Being sustainable should always be a main priority, especially since the effects of global warming and climate change are becoming more present than ever. Each person has their own individual responsibility to lead an environmentally friendly lifestyle, and that should include the way that you run your property, too. Thankfully there are so many sustainable swaps that you can make around your home to reduce your carbon footprint and cut the detrimental impact that you have on the planet, and it couldn’t be simpler to get started today. So, if you’re interested in finding out more, then simply read on! 

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In The Kitchen 

The kitchen is one of the worst places when it comes to environmentally damaging practices and investments, as there are a number of common items inside the average household that can in fact be extremely damaging to the environment. Start off with your kitchen itself, and consider whether there might be anything that you can sell or get rid of – do any of your appliances use too much electricity? Do you have a wide number of plastic equipment that cannot be safely recycled? It’s vital that you can take the time to investigate your individual kitchen, as each person will have their own issues to face and conquer. As a general rule, the more that you can use your hands in the kitchen, the less you will rely on modern machinery – in the past electrical equipment was taken nowhere near a kitchen, so you don’t need to waste money, energy and time by using such pointless items. Wave goodbye to non-sustainable kitchen goods like plastic food bags and plastic container boxes, as you can find eco-friendly alternatives made from earth loving ingredients that will not do the planet any harm. 

The food that you eat can also have a huge impact on your carbon footprint and the sustainability of your kitchen as a whole, so it’s vital that you can better understand the implications of a bad diet. There are a number of food issues that can cause real damage to the planet, starting off with exotic fruits and vegetables that have traveled around the world to reach your dinner plate. Most foods have things known as ‘food miles’ that show you just how far your food has had to come, but the higher this number, the worse the environmental impact will be. Consider that the average mango can take lorries, ships, trains and planes just to arrive at your local British supermarket, so you’re essentially funding an array of very harmful practices that should be actively avoided. Find a local farmers market that sells produce from your home country to cut your carbon footprint like never before. 

Additionally, choosing to eat a more plant based diet in your home can be of real benefit to mother nature. The meat and animal agriculture industry is one of the worst groups when it comes to environmental damage, as a number of processes relating to the rearing of animals can be very toxic and dangerous. Animals such as pigs create toxic waste that needs to be dealt with appropriately, but oftentimes it’s left to seep into natural waterways to poison rivers and lakes and everything that lives inside them. To add to this, the sheer quantities of water and grain used to raise something like a cow far outweighs the volume of beef that you can expect to get from the animal. Farm animals also produce an excess of methane gas, so increasing the number of these animals on the planet will lead to a further increase in dangerous greenhouse gases. Opt for vegetarian or vegan foods wherever possible if you would like to combat the error of your ways.

In The Bathroom 

Next, it’s time to revamp your bathroom. There are so many things that you can change in your bathroom to lead a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, starting off with your towels. Many people use bath towels that are made from mass-manufactured artificial materials such as polyester which is in fact derived from petroleum, so there’s no time like the present to investigate the sustainability of your bathroom and it’s contents. You can swap your detrimental polyester towel for more eco-friendly bamboo towels or even simple cotton towels, as both of these plant based options would be far more sustainable and easier to dispose of when the time comes. Be sure to swap out your hand towel and washcloth too, as these can also be manufactured from artificial ingredients. 

The products that you use in your bathroom should be your next focus, as they likely contain a number of very harmful ingredients that are causing bad side effects for the local and international environment. Big brands have little value for the planet and its inhabitants, focusing mainly on profit over everything else – this is proven in their products, as they are often filled to the brim with dangerous chemicals and other scary ingredients that can cause both you and local wildlife to feel the effects. Fortunately it doesn’t have to be difficult to find a solution to such a problem, as there are so many conscious beauty brands that offer their own ranges of totally natural products that you can make the most of. For starters, you can try out an all-natural shampoo bar that doesn’t need any kind of plastic packaging or harsh chemicals to do its job properly. You can find an organic body wash made from luxurious earth-friendly ingredients, and even source a delectable perfume that lacks any kind of filler or carriers that can be so chemical. 

Even the products that you use to clean in your bathroom can be swapped for more sustainable alternatives, as you can use lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda to clean almost every item in your bathroom including your sinks and shower. Stay away from chemical cleaners that can be extremely detrimental to waterways and local wildlife, as just a couple of drops of bleach spray could kill an enormous portion of your local wildlife population if it were to make its way into a river system or lake.