If you’ve been hesitating about reducing your negative impact on the environment because it seemed like too much of hassle, keep reading. It’s easy to make a few adjustments to your lifestyle here and there to help the environment without much inconvenience. Most are based on habits that are wasteful and easily discarded. In fact, you’ll save more money and time by implementing the following tips. Here are four ways to start living a greener lifestyle.
Mind the Mail
Take the time to see how much mail you receive in a week. Review and collect every flier, catalog, brochure, advertisement, and sales pitch you get versus actual letters. At the end of the week, look at the resulting pile. You’ll notice it creates quite a bit of trash, and most of it probably goes unread. The FTC site provides several ways to register to opt out of receiving junk mail. Otherwise, alert advertisers that you no longer wish to receive their advertisements. Further, a sustainable mailbox can impact the environment because it saves space and uses fewer resources.
See the Light
Illuminating a home can consume a lot of electricity. That can lead to wasted energy, higher electricity bills, and too many lightbulbs in the landfills. Begin by turning off the lights when you leave a room. If you have trouble remembering, add motion detectors or timers that turn lights off when a room is no longer in use. Switch from incandescent to LED bulbs, which use less electricity, last longer, and provide more light. Incandescent bulbs are already going away but get started with LED bulbs sooner rather than later.
Grow a Garden
Gardening can be a lot of work, but that depends on how you do it. It’s possible to create a simple garden in a window box, planter, or other small patch of earth where you can grow your own vegetables or a perennial flowerbed. In the meantime, create compost. Most food scraps go to waste in landfills. Contribute to the greenery in your backyard by saving fruit and vegetable scraps, crushed eggshells, lawn trimmings, and even coffee grounds in a composting bin.
Watch the Water
The world may be covered with it, but far too much water gets wasted. Begin by making sure faucets are shut off tightly when not in use. Drips are a sign of a washer that means to be replaced. Fix it as soon as possible. A single drip every few minutes can waste a tremendous amount of water over time. Invest in low-flow faucets as well. You’ll still get plenty of pressure while saving water. Taking showers instead of baths also helps save water, as does shutting off the faucet while you wash the dishes or brush your teeth. If you don’t need it, don’t waste it! You’ll appreciate the savings as well!