How to Launch an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

Choosing an eco-friendly lifestyle is more than a trend, it's an easy and quick way to simplify your life and your impact on the environment.

Decluttering your mind is not just useful for strategizing new business plans or leading successful product launches.

Decluttering also allows you to reboot and relieve yourself of daily anxieties.

By minimizing your carbon footprint, you can take pressure off yourself AND positively impact the Earth.

And you don’t need to buy anything or turn your entire life upside down overnight.

First, think about the things you do every day that can make life simpler.

To get you started, here are 4 tips to help you at work, at home while reducing the amount of stuff heading to landfill. REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE

‍It's a simple change, but using a durable water bottle every day instead of purchasing plastic water bottles on the go makes a huge difference. The same goes for coffee. If you typically run into a coffee shop for a cup on the go, carry a reusable coffee cup with you instead of getting a paper cup and plastic lid.

‍Immediate Eco-Friendly Benefits

• Cost you less money
• Keep plastic waste out off the ground and out of the water sources
• Keep plastic bottles from clogging up your space

COOK AT HOME

‍It may not seem like it would help the environment much, but cooking at home instead of ordering takeout or going out for lunch can eliminate waste accumulated from takeout containers, unused napkins, and disposable utensils.

‍Immediate Eco-Friendly Benefits

• Costs you less money than eating out
• More nutritious meals with less processed ingredients
• Less clutter from takeout menus, plastic utensils, extra sauce packets, etc.

REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS

‍They're easy to forget AND such an easy step toward living minimally and with the environment in mind. Using reusable grocery bags will keep the extra plastic out of landfills and out of your pantry or cabinets. Chances are you already have several of these lying around the home. I have a “bag of bags” in my front closet where I store all my grocery bags and totes that way they are easy to find and take with me when I head out to the store.

Bonus tip: Schedule grocery store visits. Just doing this cuts out unnecessary shopping/spending which reduces waste and clutter. Creating a cellphone reminder for your shopping trips lets you also create a prompt to grab your reusable bags before you leave to shop. No need to restrict this planning to just groceries it can be implementing for all sorts of shopping.

A bonus tip for car owners: to ensure you always have your bags when you need them is to keep 5-6 bags, depending on how often you grocery shop, in your trunk or neatly nested inside each other in your back seat.

‍Immediate Eco-Friendly Benefits

• Costs you less money if your market charges for bags
• Less plastic or paper needed for a regular activity
• Saves time and less clutter from bags piling up at home

DONATE WHENEVER POSSIBLE

‍With spring cleaning coming on fast, it can seem an easy solution to just throw things in the trash. While this may be a short term fix for getting unused items out of your home, it does not help the environment.

Most things can be donated. If you have clothes, furniture, kid’s toys, office supplies or even unexpired, unopened food products leaving your home in disarray, donate to your nearest food shelter or thrift store to avoid wasting still useful things. Remember, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

‍Immediate Eco-Friendly Benefits

• Helping people in need
• Keeping your garbage bin from overflowing, which reduces trash in the waste stream
• Tidying up your home and in turn, your mind

Use these four tips as the starting point for building your eco-friendly lifestyle.

It isn’t complicated to live more consciously, so keep it simple and begin here.

Just four small changes can make a huge difference in both your life and in the environment. Help your friends and colleagues get started by sharing this article. Follow us on social media for more tips and articles. Need more help getting organized? Learn how we can help you get unstuffed.