Changes You Can Make to your Lifestyle That Benefit the Environment

My friends sometimes poke fun at me (non blatantly!) with regard to the changes I have elected to make to my lifestyle, that make me and my actions more friendly to the environment.

But when the fun has died down, they will often call me aside, and ask for advice on how they, themselves, can take steps to lessen their carbon footprint, or how to be friendlier to the environment. I guess my passion is infectious enough that it runs off on them a little.

But it is amazing what difference, even tiny changes, can make in the overall scheme of things. We only have one planet folks, there’s no second chance or place to go if we mess this one up!

Here are just a few things you can try to do your little bit.

Cycle More – Or At Least Choose Public Transport:

We could all do with a little more exercise, and cycling is among the best methods of getting this tick marked off your daily “to do” list.

But, if for whatever reason, you don’t want to cycle, at least choose public transport as a way of getting to and fro. This way, you are not firing up the car for smaller journeys that could be taken on public transport.

Get a Kindle:

I know this might seem like a funny one, but if you love to read, imagine all the books you read in a year.

Then imagine the process that book has gone through, to get from the forest of trees to your coffee table. There’s a huge amount of steps that raw material has to get through to become the paperback in front of you.

Kindle (or alternative e-reader) displays virtual characters in front of you, in e-ink, so it’s almost like reading a real book. Plus, a Kindle device is extremely power friendly, only needing to be charged very occasionally.

Reduce Your Food Waste:

This one is easy. Make a shopping list, don’t forget to bring it to the store with you, and stick to it. When cooking dinner, make realistic portions.

I think a lot of us are guilty of making portions that are too big.

It’s amazing to see the difference in portion sizes from the 1950s and 1960s to today. Seriously, our side plates today were dinner plates back in those times!

Make Use of Leftovers:

If you do happen to make too much food for a sitting, use up the leftovers.

You could bring them with you for a handy lunch to reheat in work, or create an entirely new dish – look around online, there are hundreds of sites offering ideas up for what to make with leftover food items.

This is only scratching the surface guys – look out for part 2 of this series, coming up real soon.