11 things I do (and you can too) for the planet

In this article, I’ll walk you through things that I’m currently doing to reduce the waste that I produce. If you get inspired, let me know about it on the Earthfluence Instagram.
As I said in the previous article and I will keep saying, even small steps will highly contribute to Earth’s health. I may sound like a broken record, but it’s true. Don´t get tricked by people saying the opposite.
See the list below and imagine tens of thousands of us doing the following things:
1. I’m using my cloth bag for shopping
It’s never too late to learn how to shop more sustainable. I’ve started to occasionally use the cloth bag mostly because I felt guilty about my drawer full of plastic bags years ago. It became a habit and my go-to way how to shop.

I have the bag on my mind whenever I have to shop. I plan my afternoon shopping in the morning. If I forget the bag, I go home first and shop after with my bag. The bag is in my purse every store visit.
2. I’m collecting used oil
I do it for a couple of years since I found out how oils pollute water and harming the environment. Only 1 liter of oil can pollute 1 million liters of water. And if this can be recycled, why not do it?
How to collect the oil? You can do it like me…

I store the used oil in bottles. When I have 1–2 liters, I go to the closest Mol gas station and tell the cashiers that you have some oil for recycling and they will take it (applies to Romania only, if you live elsewhere, try to google your way how to do it). Simple as that.
I’ve heard that there are other ways to do it. However, I will talk about it in a future article after I get more into this subject.
3. I’m avoiding items wrapped in single-use plastic as much as possible
I do my best to avoid the items wrapped in single-use plastic. For example, I don’t buy croissants in the plastic pack in the morning anymore and avoid other sweets wrapped in plastic.
I ended up eating more fruits instead of sweets, so I would say it’s a win-win situation. Haven’t given up of chocolate tho. Have to find a tasty one wrapped in paper. :)
Fruits and vegetable areas in supermarkets are hard to come by. Fresh food wrapped in a single-use plastic. Or only plastic bags for unpacked ones. The sea of non-necessity.

What I try to do is to group more types of items in the same bag or print labels for each item on it -where possible. I use the plastic bags for garbage after.
It’s still difficult for me to find alternatives for some items -like the chicken in the picture.
Other non-Eco-friendly items are in the guilty pleasure area -like my favorite Greek yogurt in a plastic cup, the chewing gum, or the doughnuts. Sometimes the cravings are stronger than me.
I´ll try to test the idea of using a reusable cloth bag for vegetables. I will let you know about my little experiment soon. And as for the greek yogurt, I am currently trying to replace it. Dear me, please forgive me :)
4. Buying products in reusable package or paper bags
This is connected to the previous point. I try to buy products like milk, yogurt and tomato sauce in reusable packaging like glass bottles or glass jars as much as possible.

The jars can be used in so many ways and also are recyclable. Maybe think about to send them to parents for pickles. Yummy! :)
5. I cook and take the food to work
This is the most delicious part of the journey. It’s pretty awesome when your colleagues taste your food and are impressed. Especially my sweet potatoes won the day this week. :)

The cooking process is relaxing. I use that time to listen to some interviews or vlogs on YouTube.
I still have days when I don’t have time to cook due to my schedule. In those days I try to buy vegetables and make a salad. But sometimes I buy prepacked food in plastic.
I know, not ideal, but I am aware of it and I try to limit as much as I can. Nobody’s perfect, and I am far from that.
6. I use public transport and enjoy walking when possible
This is easy for me because I don’t have a driver’s license. So in some way, I am forced in this direction. However, I limit my rides with Uber, Bolt or another taxi at the same time. And I try to walk the distance whenever I have the opportunity.

7. Using hard soap instead of liquid soap
I can say that it’s already a couple of years since I stopped using liquid soap for washing my hands. I use it also for washing my body.
The only struggle is that I have a favorite shower gel in a plastic bottle. So I try to avoid buying it.

8. I use my own mug at work for water, coffee or tea
I use my cups and glass at work. I have 4 cute mugs and 2 nice coffee cups. I don’t use any single-use plastic cups, forks, knives, etc. anymore.
We have everything we need in the office (still have also the plastic variants tho).

9. Use dishtowel and gave up of the paper variant
This is actually a new change (a couple of months).
What I can say is that it is possible to “survive” without a paper dishtowel even though I didn’t believe it could be possible. Paper towel comes wrapped in plastic anyway. So I think it’s a good and super easy switch.

10. I try to recycle
And I say “I try” because, as you know, the story in Romania is quite complicated. We don’t have a national recycling infrastructure, so the process is not frictionless.
What I try to do is to recycle what I can at work and occasionally use the special bins from the street. Still trying to figure out how to make this process also smooth in my neighborhood.
11. Influence people around me
The last but definitely not least point on my list. I use every opportunity to speak about these things with the people around me.
I´m trying to talk this topic up, listening to others, and build on their ideas to improve my actions and impact that I´m trying to achieve.
Behavior change won’t happen at the drop of a hat. It’s not easy. It’s not quick. But sometimes we don’t realize that the sustainable option is right in front of our eyes. We just need the right trigger.
Take baby steps, like me. Don´t wait too tong tho. We have only 11 years to save the planet.
Key takeaway
I genuinely believe following the list above is pretty easy. Maybe you’re even already doing some actions from it.
The most important thing is to care about the future and start the journey. Today we can bring the cloth bag to the store, tomorrow use the cloth dishtowel and continue with more and more new habits. Take it as a challenge.
