Guest post by Kat Sarmiento

Living a sustainable lifestyle is more popular than ever. Consumers are increasingly concerned with environmental protection, and many wish to live more sustainably to make a difference. Sustainable living is all about limiting the number of resources you consume while minimizing waste and replenishing the resources you do use.

When it comes to your family, you want to do everything you can to ensure that they have the best life possible. There are many ways to improve the health and well-being of your family while simultaneously helping the environment. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to have a sustainable lifestyle.

Listed below are some simple, practical changes you can make at home to start living sustainably.

Stop Wasting Food

Many of us are guilty of buying too much food or forgetting about it in the fridge or pantry until it’s too late. Create well-thought-out meal plans and shop wisely. Purchase only what you need to help prevent food waste. You can also reduce food waste by freezing excess vegetables and using them to make delicious soups, stews, and curries.

Instead of tossing your leftover food in the trash, invest in a compost bin. Apple peels, corn cobs, and wilted lettuce, for example, can all be composted and turned into nutritious food in your garden. You may also use spoiled milk to tenderize meat, soften raw whole grains, and fertilize your plants.

Grow Your Own Produce

Growing your own fruits and vegetables supports sustainable living. By growing your own produce, you do not only save money but also help minimize the amount of fossil fuels used to transport goods to stores and markets. You can also avoid utilizing pesticides that pollute water and air.

Start a vegetable garden in your backyard or even on your balcony. If you’re short on room, consider container or vertical gardening. The best part—you can use all that rich compost you made from food waste to feed your garden.

Aside from planting fruits, vegetables, and herbs, you can decorate your home with indoor plants to help purify the air of harmful toxins and contaminants.

Ditch Your Disposable Period Products

Make the switch from single-use pads and tampons to reusable alternatives. It’s not only good for the environment, but it’s also good for you. Disposable period products may contain allergens, carcinogens, and toxic chemicals that can irritate your skin and disrupt your PH balance.

Menstrual cups, reusable pads, and period underwear are much healthier options for your body and the environment. They help reduce plastic use, last longer, and will save you a lot of money.

Make Your Laundry Green

Many people don’t realize it but washing machines and dryers account for a considerable portion of your home’s energy and water use. Skip the dry cleaners and start an eco-friendly laundry routine with an energy-efficient washing machine. 

Save energy, water, and time by washing less often. Additionally, use cold water to cut down on energy used to heat water. Save even more energy by using a clothesline instead of a dryer.

Avoid using standard detergents and stain removers since they contain harmful chemicals. Instead, use non-toxic alternatives, such as plant-based detergents and oxygen-based brighteners. 

Choose Energy-Efficient Appliances

Aside from buying an environmentally friendly washing machine, you may practice sustainable living at home by purchasing energy-efficient appliances to cook, clean, and chill consciously. Choose sustainable kitchen stoves, green thermostats, water-saving showerheads, and energy-efficient televisions. 

There are limitless options. Moreover, by continuing to purchase eco-friendly appliances, we demonstrate to businesses that we want them to keep investing in green technologies.

Use Natural Light

Minimize your reliance on artificial light sources to preserve energy and save money on your electric bill.

Explore various home renovation projects that allow more natural light to enter your home. For instance, installing skylights on your roof can increase the amount of natural light in parts of your home that lack windows.

Use reflective tiles or paint your interior walls and ceilings a lighter, brighter hue to boost natural light in your house. You may also hang a mirror on the wall opposite a window to help disperse natural light around a room.

Upcycle Your Bottles and Jars

Help the environment and spruce your home with creatively repurposed bottles and jars. Upcycle wine bottles into decorative lamps, painted pencil or brush holders, glass bowls, or even wick pots. 

Reuse jars that originally contained marmalade, jam, pickles, and other products. Fill them with new ingredients, such as flour, grains, oats, seeds, and spices. You can also turn them into glass jar lanterns, ornamental mason jar vases, or votive candle holders.

Live a Zero-Waste Life

Adopting a sustainable lifestyle improves our quality of life, protects the environment, and conserves natural resources for future generations. When we place a high premium on sustainability, the entire world benefits, and we get to live in cleaner, healthier conditions.

Guest Post by Kat Sarmiento