It’s Earth Day! What a more perfect way to spend this beautiful month than with some green living tips you can start now. We try to practice green living as much as possible and we’ve been getting lots of questions recently! I’m so happy people are reaching out and asking for advice and because of that, I wanted to make a complete guide for all of you to bookmark and easily get back to.

I also wanted to stress the fact that Green Living is not supposed to be about commercialism, so I don’t want you to feel the need to have to go out and buy EVERYTHING in this blog afterwards. I’ve been practicing Green Living my whole life, but I didn’t get serious about it until Charlie and I started dating 5 years ago. The point that we are at has taken 5 years of learning, trial and error, research, and breaking so many habits. Don’t push yourself too hard if what you are doing doesn’t look like what is on Pinterest or Instagram!

So that being said, here is what we are doing to be sustainable in the Liggett Household!

TIP #1 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - IN THAT ORDER

That was a quote I heard from Green Activist Rob Greenfield, and it has stuck to me to this day. We learn about the three Rs in elementary school, what they stand for, and what each individual word means. But what we don’t learn is why each word as a whole phrase is so critically important. The first R, ‘Reduce’, can cause the most powerful impact on the environment. If we reduce what we use, what we purchase, what we throw away, then energy, valuable resources, and quantities of products would never be expended. Instead, save your money by not purchasing cheaper items every so often, and spend what you can save on a durable item that is made to last.

Things to reduce:

Waste - save kitchen scraps for stock, buy less packaging, meal plan and only buy what you need
Energy - turn down those thermostats! Wear extra clothing and it’s more efficient to heat one room at a time. Turn off the lights in empty rooms.
Disposables - single-use items like plastic cutlery and paper towel
Water - shut off sinks when you aren’t actively using it and take shorter showers

The second R, ‘Reuse’, is second best because you are re-purposing items for other use or using reusable items to lieu of single-use products. Thanks to the internet, there are countless reuse projects for anything from crafts, to simple beginner projects, to advanced re-purposers. The best part about this is that you can sell your extra materials for other re-purposers, or you could purchase them from places like Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, or your local thrift stores .

Things to reuse:

Shop second hand // water bottles // cloth napkins // dish sponges // dish scrubs // soap dispensers // shopping bags // coffee cups // straws // cutlery and to-go containers // menstrual products // razors // re(zip) kitchen bags // cotton makeup pads // beeswax wrap

And for the mommas out there: Pocket diapers // Washable baby wipes // Glass baby bottles // Cute Nursing Pads // Teardrop Nursing Pads (the tear drop helps make the pad more discreet) // Mason Bottles (one of my favs! I freeze my milk in mason jars, so these are on my wish-list!)

Lastly, Recycling. Recycling is such a tricky option (which is why is should be your last option). It’s tricky because it’s difficult to educate people on how to recycle, where to recycle, what items can or can’t be recycled, funding for programs, sorting the items, and all other barriers. However, Recycling is important to keep materials out of landfills and to reduce the need for new materials.

Grow at home & Eat Local

There are soooo many small pot plants that you can grow on your kitchen window, apartment balcony, literally any small space you have! I cram plants anywhere I can. Just google “best vegetables to grow in pots and containers” and you can find a list of at least 11! It will take a learning period, so don’t give up if you kill them your first year! Read more on the plants you are growing, how to take care of them, what they like, and try, try again. The first couple years of gardening are all about the process. Maybe pick a vegetable you regularly buy at the store, but could go without for a little while, and try growing just that one plant for a couple months. Then, pick out another… and another…and another… front porch gardens for the win!

After you ‘master’ your plants, then I challenge you to learn how to preserve them! There are so many methods: water bath canning, pickling, freezing. Both of these will save you so many trips to the grocery store and so much money. You might say ‘but the vegetables aren’t that much,’ then I challenge you to make a list and keep track of how much you spend. We use to spend about $35 bi-weekly on all organic fruits and vegetables, that’s $910 by the end of the year. It all adds up.

If you just don’t have any trace of a green thumb, there are others in your community who do! Eat at farm-to-table restaurants, pick local products at the grocery store, or subscribe to local produce delivery services! One of our favorites is Hungry Harvest. They are a company who saves produce that would normally go to waste/be tossed out and ships them right to your front door. We were able to try so many new fruits and veggies that way! They send out a list of what is in your box a few days before delivery, we would then meal plan around that and make our grocery list. Here is $10 off your first Hungry Harvest box if you want to help stop food waste: Hungry Harvest.

Non-toxic cleaners

I’m going to be short and simple here. You have two options: buy non-toxic cleaners or make your own. We use to buy them, but now we make all of our cleaners at home from vinegar. Yep. We just spend a couple bucks on a gallon or so of vinegar and we are set for a few months on cleaner.

Energy and other Efficient Appliances

Every time we moved, we would reinstall all of our energy efficient light bulbs, our smart thermostat, hang-dry laundry whenever possible, and an aerator on our sinks to reduce the quantity of water we use. We would keep the original items in a box for when we moved out to reinstall later.

Another way to stay efficient is through transportation. I know the States are pretty lacking on mass transit, but rely less on your car if possible. While we were in Japan, we were able to take the train everyday or walk anywhere we wanted to go. It was so nice and it is probably one of the things I miss most!

Efficiency products:

Free DTE Efficiency Kit // Water Aerator // Nest Thermostat // Single Nest Smart Smoke Detector // 3 Pack Nest Smoke Detector // Laundry Drying Rack

I hope this gave you a little insider into our sustainable life! I can do a complete break down of our zero-waste bathroom/kitchen and other products we use or share recipes for the things we make at home. If this is something everyone is interested in, let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Searra (313 Studios Photography)

How We Practice Zero Waste, Minimalism, and Green Living