Everyone is feeling a little (or a lot) more climate anxiety these days. If you haven’t seen the headlines about the dooming reports, David Attenborough making a depressing reflection on his life’s work, or heard of Extinction Rebellion, it’s time to start some reading. And while we all know big corporations are the most responsible for this, there are some really easy eco-friendly changes you can make at home to make a big difference. Living a lower waste life is a way to vote with how we live, push green trends and show governments that we care about environmental impact.
In the Kitchen
Grocery Bags
Everyone has at least one reusable grocery bag. Try your best to keep it in your bag somewhere, or choose paper bags over plastic if they’re an option.
Mesh Produce Bags
I picked mine u in grocery stores, but you can buy them from a variety of places online or DIY some if you’re feeling crafty. Great for transporting harvest from the store or the garden.
Storing Food in Glass
If I have the option to buy anything in glass, I choose it. Most sauce and pasta jars live on as leftover storage, to store dried herbs and spices, and for making oil infusions.
Dish Scrub
Sponges should be washed or tossed often to prevent bacteria. Instead, get a bamboo and bristle dish scrub you can use for years.
I have a second one for cleaning veggies and under my nails after being in the garden.
Plastic Free Dish Soap
Re-use a plastic bottle or get a glass one to refill. You can get dried packets you drop into water or concentrate in cardboard bottles. You can also get plastic-free dishwasher tablets, as all tide pods have plastic in them.
No Paper Towel
For years I didn’t think that moving away from paper towels would make a whole lot of difference, but a financial blog helped me change my views on that. Some households can save over $100 a year by making this easy eco-friendly change.
Buying Local Produce
Eating from your local farmers helps support small businesses and reduces the amount of space a vegetable has travelled. This not only does this reduce the vegetable’s carbon footprint, but it also stays fresher longer in your fridge.
Start an Herb Garden
Fresh herbs are such an easy way to up your home cooking. There are both countertop options or you can have a hydroponic wall. Herbs are expensive, and you can dry and save extras.
Composting
When biodegradable things go in the trash, they produce nasty products when they break down. Divert the food waste and up your gardening level with a hidden compost.
Reduce Meat Consumption
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was in 7th grade, but cutting cold turkey (hahaha) can be hard. Try keeping lunches vegetarian, with other types of protein to feel lighter in the afternoon, or try a vegetarian night once a week. There are lots of great places to find inspiration for recipes and it will expand your food knowledge tenfold.
Choose Hand-Powered
Choosing a simple and reliable product for your everyday needs in the kitchen can save energy and complicated manufacturing processes. Choose a french press over a Keurig, or a mortar, pestle, and Microplane over a spice grinder.
Reuseable Baking Mats
Good for everything from cookies to pizza to french fries. Also really good for rolling out dough on a counter. If you need to freeze pastry dough, you can layer them on top of each other and be efficient in small kitchens.
In the Bathroom
Shampoo and Conditioner
If you haven’t caught on yet, getting rid of plastic from your purchases really is the basis for most of these easy eco-friendly changes. Go Canadian and find great scents at one of my favourite stores, Jack59.
Plastic-Free Toothpaste
Anyone who travels frequently needs this. You can bring 2 months’ worth of toothpaste on any flight in just your check-in baggage, and you never have to worry about it spilling in your toiletries bag. Also great for camping.
Plastic-Free Deoderant
Everyone complains that it’s hard finding a natural deodorant that keeps you actually feeling fresh, and while I still use Secret Clinical Strength on days I’m Working outside, these two are great for anything other than manual labour outdoors in the summer.
Low Flow Shower Heads
This is a great way to make your rental feel more like your own space. And if you’re going to do this anyway, why not chose an eco-friendly upgrade? Showerheads are easy to switch, so choose one that makes you feel really pampered.
Bamboo Toothbrushes
I saw my first bamboo toothbrush in a grocery store when I was a teenager and honestly, it makes so much sense. The plastic isn’t really necessary, so this easy eco-friendly change is a no-brainer.
Feminine Hygiene
Feminine hygiene products come with a gambit of risks. From blood infections to the pollution they cause, there are eco-friendly products out there to suit everyone’s needs.
Washable Shower Liner
Bathrooms are a humid place and eventually, your shower liner will get stained. A washable shower liner makes so much more sense than a throw-away one.
Cotton Facecloths
Good for washing your body, face, removing makeup. Have them in one or two thicknesses. There are tons of DIY’s to make your own cotton makeup removers.
Plastic-Free Toilet Paper
Not just plastic-free, you can find ones that are made of recycled materials, bamboo, or have reduced water input to make. Why not just have environmentally friendly TP delivered right to you?
General Household
Cleaning Supplies
You can make eco-friendly cleaning products right at home, starting with lemon skins and vinegar. For the more heavy-duty cleaners, there are plenty of companies eliminating plastic, sending out concentrates, and reducing landfill in other creative ways.
Lightbulbs
LEDs are 20-80% more efficient than incandescents and can produce up to 90% less heat. making sure you make this switch in apartment buildings can save you big money on your electricity bills.
Certified B Corps
It’s inevitable that in your eco-friendly journeys, you will need to buy new things instead of DIYing. Look for corporations that are doing their best to make sure their best to reduce their negative impact, or even making a positive one.
Thrifting
Nope, not only for clothing. Buying cheap furniture creates huge amounts of waste. Save money and visit the Re-store or Facebook marketplace to find your next DIY Project.
Laundry Swaps
Plastic-free detergent, re-useable dryer balls, and hang drying are the easiest swaps to make your laundry choice more eco-friendly. You can refill your dryer balls with a different sent every 3 months.
Window Insulation
If you’ve lived in a new condo with beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows… you know how cold those windows can get! Save yourself some money on heating bills and save the planet by getting clear window insulation that is crazy easy to apply.
Eco Friendly Cards
Thank you cards are so important. And it can help to have a few extra birthday cards lying around for last-minute meet-ups. Why not choose something from a charity, made of recycled materials, or a plantable one!
Paint
Many people who are renting don’t want to paint because they don’t want to invest the time in a temporary space but paint makes such a difference in making a home. Choose something that’s manufactured well and won’t poison you while you’re painting.
Houseplants
So, houseplants can only do soo much for your interior, but growing your green thumb slowly will help you make a big impact in the long term. Nasa created a list of houseplants that are the most effective at filtering air, but growing food also reduces your carbon footprint.
Power Strips
Most electronics still use some amount of power when they are turned off and plugged into the wall. Using a power bar allows you to fully turn off all your electronics in one go when you’re leaving a room.
Use What You Have
If there is some way to DIY something, if you can re-use scrap fabrics or furniture you no longer love, that is the simplest way to make a green choice.
There are a lot of things that cant be recycled, and end up in landfills. Black plastic, cardboard contaminated with food waste, and 30% of Toronto’s recycling go to landfills due to contamination.
Puppy Supplies
Eco-friendly Poop Bags
So if you want to go all out, there are ways to build a dog poop composter, but you should probably have a backyard to do that well.
If you are just composting on your balcony, you should still throw dog poop in green bins in Toronto.
Fruits as puppy treats
Blueberries, strawberries, carrots, and cucumbers are all okay for your dog and can be grown on a balcony! Kora loves frozen strawberries after a hot walk.
Washable Pee-Pad
Great for training a new puppy, have two on hand so you have an extra while the other is in the wash.
To use it past potty training, line the bottom of their crate with this super absorbable pad. Perfect for road trips and going back to working outside the house.
