Taking better care of the Earth always sounds like a pretty simple idea in theory, but how do we actually put it into practice? What are some ways we can be more responsible stewards of the planet we live on, and ensure that it's able to continue sustaining us? To actually mitigate the impact we're currently having on the environment, much larger scale changes than these will be needed. But that shouldn't be an excuse for us as individuals not to care, so here are some little things a lot of people can do to reduce their negative impact on the environment.

1. When you do laundry, wash everything on cold. A large part of the energy your washing machine uses is for heating up the water.

2. When you have a piece of trash made of paper, plastic, or metal, PLEASE JUST PUT IT IN THE RECYCLING. It takes no more effort than throwing it in the trash can.

3. Remember lots of things can be recycled. Old clothes can be taken to textile recycling facilities and made into quilts or rugs.

4. If you're sending a package and need something to use for padding, use newspaper, cardboard, or bubble wrap instead of Styrofoam. Styrofoam can't be recycled, it's made to take up as much space as possible, and once it hits landfills it degrades into toxic chemicals. Plus, who doesn't love receiving a package with bubble wrap?

5. Your car, electronic devices, or air conditioning unit may have an "energy saver" function. Use it, I promise it will still work fine.

6. Limit the number of times per week you eat meet. Even if you don't want to go full vegetarian, eating meat no more than three or four times a week is both way better for your body and way better for the planet. It takes far less space and resources, and produces much less pollutant to farm crops than livestock.

7. If you're feeling adventurous, try incorporating insects into your diet. Insects can be farmed on almost no land, require very little water, and are low fat but packed with protein, minerals, and fiber. Don't know what to do with them? Here are some recipes to get you started. (Psst, you can actually buy flour made out of crickets to put in things like cookies and pancakes. Got any gluten free friends?)

8. Spend a couple extra dollars and buy eco-friendly recycled notebooks and binders for classes. I recommend Decomposition Books, they're high quality and come in all kinds of cool designs. I currently have a collection of 23 of these, and counting.

Environmentalism is daunting, but when you make it part of your life by incorporating practices like these into your routine, it starts to get a lot easier. How much progress do you think we could make if everyone did this?