3 Ideas to Make your Home more Sustainable
Updated: Mar 17
Written by Sujata Shah
I live in a typical suburban house and let's just say, sustainability was not a consideration when these houses were planned or built. I don't think we are doing even a fraction of what the sustainability gurus would say but we have started taking a few small steps toward living more in harmony with nature and I thought I would share a few mini tips on making your lifestyle a bit more sustainable.
Everyone should already have a recycling bin so I will not start with that but here are a few things we have done to reduce waste:
Cloth kitchen towels and napkins instead of paper towels and paper napkins. Our friends think we are so fancy but in fact, we are reducing waste.
Powder dishwashing & laundry detergent packaged in a cardboard box instead of tabs or liquid to reduce plastic waste not to mention micro-plastics,
Collect food waste in a bin on your counter top and build a lasagna-style compost pile in a corner of your yard. Here's a short video on how to do it How to Compost Using "Lasagna Layering" (Backyard Composting: Part 5)
Full disclosure, we don't use the ugly bucket shown in the video, we use something that looks a lot nicer on the counter and keeps the odor in like this one. Stainless Steel Compost Bin
Shout out to my parents for handing this down to us.
Buying used goods is another way we can help the environment. I would have turned my nose up to buying used a few years ago but now, I am a Goodwill junkie! Not only does buying used keep the demand for newly manufactured goods down, it totally scratches my itch for treasure hunting. I have bought everything from a Tory Burch purse to a brand new air fryer at my local Goodwill store. Also, thanks to Andrew, I discovered the black market for vintage Levis. Although, we have lost more money on the proposition than we have earned, it is fun. In case you don't know this, Goodwill has an online store. Check it out
Becoming more mindful of where waste can be avoided is a good way to get started. If you try to replace everything in your life at once, it becomes overwhelming and you end up creating more waste. There is no need to throw away the things you already have. Instead, continue with what you already have and make small tweaks where you can.
