REDUCE -

First of the three R’s: REDUCE.

But don’t forget about REUSING!

Keeping with the theme of Earth Month, everyone’s first option when it comes to ‘waste’ should be to reduce it. There are many strategies one can use to do so…

ECO-SHOPPING.
Think eco-friendly when you shop. Simple tasks such as using reusable bags and/or purchasing items with minimal to no packaging make a big difference. Instead of putting your loose produce in individual plastic baggies, place it all into your own reusable cooler bag when you shop. Shop brands the pride themselves on minimal waste such as LUSH who has specific naked, zero waste products.

Another tip is to think BULK; instead of purchasing crackers or cookies individually packaged, buy them in the largest size and divvy up the portion control into reusable containers at home when you need them! Another idea when shopping bulk for meat, poultry, or fruit is to utilize the freezer; freezing berries is ideal for smoothies, yogurt toppers, and summer treats; meanwhile, freezing meat is a normal occurrence to reduce waste. Purchasing these items in bulk means LESS WASTE overall. Some of my favorite ways to store my extra food include Lock & Locks and Bee’s Wrap Assorted 3 Pack, Eco Friendly Reusable Food Wraps, Sustainable Plastic Free Food Storage ( affiliate links).

While eco-shopping, it’s important to remember to try your best to shop small, sustainable businesses. If you’re interested in looking further into the Slow Fashion movement, you can read more about itHERE. In this post, I share a number of amazing businesses with beautiful fashion and equally as beautiful messages.

2. ELECTRONIC.
Billing, receipts, deposits, gift cards, etc.
Reducing your paper waste is so easy these days. GO VIRTUAL! For example, paperless billing is available for almost everything: car insurance, credit card and car payments, utilities, etc. You can receive your paycheck direct deposit, receipts at nearly any store can now be emailed to you, gift cards can be emailed instead, the possibilities are nearly endless. When traveling, boarding passes can easily be utilized on a phone, maps can be used on a phone, books can be read on phones or kindles, heck, using credit cards and or venmo/apple pay reduces the use of paper money. There are so many ways to go paperless, so stock up on flash drives cloud or google drive storage for your documents and get to it!

3. MISC.
Some miscellaneous items include learning to compost instead of throwing away all of your food waste and recycle most everything else. Using reusable water bottles, containers, plates, etc. instead of plastic disposable options. And most of all, utilize less water on a daily basis! Do less laundry, wear what you can multiple times and always put in a full load; don’t let the water run while you brush your teeth or get ready for your shower; take shorter showers a majority of the time (or baths are even more efficient!); it takes a lot of water to grow, process and transport your food so when you eat lower on the food chain, eat more whole foods and waste less food, you also save water. And, if you can, buy machines that are energy star rated to assist in saving overall energy and of course, water!