Category Archives: Going Green

Sustainable Habits To Teach Your Kids

Sustainability is the future, not just of humanity but of the planet. As a species, we need to learn rapidly how to cut down our wasteful consumption and disposal of resources and items. 

The responsibility falls back onto parents to educate themselves and become role models for their children. More often than not, teaching good habits from a young age can ensure that the adults of tomorrow will be better equipped to protect the environment. Indeed, today’s grown-up generations are still in the process of making sense of sustainable strategies, which means:

  • Unlearning habits we’ve learned from our parents
  • Changing our routines and favorite go-to products
  • Investing in environmentally-friendly solutions that may cost more
  • Evaluating your household environmental footprint 
  • Finding the right contacts and support system

So what can you do in your household to help your children prepare for sustainable living? 

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#1. Actively focus on sustainable grocery shopping

Up to 40% of the U.S. food supply ends up in the bin. Food waste is one of the most commonly overlooked sustainability issues of our time. Indeed, food production comes at an environmental cost related to production processes, transport, and packaging. The choices made during the production process can have long-term sustainable repercussions through mass harvesting, storage and packaging solutions, and operation strategies. 

Additionally, waste can occur at any point during the production or after the purchase. As a household, you can help educate your children on the importance of grocery shopping in the sustainability crisis. Learning to select items that are sustainably produced can help in the longer term. Besides, keeping a straight mindset to reduce waste, aka reduce overbuying, will also cut down your footprint. 

#2. Teach them about recycling processes

There is more life to the items you don’t want anymore. The days n you could throw anything in the bin are long gone. Nowadays, every household must be able to separate waste into meaningful piles: 

  • recyclable
  • biodegradable
  • other

Some items must be handled by specialist centers, such as metal recycling places, to ensure they can be safely reutilized. Others, on the other hand, can be repurposed directly at home. A compost bin, for instance, is the perfect solution for organic waste. You can use compost to shield your plants in winter and nourish the soil. 

It’s worth researching options when it comes to items that are not easy to recycle. Electronics can be used for parts; that’s why companies such as Apple and Samsung are keen to process old devices. 

#3. Seek sustainable suppliers

Sustainability is the process of reducing resource waste. When it comes to energy, furniture, or water, sustainable suppliers reduce waste in two ways:

  • They introduce production or management structures that are environmentally conscious
  • They invest in long-term transformation processes for the planet

A sustainable energy supplier, for example, can deliver green and renewable energy and keep their company’s carbon footprint low or neutral. Finding suppliers you can trust is no easy task, and households must research and compare suppliers to choose the best option for their needs. However, showing how it’s done and why it matters can make a huge difference for your children. 

#4. Invest in renewable solutions

Many American households worry about changing their energy supply. Indeed, the typical solar panel installation can cost between $25,000 and $30,000, which is a non-negligible sum for a household. 

However, you can apply for solar panel loans and funding solutions to make your investment more manageable. Don’t just go for the first loan that comes up, you need to make sure that it is right for you and the payback is something that you can manage. Whilst most of us want to live in a cleaner world, you shouldn’t sacrifice your finances to hurry up the process. So when you look at Atmos solar loans, for instance, speak with their team and see if you want to proceed.

Cost is the most common obstacle American families face when they wish to build an eco-friendly household. Therefore, it can be helpful to show children that running an environmentally-conscious household is about making long-term investments that will support your wealth and the planet in the future. 

#5. Favor walking over driving

The start of the pandemic has been a revelation for climate change. As most households didn’t drive for several weeks or months, the levels of pollution decreased dramatically in town. 

Unfortunately, as offices have reopened their doors, most people use their cars for commuting. But it’s not too late to change your commuting habits. For short-distance trips under 2 miles, you could encourage your family to walk. It is always a fantastic strategy to reduce excessive grocery shopping! 

For commutes below 5 miles, you might find that a bicycle can prove an environmentally-friendly method that keeps you fast on the road. 

Even though more and more people are considering investing in electric vehicles, it’s essential to teach your child about effective resource management. Reducing cars on the road can preserve local wildlife and protect the environment. 

In conclusion, parents need to show children different household solutions to build a green living. Contrary to common belief, living green doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort or budget. It’s all about making smart decisions to reduce unnecessary waste and favor renewable solutions.

How Your Family can Reduce Waste at Home

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Every parent wants to instill positive values in their kids during childhood. Helping your children to grow up in a way that allows them to understand the value of money and the need to reduce waste is an excellent way to prepare them for adulthood and living independently. 

Limiting waste at home will help kids understand how to save money and play a part in protecting the planet. Demonstrating these values to your kids through your own actions is the best possible way to ensure that they understand the role they can play in using their money and the earth’s resources in the most responsible manner. Here are some examples of opportunities that you can use to reduce waste at your home, saving yourself money and protecting the planet while also being a strong role model to your kids:

Groceries: Reduce Food Waste

Food waste is a significant problem and one that is an issue throughout many of the world’s wealthiest countries. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 30 to 40 percent of the nation’s food supply goes to waste. This is a significant figure and equates to billions of dollars of food that is discarded without being eaten. There are various reasons that food waste occurs, some of which happen at the production stage, but consumers are also responsible for a large portion of wasted food. So, taking action to reduce the amount of food that your household wastes is crucial and a great way to prevent wasting money spent on groceries. 

If you are keen to begin reducing your food waste, there are a few ways you can make this happen. Firstly, check the use-by dates on everything you buy to ensure that you have time to use it before it expires. Secondly, you may find it helpful to start meal planning. Meal planning enables you to shop specifically for the groceries you need and minimize waste. Finally, it is beneficial to find ways to use leftovers while they are still safe to eat to ensure they do not get thrown away. Reducing your food waste may seem like a small act. Still, it can actually make a significant difference to the cost of your grocery shopping while also helping to tackle a much broader issue.

Clothing: Buy Less, But Buy Better

Nowadays, fast fashion has become the go-to choice for many people looking to keep up with the latest trends without spending much money. But, fast fashion comes at a price. Spending money on clothes that are not designed to last can mean that you buy lots and don’t manage to get much wear from each item before it goes out of fashion or breaks. Purchasing cheap clothing in this way means that your closet becomes full of poor-quality garments that you no longer wear and need to be replaced frequently when their quality fails. Shopping for clothing like this is bad news for your finances, and the planet, plus adds clutter to your home. Taking an alternative approach and buying functional, stylish clothing that is designed to last will mean that you get better value for money and years of wear while preserving valuable closet space. Buying clothing from brands such as Over Under Clothing will ensure that you get the best quality and can enjoy many years of comfortable wear.

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Electricity: Conserve Power to Pay Less

As every homeowner knows, powering a home is an expensive task. Running gadgets, appliances, along with cooling and heating systems, can mean that your electricity bills escalate quickly. Making an effort to actively reduce your household’s energy consumption is an effective way to lower your home’s running costs and its carbon footprint. Reducing electricity use is also something the entire family can get involved with and take responsibility to manage. 

When trying to reduce your home’s energy consumption, you may find it helpful to start with the smaller changes first. Simply changing all of your light bulbs to Energy Star alternatives can make a significant impact on the cost of illuminating your home, and further savings can be made if everyone remembers to switch off lights when leaving each room. As well as switching off lights, it is also helpful to turn off appliances (where safe to do so) when they are not in use, rather than leaving them on standby. Additional energy-saving benefits can be gained from having your HVAC system regularly serviced to ensure that it is working efficiently and not having to work too hard to heat and cool your home. These changes may seem small, but the cumulative effects throughout the year can make a marked difference to your electricity consumption.

Water: Actively Conserve Water

Conserving the amount of water that your family uses may seem challenging at first; after all, everyone needs to be able to wash and drink. However, making a conscious effort to reduce water consumption can be achieved without your family needing to forego their basic needs. Harvesting rainwater to keep your plants hydrated is one way to save a lot of water and prevent drinking water from being used outdoors. Further water-saving measures can be implemented inside the house to reduce water waste. Getting leaks and dripping faucets fixed as soon as you notice them is a great place to start.

Other water-saving activities include switching your toilet flush and shower head for varieties designed to use less water. Taking showers rather than filling up the tub can also be an effective way to reduce water use, especially if you time your showers to make them just a few minutes long each time. One great way to save water is turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth. A vast amount of water is wasted every day by people keeping the tap running while they brush their teeth, and doing this twice a day only increases the amount of water that is wasted. So, this simple act can help to prevent a lot of waste.

5 Easy Ways to Start a Healthier Lifestyle

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Starting a healthier lifestyle is all about committing to lifelong health. When your desire to change overpowers your desire to indulge in unhealthy habits, you are ready to start a healthy lifestyle. If you are serious about making changes, here are five tips on how to begin a healthy lifestyle to get you started.

  1. Start Eating Healthier

When you decide to lead a healthier lifestyle, the first thing to work on is your diet. Begin by incorporating healthy foods like fruits and veggies into your meals rather than completely changing your eating habits. Your body and mind need time to adjust, so don’t rush the process.

If you take it slow at first, you can change your eating behaviors. Include health vitamins into your daily eating plan to make up for any nutritional deficiencies you may have. Over time, you may discover that you are more capable of changing up your meal plan completely!

  1. Keep A Schedule

As human beings, we have internal body clocks that keep in time with nature. This means we need to begin paying attention to the sunrise and sunset and how these times interact with our eating and sleeping habits.

With so much artificial light in our lives, it can be challenging to know what time to go to bed, wake up, eat, and so on. Your best bet is to stop eating before 7 pm and wake up as early as possible while still getting eight hours of sleep. Aim to go to bed around 10 pm, and you are golden for an early start.

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  1. Incorporate Some Exercise

Give yourself time to adjust to exercise. As you start to build a habit of regular exercise, you can increase the intensity. You might consider joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer to help you reach your goals. Remember that caring for your body is caring for your mind.

  1. Practice Letting Go

We all know that stress has adverse effects on your body. An important part of building a healthy lifestyle is learning how to let go of the stress that we carry. Make an effort to take up a daily practice of letting go.

Whether you choose to meditate, enjoy a home-cooked meal, or take a bath, make your rituals intentional so that you notice the stress lifting from your shoulders.

Self-care is critical to building a healthy lifestyle. You can find many meditation apps for download to help you work on letting go. Try integrating them into your daily practice to help you destress. The more you practice, the easier this process gets.

  1. Keep A Journal

You can find journals that incorporate fitness logs and food diaries as part of their template format to make things easier to keep track of. There are also grid paper journals that make it easy to customize what you write into organized boxes.

As you make changes, you will want to be tracking your progress. Keeping a record of your thoughts and feelings about your lifestyle changes will make it easier for you to reflect and look back on areas you can improve upon. Journaling is also an excellent outlet for stress, helping you to improve your mental health as well.

The Bottom Line

Starting up a healthy lifestyle means taking baby steps and tracking your progress as you go. Do what works for you regarding your eating habits and exercise, and prioritize sticking to a sleep schedule that honors your internal body clock. Do all of these things, and soon, you will find that you have reached a healthier state of being.