People are becoming more aware of their environmental impact and responsibility, causing many families to reconsider everyday habits and consumerist behaviors. If you and your children are willing to make small lifestyle changes, it can have an incredible effect on the environment and your local community.
Many parents want to focus on sustainable living, teaching their little ones how to care for the planet and all its inhabitants. You can make several small changes that eventually develop into habits for a better world.
Grow a Garden
How much time do you and your children spend outside? If you're like most people, it is only a fraction of each day, likely occurring during trips to and from the car.
Spending time outdoors is good for the soul, and if you use that time to plant and tend a garden, it is good for the environment and the world. A garden can help you cut grocery costs and limit pesticide and other chemical exposure.
Also, when you plant fruits and vegetables, you can harvest the seeds for replanting. You can also grow pollinator plants if you want to contribute to the health of bee and insect populations.
Recycle & Compost
Living sustainably and limiting your environmental impact is controlling how much waste you contribute to landfills. If you don't recycle or compost, consider giving it a shot.
Recycling is relatively straightforward, but you should check with your local municipality about city ordinances and recycling plant restrictions to ensure you are not contaminating recycling collections. Also, if you want to try composting but want to do something other than dirty work, several services will do the dirty work for you.
Try To Cut Food Waste
Large-scale food waste is an epidemic. It occurs during each phase of the supply chain, from farm to factory to grocer to the refrigerator. No one likes tossing spoiled food, but too many people don't realize that the waste is burdensome to the environment.
To live a sustainable life, you need to limit how much food waste you contribute to landfills. You can use several strategies to reduce your waste, including:
- Using a list for grocery shopping
- Portion out leftovers
- Give excess away
- Buy ugly vegetables and fruit
- Learn meal planning
Eat More Plant-Based
While you do not need to become a vegan or vegetarian, a plant-rich diet is more sustainable and healthier. Eating a meat-rich diet leads to the creation of livestock farms, which limit the amount of biodiversity in an area and can contribute to greenhouse gas.
If you and your family are meat and potatoes kind of people, a transition to a plant-based diet is challenging but not impossible. The main thing to remember is why you are doing it. You can help the environment and improve your and your family's health.
You do need to be careful when on a plant-rich diet because it can be more challenging to get all the nutrients you and your family need from plants. If choosing a plant-based diet, you and your little ones should take a multivitamin. Your little ones can try Wellements Organic Multivitamin Drops.
Don't Forget the Reusables!
Single-use plastics are some of the worst products for the environment and the enemy of a sustainable life. If you want to reduce your waste dramatically, use and carry reusables. Some popular reusables include:
- Tote bags
- Reusable cups
- Water bottles
A sustainable lifestyle is attainable, and it is easier than you think. To ensure your children have a bright future, teach them how to care for the environment today.