Little habits add up. A change here, a swap out there and before you know it you’ve created a new habit. Here are 5 environmentally friendly habits you can make that take next to no effort at all!
Switch it off at the socket
There are so many electrical goods in the home that have teeny tiny little standby lights. Little lights that do nothing aside from telling you that the appliance *could* do something. It may not seem much, but all those little lights add up over time. So maybe you can get into the habit of turning the switch off at the powerpoint? Even if you switched one thing off (that stereo/second TV/clock radio that never gets used), it’s going to make a teeny difference in the right direction.
Store food scraps to make stock
When you’re cooking up a storm, and there are peelings and scraps all over the kitchen countertop it’s easy to scrape them all off and straight into the bin. But what if you didn’t? What if you scraped them into a container and chucked them into the freezer instead? And then one day when you have a little extra time you boil them up with water and some fresh herbs and make your own veggie stock. You’ve reused scraps and made a stock that is full of nutrients rather than full of colourings, flavours, preservatives and oodles of salt – how good is that?!
Curby it!
If you live in the City of Newcastle or Central Coast Councils, there’s a soft plastic recycling program that you can be a part of. Just chuck your soft plastics in a bag as you go, stick a Curby stick on it and then straight into your recycling bin! No more taking soft plastics back to the shopping centre. Get your Curby tags from here.
Close the front door
If you’re heating or cooling your house, close the door to spaces you’re not using. Spaces that you don’t spend much time in so you don’t have to heat or cool them too. Think laundries, bathrooms, garages, and toilets. Or just heat or cool the one room that you’re using.
Go meat-free
Consider cutting back on the meat that you eat. If you’re not keen on going the whole hog (pun intended) and becoming vegetarian or vegan just try meat-free Mondays to start. Better for the environment and better for your wallet too!
Bonus habit: remember to always pop your shopping bags back in your car after you’ve unloaded them!