Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 of every year by billions of people. It’s a day of inspiring others to protect and conserve the earth and celebrating all that has been achieved in this movement.
You don’t need to wait for Earth Day to start supporting the environment. You can make easy sustainable choices to make every day Earth Day. Here’s how.
Switch off your lights.
Stepping out of your room? Don’t leave your lights on. Conserving electricity is good for the environment and also effectively reduces your utility bills. The simple act of switching your lights off when not in use can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
What can you do instead? During the day, maximize natural light from the sun! Pull back your curtains and enjoy the sunlight.
Unplug appliances.
The same goes for appliances and gadgets that are not in use. If your washing machine is not in use, consider unplugging it. Is your laptop or phone battery already full? Then it’s time to unplug your charger. Appliances, even when not in use, still consume energy while plugged in.
Switch to LED bulbs.
Conventional light bulbs waste 90% of energy consumption to generate heat. No wonder it’s warmer in rooms with regular lighting! So, when your regular light bulbs have reached their end of life, swap them for LED bulbs.
Alternatively, you may also dispose of them properly at recycling centers. LED can provide you the same power in a more energy-efficient manner. It uses 84% less energy compared to regular bulbs.
Set the sleep timer on your TV.
Do you often fall asleep with your TV on? Then it’s time to enable the sleep timer on your TV. Just grab the remote and go to your settings. You can set the sleep timer for 120 minutes.
Once time is up, your TV will automatically turn off. This is an easy way of practicing sustainability and conserving electrical consumption.
Repair household leaks.
Did you know that household leaks waste almost 1 trillion gallons of water every year? The easy sustainable choice that you can make is to fix leaks in your home. Those water droplets turn out to have such a huge impact in our environment. Also, turn off the tap when you don’t need it.
Use your own bag.
Are you going grocery shopping? Use your own bag to pack your purchases. This way, you skip using plastic bags that can add to plastic pollution because every year, tons of plastic waste end up in our oceans.
You also get to save money as some grocery stores offer discounts when you use your bag.
Choose reusable water bottles.
Plastic bottles contribute to waste that harms our natural resources and wildlife. The sustainable choice is to switch to reusable water bottles. These are usually made of stainless steel, glass, or BPA-free silicone.
You can choose from different sizes to fit your lifestyle. Some bottles have insulation feature that can keep your coffee hot for a few hours. Some have built-in filters so that you can always have safe drinking water anywhere you go. Reusable water bottles take less energy to make and effectively helps cut down waste.
Create a food list.
If possible, create a meal plan or at least, list down what you need especially when you go grocery shopping. This is to avoid food waste from buying or preparing too much food. Growing food takes resources such as energy, fuel, and water.
And with food waste or spoilage, resources also become wasted or inefficiently used. When we manage our pantries and our kitchen, we put less pressure on the environment.
Go paperless at work.
Need to send a memo to everyone in your workplace? Opt for a messaging app instead or email. If you really need to have something printed out, consider reusing blank back pages of old printouts. When your reduce paper usage, you also cut back on deforestation and carbon dioxide emission.
Go paperless in the kitchen.
Paper towels are not recyclable and have been filling up our landfills. So, instead of using tons of paper towels in the kitchen to wipe spills, choose reusable alternatives such as cloth towels. You can easily make one using spare cloth that you probably already have.
If you don’t, buy eco-friendly reusable kitchen towels. These are made from upcycled fabric, biodegradable cotton flannel, plant fiber, or responsibly-sourced bamboo. All are free from non-toxic materials which is safe for you and the environment.
Switch to sustainable skin care products.
One of the essentials in skin care is the use of regular cotton pads. However, cotton farming has a huge impact on the environment, and single-use cotton pads are not biodegradable.
To make the sustainable choice, replace 1000 single-use cotton rounds with a reusable alternative to makeup pads and rounds by brands such as Tru Earth, OKO, LastObject, and many more. It’s gentle on the skin, and can be used for cleansing or applying creams.