5 Ecofriendly Changes for the New Year
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

5 Ecofriendly Changes for the New Year

I've compiled a list of the easy swaps I'll be making this year to shrink my carbon footprint.

20
5 Ecofriendly Changes for the New Year
https://unsplash.com/photos/cADflhZzgyo

It's clear now more than ever that the future is in our hands, but it's easy to start feeling hopeless when a good portion of what's deteriorating our world is out of your hands. Changes to live a more sustainable and eco-friendly life can be more expensive and take more time. Especially in college, with little money, little space, and lots of other things to worry about, changes to lessen your carbon footprint can seem like a challenge to face some other day. So, I've compiled a list of 5 things I'll be doing in the new year to live a more sustainable life.

1. Bar soaps

Replacing bottled soap with soap-free bars cuts back on plastic consumption, but many of the chemicals in bottled soap that can be harmful to wildlife are also skipped in these body, hair, or face bars. Many bars are also produced without water, which is a common theme among Eco-friendly hygienic products. Without water, companies can ditch the toxic preservatives and skip out on wasteful packaging. The result is a product that's also more concentrated, so you get more bang for your buck.

2. Less meat

Eating less meat, or even taking up a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, has an appeal to many people for a variety of reasons. While also good for your health, cutting way back on my meat consumption comes mainly from wanting to lessen my carbon footprint. Meatless Mondays are now a thing of the past. Instead, my focus is more on percentage. My personal goal is 50% vegetarian, 30% vegan, and 20% or meals containing meat. I'm sure I'll eat more meat sometimes than others, but the percentages are more for giving me a goal to work towards. You don't have to go completely vegan to limit your impact, as long as you cut back on the meat you're eating.

3. Less food waste

Cutting back on food waste requires a lot of learning, watching, tracking, and effort. We live in a wasteful society, and I see it every day in my food-service job. A great start is composting things like banana peels and coffee grounds, but it's also important to figure out what you're wasting the most of. If you buy a lot of heads of cauliflower or containers of spinach and never finish them and end up throwing them out, a simple fix would be adjusting what you buy so you can finish it. You could also work towards finishing what you have. With my example, this could help with your plant-based diet and get you the nutrients and fiber from your vegetables and leafy greens.

There are plenty of websites, Instagram accounts, and cookbooks dedicated to helping you produce less food waste, which makes this change for the New Year a rather easy one.

4. Reusing household items

This switch covers more than reusable grocery bags. Finding other uses for things you'd normally throw away, like coffee cans, can greatly limit what you're throwing away while also making you think about what you're throwing away. This new level of consciousness about your consumption habits can help you cut back on your waste before it becomes your waste, which leads me to...

5. Swap out single-use plastics

Swapping out single use plastics and using more reusable household items go hand in hand, but I separated them on this list because a lot of the time I'll buy things from the store covered in a plastic bag or I'll buy things in plastic bottles when I could buy something with biodegradable packaging (or no packaging) or find drinks in glass bottles instead. While this last switch will be more time consuming and more expensive, cutting back on plastic on every front is vital to keeping our planet clean.

At the end of the day, any amount of effort towards a cleaner, more sustainable future is a great step. Don't congratulate yourself too quickly, though, because it is important we keep striving to do better. There is always work to be done, whether it's using shampoo bars instead of bottles or contacting your relatives so they can live sustainably too.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

58718
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

37864
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

959422
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

194825
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments