1. Use a reusable bag & water bottle. Single-use plastic takes more than 500 years to decompose. Straws, plastic bags, and six-pack rings continue to pollute the environment and hurt marine life. Next time, think of Mother Earth and fill up a permanent water bottle or bring your canvas bag when shopping.

2. Eat local! Cook a weekly family meal with only locally grown food. Processed food in the U.S. travels over 1,300 miles, while fresh produce takes about 1,500 miles to get to your table. Eating local supports local farmers and cuts down on “food miles” which means fewer carbon emissions.

3. Take shorter showers. The average person wastes up to 30 gallons of water every day without even realizing it. If you can get through with scrubbing and rinsing in under 5 minutes, you’ve already done a lot! Every minute and drop counts when it comes to water conservation.

4. Try a meat-free diet. Meat farming leads to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. In addition to your own health, vegetarian or vegan diet is far better for our environment than those including meat. Meat lovers, try some of the non-gmo alternatives like pea-based ground beef.

5. Switch to online billing. About one billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S., a large part of these is utility bills, brochures, and catalogs that no one ever reads. Help our planet recover from trash by choosing online statements. This also reduces the amount of paper that goes to landfills.

6. Collect rainwater. Our planet appears blue from outer space, but we can use only 1% for drinking and cooking. Don’t let the rainwater run off your roof into a storm drain. Collect the runoff from your roof in a rain barrel and use it to water your garden and lawn when there’s no rain.

7. Buy green products. Non-recyclable waste is becoming a major issue in every corner of the world. During the lockdown, packaging waste increased by 53%. Instead of paper towels and wet wipes, buy reusable kitchen towels or make your cleaning rags from old t-shirts and socks.

8. Use LED bulbs. Traditional light bulbs use 75% more energy and last 40 times less than new LED bulbs. This means not only more emissions but also more waste. Replace all light bulbs in your home with new LED bulbs. You’ll not only save energy, but also forget when was the time you had to replace a bulb.

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