Sustainability in everyday life

We hate to break it to you but there’s really no such thing as zero-waste in a society that promotes consumerism. Everywhere you look, there’s the scope for a lot of trash generation. From eating out at a restaurant that serves water in plastic bottles to buying clothes online that come wrapped up in needless packaging, there’s no escaping the whirlpool of waste. But just because you will inevitably create waste as you go about our daily lives doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be mindful of our habits and tread lightly on the planet. Here are some simple habits that you can incorporate in your life to ensure you are living as sustainably as possible.

 Begin a journey towards minimalism

Minimalism doesn’t mean you should live without anything but it will force you to reconsider your purchases and put what you have to maximum use. It will also have you considering your options instead of giving in to impulse buys. For instance, if you need a new flower pot but you don’t want to buy one then you will invariably look for things in your home that you can repurpose into a pot. It could be an old ceramic vase or a chipped mug. Embracing minimalism will have you tapping into your creative side as well. Create a capsule wardrobe to practice minimalism in your clothing choices. There are many content creators on Instagram and YouTube who post about their minimalism journey. You can follow a few to get started.

Repair what’s broken

More often than not, people tend to throw out things that are broken instead of fixing them. Since the market is saturated with products, you can easily replace anything. But repairing clothes, electronics, and other household items will not only be an eco-friendly option, it will also help you save money. You can easily fix a tear or refix some buttons on a shirt. You can mend most electronic items with a little help from YouTube and for those that are beyond your grasp, a local handyman will surely be able to get the job done. Invest in some strong glue or a glue gun to fix minor things around the house.

 Reuse what you have

One of the easiest ways to create less waste and buy less things is to reuse what you have. From old clothes that no longer fit to shopping bags, everything can be used again with a little creativity and effort. Old clothes can be used as rags or repurposed into other things like tote bags and scrunchies. Carrying a shopping bag with you means you won’t need to turn to plastic bags or buy another cloth bag at the departmental store. A lot of people ApEx spoke to confessed that they often forget to carry reusable shopping bags. This means they have accumulated a lot of such bags over time. Whenever possible, opt for reusable items rather than single-use, disposable things.

Plan your shopping to save food

Most households buy a lot more groceries than they consume and throw out things on a regular basis. Food waste is a big problem. To tackle that, use a shopping list to buy what you really need. Check what you have in stock. It’s much cheaper to buy things in bulk but if you end up throwing most of it away, you haven’t really saved, have you? If you have some ingredients that are about to go bad, google them and you’ll get plenty of recipes of dishes you can whip up with just those ingredients. Consider shopping with a friend to share what you both don’t need a lot of. For example, if that multigrain bread you want to buy only comes in big loaves and you need a few slices at the most, you can split it with a friend instead of bringing the whole thing home, only to throw away most of it a few days later.

Look for ways to cut down consumption

One of the best ways to adopt an eco-friendly life is to use as little resources as possible. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Walk short distances instead of taking the bike or the car. Or take the public transport when you can. Use washing up water to water your plants. Sign up for paperless billing and banking services. Say no to the customer copy of receipts at the departmental store. You will get the notification on your phone or via email anyway. Consider making vegetable broth from food scraps. All you need to do is save the scraps in a large container and boil them with water when you think you have enough. Strain them for a delicious and flavorful broth for your soups and veggies.