100 Tips To Live a More Sustainable Lifestyle

What does it mean to live a more sustainable lifestyle?

This is a question of great value to many. Since 2014, many consumers have focused primarily on abandoning the consumption of animal products, and many of us are proud of this personal development, but it is only one aspect of what conscious consumption means.

As we can see described in Wikipedia, sustainable life consists in having a lifestyle that reduces the individual or social use of the Earth’s natural resources and personal resources.

You may think that it is a waste of time to reduce your environmental footprint by checking that other people around you are not doing their part. But when you analyze the small steps you take, you can see that it has more power than you thought.

To make you think of all those things you can do to have a more sustainable life, we have created a list of more than 100 tips for you to live in a greener and a happier way. They are cataloged in all those areas that represent our lives. You may already be doing some of these things, or maybe all of them, which would be great! But hopefully, you can start performing some of these sustainable habits to do your part to help Mother Nature.

Let’s get into the tips.

Living sustainably around the house

1. Use LED lighting or CFL bulbs instead of incandescent lighting as it’s proven to last longer, which reduces the need to keep purchasing light bulbs.
2. Put on an extra layer of clothing instead of turning on the heating. Seriously, doubling up on your socks does wonders!
3. Open up your blinds and use as much natural light as possible before switching on your light bulbs. You all get to enjoy some more sunshine.
4. Turn off your lights when you leave a room.
5. Put up a no junk mail sign on your letterbox to limit the amount of paper waste.
6. Hang your wet clothes on a drying line or rack instead of using a powered dryer.
7. Hand wash your clothes, particularly if you only have a few items to clean.
8. Start timing your showers. Or better yet, invest in a shower timer.
9. Grow your own herbs, fruit and vegetables even if it’s just a few pots around the house, it all helps!
10. Turn off your devices at night, including your wifi box.
11. Get a water-saving showerhead.
12. Use organic fertilisers.
13. Purchase recycled toilet paper with plastic-free packaging.
14. On the topic of toilets, use scrap paper, newspaper, or toilet paper to collect pet poo.

Sustainable fashion

1. Buy second-hand clothes where possible.
2. Become a minimalist and take the 333-time capsule challenge.
3. Invest in better quality items that last longer. Slow fashion trumps fast fashion.
4. Support fashion brands that are ethical and environmentally conscious.
5. Learn how to find sustainable materials when shopping.
6. Reduce how frequently you wash your clothes.
7. Repurpose old clothes as rags or donate to a local mechanic if no longer wearable.
8. Acquire basic sewing skills to patch holes and sew buttons back on. Or if you have a bigger job, take to an alterations shop.
9. Transform old clothes into new garments. For example, a dress you don’t wear can be turned into a top and skirt.
10. Shop at sustainable clothing outlets that offer post-purchase repair services

Sustainable beauty

1. Go makeup-free for one week each month.
2. Limit the amount of water you use to brush your teeth.
3. Make your own face cleanser and scrub.
4. Use reusable cotton pads for removing your makeup.
5. Don’t leave the water running when cleaning your face.
6. Consider using shampoo bars to reduce packaging.
7. Read labels for toxic and harmful chemicals.
8. Share products with your family, e.g. deodorant, shampoo etc.
9. Use multipurpose bathroom products.
10. Buy bigger bottles less often, as opposed to smaller bottles more often. It also works out to be cheaper.
11. Repurpose your empty bottles and jars. You could use them for travel, storing cotton buds, bobby pins and hair ties.
12. Donate used and unwanted products to places like Project Beauty Share.
13. Use reusable pads or menstrual cups.

Sustainable technology

1. Use solar energy charges for your smartphones and tablets.
2. Use rechargeable batteries where possible.
3. Recycle your devices when ready to dispose of.
4. Donate your old devices to schools and other institutions.
5. Use e-waste recycling programs when disposing of your electronics.
6. Switch to cloud computing and move away from physical hard drives and servers.
7. Get your devices repaired instead of buying new ones.
8. Switch to a sustainable search engine like Ecosia. They use some of their profits to plant trees, and they run on 100% renewable energy.
9. If you do need to buy new appliances, look second hand first.
10. But if you can’t find something second-hand, buy energy-efficient technology.

Have a sustainable livestyle!

Sustainable lifestyle

1. Spend more time outside.
2. Eat more whole foods. Better yet, go vegan!
3. Become a member of your local food co-op.
4. Plant a tree with someone.
5. Borrow books from the library instead of purchasing them directly.
6. Read your favourite newspaper publications online instead of reading the paper versions.
7. Create a video, a slideshow or a blog post of how you implemented these ideas and publish them publicly.
8. Regularly prepare home-cooked meals and save on takeaway storage containers.
9. Adopt pets instead of buying them from a breeder. There are so many orphaned pets out there who need a family. And the same can be said for children!
10. Stop accepting disposable cutlery and napkins.
11. Have a sniffle? Carry around your own handkerchief instead of using disposable tissues.