It is crucial now more than ever for people to be more conscious of how their lifestyle affects the environment.

There are a lot of conveniences in our lives that make living a lot easier. Still, the consequence of that is that our environment deteriorates. In relation to this, many people want to have an eco-friendly lifestyle but are afraid of letting go of such conveniences.

What people don’t know is that it’s much easier to shift towards a sustainable lifestyle than they initially think.

There are a lot of small, environment-friendly changes that you can apply in your daily life. So, if you’re interested in making the shift, then here are nine small changes that you should consider applying to your life:

Refrain from using plastic

One of the things that you should stop using in your life would be plastic. Plastic takes a thousand years to decompose. However, its lasting adverse impact in the environment is not worth the wait.

You can find plastic covering ocean surfaces all over the world. Not to mention that plenty of animals fall victim to plastic. Either they mistakenly consume plastic as food or get tangled in it and end up dying because of it.

Reducing your plastic usage is going to help you reduce the number of plastic material left in trash dumps. You can reduce plastic usage in simple ways. One example would be to stop drinking water from plastic bottles. Bringing a reusable water bottle is a lot better.

Go paperless

We live in an increasingly digital age, so it makes sense for you to let go of paper and start going paperless. By reducing your paper usage, you help reduce the number of trees chopped down every year.

Going paperless won’t only benefit the tree; it will also benefit you in the long run. If your office or home office has a lot of paper inside then it can be a fire hazard. That’s because the paper is a combustible material. Plus, paper all over the office makes it less than attractive to look at anyway.

Converting your documents to digital form makes them a lot more convenient to access them anywhere and anytime.

Cut back on your meat consumption

Cutting back on meat consumption is usually the last thing people are willing to do for the welfare of the environment.

However, reducing meat consumption doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to completely cut it out of your life. All you need to do is be more conscious and deliberate when you consume meat.

Taking care of livestock requires a lot of lands and a variety of natural resources. Livestock requires tons of water to all sorts of chemicals that end up damaging the environment.

Reducing your meat consumption by once a week will be a massive impact in itself.

Switch to green cleaning products

The cleaning products that you use in your home are probably quite potent. You probably don’t think about how the harsh chemicals you use to clean your home could end in the environment when you wash it away.

If your cleaning products aren’t safe for you to be around in for a long time, what do you think happens when you wash it away?

Luckily, there are a lot of green cleaning products readily available commercially. You can find the green cleaning solutions in the same place you’re buying your current cleaning products.

Therefore, switching to green cleaning products is a minimal change that won’t change your way of life by a lot.

Cut down on energy usage

Cutting down on the amount of energy that you use in your home is another sustainable but straightforward change that you can adopt in your lifestyle.

There are a lot of simple changes that you can apply that allow you to cut down on energy usage. You can start by unplugging all the appliances that you aren’t using.

It would be best if you considered washing your clothes using colder water because washing machines use 85% of its energy to heat the water alone. While you’re at it, you might want to reduce your drier usage and off for drying your outfits on clotheslines instead.

Replace your lightbulbs

Replacing your old compact fluorescent light bulbs is going to help you be more energy efficient.

It’s better to use LED for any of your light fixtures because they use less energy and are brighter than your older light bulbs. They will also last longer than your older light bulbs, which will save you money in the long run.

Cloth over paper

Reduce your reliance on paper towels to wipe away the mess and spills in your home and use microfiber towels instead. You can even recycle an old shirt and cut it up to use as rags around the house.

Since you’re using a cloth to wipe these spills, you can wash the fabric instead of throwing them away and then use them again.

Reduce your travel carbon footprint

Instead of relying on cars to take you anywhere, you should use public transport. Using public transportation is a lot cheaper than using your vehicle. Aside from that, it doesn’t generate a lot of carbon footprint.

There are also alternatives, aside from public transport, to take you anywhere. Biking is a popular choice for many people because not only does it take you from point to point faster, but it’s also keeping you fit.

Caring for the environment starts with the smallest things – you don’t have to ditch your automobile and live in a hut running solar power. Instead, making small changes in every area of one’s life adds up to big changes for the environment as a whole.

Start recycling

Having a recycling bin inside your house makes it a lot easier for you to start recycling. You can also locate the nearest waste management facility to identify the places that could pick up your recyclables.

Recycling ensures that your garbage doesn’t end up in landfills. Instead, they end up finding a new life.

Having a more eco-friendly lifestyle can be intimidating if you’re only starting. However, as this article would show you, it’s simpler than you would initially believe. The smallest of changes can have the most significant impact. Hence, if you’re intimidated by completely renewing your lifestyle, you can start by applying these small changes instead.

About the Author

Jacky Xu is the Chief Operating Officer for Maid Sailors Cleaning Service Chicago. Maid Sailors take pride in providing unparalleled cleaning services at affordable prices. Maid Sailors help transform your house into a home.