Practical changes for your home that help reduce waste and save money
Little things add up to big things
There’s this myth that in order to make a difference in the fight against climate change, a person has to be a perfect, zero waste, vegan and change every aspect of their life. This myth has been created to make individual people feel powerless, so they will go on with the status quo. This way, the environmental movement doesn’t gain momentum, and nothing actually changes.
Thankfully, this myth is not true at all. One of my favorite quotes and one that fuels me to action, was said by G. K. Chesterton “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly”. Doing the best that you can, even if that’s not perfect, is better than doing nothing. The best example of this I’ve ever heard is, “Imagine you learn how to fly, but you can only get 5 feet off the ground. You’re still flying. That’s still incredible.” Stretching for 10 minutes is better than not moving your body at all, reading just 5 pages is better than not picking up the book, and just switching 1 or 2 products from single use to reusable is better than not trying. You don’t have to change your whole life to help change the world. If every single person does what they can, the impacts will be substantial.
You’re reading the concerning science, your community is experiencing the heat waves and other extreme weather, and you’re feeling what psychologists have termed “climate anxiety”. There’s a lot of panic right now, but that panic means people are finally waking up. Now let’s take those anxious feelings and turn them into action.
Action Suggestions:
Recycling
70% of people in urban/suburban areas and 40% of rural residents have access to curbside recycling.
If you don’t already have a recycling bin, go onto the website of your municipality to see if you can request one from your local government.
Once you have your recycling bin, look up the “recycling guide” for your city/county, because different areas recycle different materials. For instance, I live in Seattle, WA, where they take all plastic containers. But, when I lived in San Luis Obispo, they only wanted plastics #1 and #2.
It’s very helpful for recycling centers for you to recycle the materials they can actually process, because the materials they can’t process are then shipped to the landfill anyways. Save some gas and only give them what they can take.
If you are unable to get recycling at your place of residence, some areas do have recycling centers that will often buy the materials from you (granted not very much). The professor I had in college drank a ridiculous amount of Fresca sparkling water, so he would sell the cans to a recycling center to get a little bit of money back.
Compost:
This is one that I am personally working on being better at.
Almost a quarter of municipal solid waste is food waste. Meaning all of the energy and water and time that went into making and growing that food, and transporting it all over the country (or the world) is wasted.
Find out if your municipality has a compost initiative or a local curbside service.
If not, and you want to start your own, there are tons of awesome resources online on how to start composting in your own home! You don’t need a huge backyard or acres of land. My aunt farms worms in her garage to break down their food waste.
One way to reduce food waste before it becomes waste is to only purchase food that you know will be consumed. I do this by 1) never grocery shopping hungry, and 2) making a meticulous shopping list. These two steps will keep you from impulse buying while shopping.
Let that grass grow:
While lawns have been an American staple, they require constant management and chemicals, and they don’t provide any real habitat for wildlife. Luckily, there is a very simple solution; if you have a lawn, let it grow! Stop all mowing and pesticides and watering, and just let it grow. This not only saves you money on gas for the mower, water to keep the grass green, and any chemicals you’re buying, but it gives wildlife another place to live.
Single use to reusable:
Walk around your house and make a list of everything that’s single use. Cups, towels, sponges, etc.
The next time you go to purchase anything on the list, have a look around the store (or go online) and see if there’s a reusable alternative.
Here are some of my personal favorite switches:
Keurig cups: If you own a Keurig like me, and you notice how much waste is created by throwing away a plastic cup every single day, it’s time to switch to a reusable one! I got mine for $10 each at Target and I have 3 of them (I’ve also seen reusable Nespresso pods online). 3 pods plus a bag of ground coffee (the one I buy is $5) plus tax is about $40 for an upfront cost. In this economy, not everyone has $40 to spend at once on coffee right now. But if we consider the fact that a 24 pack of keurig cups is going for $15 at Target right now, then that initial investment will have paid off in just over 2 months. I got my reusable cups with my keurig 2 years ago, and in that time, if I used about 1 bag of ground coffee a month, not only did I reduce how much waste I’m putting on the planet, but I saved $300 on at home coffee from my initial $40. Win win. An added bonus is being able to pick whatever coffee you like to use in it instead of just what keurig has in cup form!
Dish rags: This one has no purchase necessary! Just a change in mentality. The large majority of Americans have some form of dish rags in their home. Use these in place of paper towels for cleaning, spills, you name it. They work the same, if not better, and they can be washed and used again and again.
Cotton pads: I, like many women, used to use cotton pads and makeup wipes to remove my makeup. But this creates an item that we’re throwing away every single day. Several years ago, I saw a pack of reusable cotton pads at a sephora for $10 and I have been using the same ones ever since. I know that there are quite a few brands available online and most of them come with a bag that you can machine wash the dirty cotton pads in. The savings on this switch aren’t astronomical, but I like to think about how many pieces of trash I’ve kept out of the landfill by making one simple and inexpensive switch. Some small businesses also carry them made from repurposed fabric scraps, further reducing waste.
Recycled materials: For some single use products, there’s fewer practical switches to reusable. And sometimes you just need a regular tissue or paper towel. For those products, I try to find alternatives that are made out of recycled materials. I know that Target has tissue brands, and many grocery stores have toilet paper brands that are (or at least claim to be) made out of 100% recycled materials.
Energy:
Americans use a lot of energy. The average US household uses over 10,000 kWh per year, and 92% of that energy is coming from non-renewable resources.
Here’s a few simple tricks to help reduce everyday energy consumption.
Setting your washer on cold: your colors won’t bleed and you’ll save money on your energy bill!
Only wash full loads in your dishwasher and washing machine
If you’re not actively in and using an area of your house, the lights do not need to be on.
If there is sunlight outside that’s coming through the windows, the lights most likely don’t need to be on.
At the ballot box:
Voting, from city government to the presidential office, is vitally important. As you’re looking through voter pamphlets and researching candidates, look for truly green initiatives brought forth by that person. Did they get their town to start composting? Did they invest in renewable energy? Or, on the other side of the spectrum, are they a climate change denier? We need people who will fight for good in our governing bodies, for us and the planet. The more we make it known that addressing climate change is important to us, the more change we can make happen at every level.
Recommended Read: Elemental by Stephen Porder
Excellent nonfiction popular science book that very eloquently explains how climate change is affecting Earth’s systems and what we can do about it. It’s a great introduction into understanding the science of climate change. Even with a degree in biological sciences and a minor in environmental studies, I still learned quite a few things from this book. After recommending it to several friends and family members the reviews have been that it’s a great read. Bonus: I’ve met the author, and he’s a very nice guy.
As a conservation biologist with a passion for sustainability, it’s my genuine pleasure to share my knowledge with others. I hope this information was helpful, and I want to thank you for reading. Have a lovely day and get outside!