Small ways to be more eco-friendly

As our focus strongly shifts towards our impact on the environment, living an eco-friendly life becomes more and more popular. This kind of lifestyle means choosing sustainable, environment-friendly options in many areas of life. This may include shopping in local food markets instead of supermarkets, choosing ethically made clothing, using non-toxic cleaning supplies, and many more.

However, thinking about switching to eco-friendly living may be confusing and put a lot of pressure. Do you need to completely ditch the supermarkets? Should you instantly replace all your cleaning detergents with new, non-toxic ones? These and many similar questions might feel like a huge change in a lifestyle and put you off the idea of eco-friendly living.

But the good news is that even the small actions matter. Instead of going all-in, you can start with only one or two meaningful changes that you feel comfortable with and then see where you want to go from there. So if you feel like now is the time to make those changes, here are a few simple ways to reduce your ecological footprint in your daily life.

Reduce food waste

Shopping for food on an empty stomach may often leave us munching endlessly or throwing food away because we bought way too much. Both scenarios are not desirable as the first one leads to us not feeling very well and the second being a big problem in many countries both in Europe and the US.
You can reduce food waste at home by following these simple tips:
- Plan your meals for the week ahead. Just take a couple of minutes to write down what you plan to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, plus the snacks and drinks. This could be in a form of a list or a calendar, whatever works for you.
- Based on your weekly meal plan, make a grocery list and do one bigger shopping once a week instead of shopping for food every day.
- Do you have half an onion or several spoonfuls of sour cream left from cooking and have no idea of what to do with them? Internet is full of great simple ideas on how to use leftover products. So use your googling skills and discover new recipes to fully use the products you have.
All these tips are not only great for reducing food waste but also for your budget planning and health. So win-win-win!

Recycle as much, as you can

Recycling is another eco-friendly action you can easily incorporate into your daily life. We suggest seeking information about how recycling is organized in your local area. This will provide you with guidelines on how different materials should be separated and where or how to dispose of them. Recycling also means using the same materials again, for the same or other purposes. A couple of ideas might be:
- Reusing the gift bags and gift wrapping paper.
- Reusing sheets of used paper (with one clean side) for notes.
Also, keep in mind that almost everything can be recycled. If you have any electronic devices or batteries you need to throw away, take a moment to find out how to do that properly. These kinds of items usually have components or materials that might be hazardous to the environment if simply thrown away. The same rule applies to expired medications.

Choose durable and sustainable fabrics

We own and use quite a lot of different fabrics in a form of clothing, bedding, cleaning wipes, and many many more. So being conscious about what kind of fabric you choose is a sure step towards an eco-friendly lifestyle. Before purchasing any new item made of any kind of fabric, take a minute to figure out if the material is sustainable, durable and how it can be recycled later.

Durability is a highly important aspect as it allows you to use the same item for a longer time without the need to constantly replace it. Whether you know it or not, linen is the strongest known natural fiber on the planet, also equipped with properties beneficial for your wellness. So investing in durable and sustainable linen clothing, linen bedding and other home linen pieces is a great, eco-friendly choice.

Skip the dryer when you can

Once the warm weather hits, switch to line-drying your laundry outside or inside on a sunny spot. This is beneficial for saving energy, but did you know this is also good for the fabric? Dryer makes the fibers in the fabric break apart faster, thus making the fabric wear out sooner. Also, drying white laundry in direct sunlight is a great way of maintaining their crisp whiteness. So when you can, skip the dryer and leave your laundry to dry in the fresh air.

Follow us on Instagram for more linen and lifestyle inspiration.