@ Stacy – composting can be easy and once you have a great composting system and you have the habit of using it it really feels good knowing it’s feeding the earth and other other organisms.
@ Rahul – very inspiring. Thanks for sharing. It’s amazing what you will do and how you will change your habits when your forced to. I have spent a lot of time in India as well and S.E Asia – its amazing how you are forced to simplify and enjoy the simple yet beautiful things that surround us.
@ Rob – lets do it and share our ideas, insights and tips on sustainable living. There are so many great sustainable designs out there you can use as well.
@ Frank – Yes you nailed it. Using natural light is so efficient and effective. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Kai,
Awesome post my friend. I personally like number 10 because I`m huge into exercising and would rather run than drive my car! lol Great stuff here, sharing it out.
Thanks Ryan – keep it green my friend!
Jai:
Great post. All your suggestions are good ones and I like the CFL suggestion most. It will save money immediately on electricity and recover about 10 times the investment in the bulbs over the life of each CFL installed.
Best wishes for your greener life,
Steve
Steve Stillwater recently posted..Green Living Wisdom- Don’t Get Bamboozled by Bamboo
Thanks Steve – I think the CFL bulbs work great, however newer technology is allowing for us to have even more efficient lights. I will feature some of these in an upcoming article on my blog.
Thanks Jai for this great article. I’m scoring about 7 out of 10 right now. I also use reusable grocery bags, which are a great alternative to all the plastic bags they offer at the check out. I want to do as much as I can to help Mother Earth. Thanks for reminding me that there’s more room for me to improve.
Nea | Self Improvement Saga recently posted..How to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms and Panic Attacks
Thanks Nea. I am constantly looking or shall I say finding ways to improve my relationship with Mother Earth. I respect her and feel that contributes to my abundance.
Hey Jai, I think it is always important that we consider the karma of our actions, not only how they affect other people but our planet as well.
Most of these are great suggestions. We should all work together to reduce our carbon footprint and we can make a REAL difference.
Some minor critiques. I heard that most recycling isn’t really worth it, except for aluminum. In most cases it is more efficient to just recreate the material from scratch. I don’t think we have to worry about recycling most stuff anytime soon.
I also think that our real answers for saving the planet rely on technological innovation.
Steven recently posted..10 Easy Prep Snacks With High Protein
I agree Steven, the best way to live sustainably is to reduce – use less and simplify. Then reuse. Recycling is the last and least effective way out of the 3 to be more sustainable because it still requires a lot of energy to recycle.
Hi Kai, i like this article so much. It’s so thoughtful of you for pointing out so many ‘little things’ that we can do to help the planet. Adopting these new ‘little’ habits will certainly make a huge difference for the environment. And I’m same with you, don’t mind to bath in the dark to save electricity, ha
Hope to read more of your articles ~
Thanks Noel. Living sustainably can be fun and even an adventure. I love setting up beeswax or soy cancels around my house to save electricity. It can be quite enchanting.
I feel that the two things sustainability and personal development , go hand in hand. With each day as we strive towards living and working more sustainably we become a better person from deep inside. We begin to feel good about things that we do to help others and to tread lightly on our plant. This is part of the spiritual growth that I believe all humans are blessed to be able to explore.
Maybe one day all humans will understand the real meaning if giving and receiving… instead of taking from and plundering the planet without looking back. THE PLANET is about to bite back and I dont think we will like what we will see if we don’t make change happen now.
Thanks for the post!
Karen @ Pledging for Change recently posted..The Warrior needs you
I carry my hemp backpack full of eco bags to go shopping if you carry your own shopping bags make sure you dont put anything in them till after you check out made that mistake once. People are slowly catching on to being sustainable where they can blogs like this one are going along way towards educating the masses.
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