My 8 Eco-Friendly Practices in Day to Day Life
Living sustainably doesn’t require a complete Lifestyle overhaul; small, everyday actions can make a significant impact. As part of my Where Bloggers Live group and the prompt about sustainability, I thought I’d share 8 of my eco-friendly practices in day-to-day life.
Quote of the day: “You don’t learn to walk by following the rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” Richard Branson
My list of eco-friendly practices in my day to day life is in no way extensive, nor is it meant to shame those who do not do these things.
Yet it’s one of those trends we see in the news and on all media sites to help out our Earth. Meaning, just taking one idea at a time and changing our habits is a good thing.
I bet most of you do these eco-friendly practices in day to day life, but if not, it’s never too late to start. Just the fact that many of our parents or grandparents grew up in the Depression, gives us a different perspective on waste and using what we have.
This isn’t the first time I’ve explored this idea of eco-friendly practices in day to day life if you want more in-depth ideas.
1-Support Local Farmers and Stores
The idea of shopping locally means there are fewer miles the products have to go to get from production to usage.
It also boosts our local Economy which keeps our Money in the community.
It’s one reason that I love supporting Just Be Youtiful. I bet there is a local budget-oriented boutique in your neck of the woods too.
Insider tip: Supporting our local stores does not always mean you have to buy things. Just sharing and engaging with them on social media and helping to spread the word is greatly appreciated by any small business.
2-Reduce Food Waste
We try to do everything possible to use the food we buy, even when it starts to go bad or doesn’t taste that great.
For instance, when we get a blah watermelon, we make Watermelon Gazpacho (recipe by Gimme Some Oven).
Insider tip: Recently I made a strawberry sauce out of the strawberries that were going bad. Instead of throwing them out, I cut out the bad parts threw the unspoiled parts in water with some honey, and boiled them down. It was delicious on our protein pancakes.
When vegies are past their prime, it’s easy enough to throw them in a bag in the freezer and once the bag is full, make vegetable stock.
3-Don’t Throw Out-Pass On
If you follow eco-conscious people, you’ve heard that most items donated to thrift stores end up in 3rd world countries and aren’t being used.
There are a couple of other options besides continuously purging clothes. While I’m concentrating on clothes for these ideas, you could also have a swap with home decor or beauty items.
- Have a swap with friends where you each bring a couple of items and leave with the same amount of “new to you” things.
- Try a clothing rental service. I know it sounds strange, but it gives you “new” clothes on rotation. Your Revolving Closet even gives you a 28-day free trial which is easy, risk-free, and fabulous.
- Think about #4. Even if you aren’t super handy with a sewing machine, there are a ton of YouTube videos to help you out. I just shared some of my easy sewing alterations that I have done.
4-Upcycle
This is one of my favorite eco-friendly practices in day to day life because I get to be creative as well as feel good about what I’m doing.
While you could consider #5 as upcycling in itself, I think of upcycling as taking something and making it something else entirely.
Insider tip: You don’t necessarily need to “do” anything to items to upcycle them in my definition. Just using an item in a different way would work. For example, how I use this vase to house my scrubber.
But I love being able to really change things up like I did with these jeans and transformed them into a skirt.
5-Buy Secondhand
I talk about shopping in thrift stores all the time and have a ton of articles about how, why, and what to buy.
Beyond that, there are many online thrift stores in case your area is lacking in them.
- If you live in the UK, Preworn is wonderful. They do ship to the US, but the shipping cost could be preventative for those living in the USA. I have a discount code: JODIEFILOGOMO
- thredUp—this link gives you $10 (and me in return).
6-Avoid Single Use Plastics
Some of these practices have become habits over the years and seem obvious. But that’s the whole thing about eco-friendly practices in our day to day life. Once you start doing them over and over, they seem normal. Here’s what we do.
- Reusable bags for all shopping-not just the grocery store.
- Reusable water bottles (making sure they are plastic-free)
- Choose products with less packaging including bulk items.
Insider tip: Sprouts has some wonderful bulk products including almond flour, raisins, and nuts. While we use the plastic bags that are provided, I have a friend who takes her own containers.
7-Sustainable Cleaning and Beauty Products
This has been a slow process for us, but here are a few of the eco-friendly products I’ve incorporated into my day to day life.
- Wild deodorant, body wash, and lip balms. This brand incorporates refills of their products so you aren’t buying new plastic over and over. I like them so much, I signed up to be an affiliate and even have a discount code if you’re interested: JODIESTOUCH.
- Biodegradable cleaning items. We ordered this and this. Although the idea of buying things on Amazon isn’t super eco-conscious, the convenience wins out many times.
- Earth Breeze eco sheets for laundry. Not only are these better for our health and the environment, but they are much smaller and thus easier to store.
8-Support Eco-Friendly products
While this runs along the lines of #7, I added this to my list of eco-friendly products for my day to day life so I could include clothing brands.
If you listen to the news, then you know that fashion is one of the worst contenders for creating a lot of textile waste and for using harmful chemicals.
Insider tip: Many brands are “greenwashing” which means they are basically lying about being sustainable and eco-conscious.
Does that mean we have to spend hours doing research to see if the brand is truthful?
Honestly, I think we can only do so much. At least try to look for sustainable brands, and down the line, we will learn if they are real or not.
Brands I have personally worn-some found when thrifting.
Facts: Jodie’s Touch of Style is supported by my readers. I partner with affiliate platforms where commission may be earned based on your purchases. If you decide to buy anything I’ve promoted, I appreciate you using my link. These links help bloggers like me to fund the content that we provide, plus they tell companies that blogging marketing works. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Where Bloggers Live
What is Where Bloggers Live? It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and hear all about the personal backstories and interesting details?
FYI, we don’t all post at the same time since we all have different schedules and live in different parts of the country.
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own
The Series
We’ve been doing this fun series for a long time as you can see by the prompts below. These are only from the last year or so. Feel free to visit any that might strike your fancy.
A Day in the Life: Weekend
Medicine Cabinet
Art Collection
Favorite Kitchen Appliances
If You Could Time Travel
What’s in my Suitcase (When it’s Empty)
My Hair Journey
Gratitude: Inspired by Women
Favorite Holiday Decor
Staying Warm in Winter
Messy & Odd Side by Side Refrigerator Organization
My Money Mismanagement
Seasons of your Life
Better health when bored at night
Vacation-Palm Springs
Things I Can’t Live Without
Thank You
I hope I thank you enough because your support allows me to continue this journey which I LOVE!!!
Supporting a blog can be easy and free. Just visiting my pages, clicking my links (especially for Small Businesses and sponsored posts), and sharing the things you like on your social media make a huge difference. Spreading the word is how I can reach more wonderful people like you!
Or feel free to “buy me a coffee” which is a monetary way to tell me that you enjoy reading my blog.
I hope you at least sign up for the emails below. Besides the free eBook, my email family gets personal tidbits of what’s going on in my life along with other happenings, sales, information, giveaways, extra photos, and interesting articles.
Welcome to Jodie’s Touch of Style. I’m here to prove that it’s never too late to look great. Clothing and style are meant to showcase your inner personality. So let’s have fun and try new things.
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