I must confess I haven’t always been very good to our beloved planet earth. Why? Because I always thought that to make a difference, I would have to give up a great deal of the material delights that color my life every day. All of this changed when a new person entered my life. He made me realize it does not take many sacrifices to contribute one’s mite. Now I am proud to present to you the following eco tips I incorporated in my own life.

Calculate your carbon footprint

Your ecological footprint is an indication of your personal consumption of energy and resources and therefore a representation of your ecological impact on our planet. There are different websites that offer the possibility to calculate your footprint for free. I personally love Carbonfund and Zero Footprint. The latter is a great quiz to do with your kids to raise awareness. This is something I highly encourage you to do. It just takes a couple of minutes and you’ll immediately know how your footprint compares to that of the average citizen and which are possible action points for you and your family.

Start at home

Yep, we all can make a change. Many small steps make a big difference, so let’s replace those old light bulbs by energy saving light, leave the car at home more often and turn the heating down a few degrees. It is also a good idea to turn off domestic appliances when not using them and to recycle whenever possible.

Fly green

Is there anything more fun than heading to your favorite holiday destination for a well-deserved break? I sure love to spend time abroad with my family, but whether you like it or not, flying is a polluting activity. For that reason, I encourage you to fly as little as possible and to make up for the miles you travelled in air. You can to this by buying carbon offsets. By the way, Carbonfund also offers gift carbon offsets which make great gifts for friends or business relations.

Avoid excessive packaging

Do you realize that in America alone, we throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour? That is why, when I am shopping, my eyes gravitate towards eco-friendly packaged goods. I even stumbled upon an ecological way to wrap gifts: ‘furoshiki’. This is a Japanese technique that uses a cloth to pack goods for transport. Examples can be found here. Doesn’t it look great?

Watch your plate

It seems only logical that by eating smart, we take care of our personal health. However, we can do the same for our environment, but how do you put together such a nature-friendly meal? Well, it is not as hard as you might think. Firstly, the focus should be on fresh bio vegetables. Try to limit your intake of meat and fish, because they demand a lot of our planet’s resources. Secondly, when you eat fish, opt for non-endangered species. Thanks to overfishing cod, wild salmon and bluefin tuna have the doubtful honor of being on the WWF list of endangered species. It is important to protect these species and  support sustainable fishing. Finally, I advice people to practice seasonal cooking. In essence, seasonal cooking is about buying and cooking fresh, in-season foods. It is a budget friendly way of cooking that goes against the use of imported exotic foods, with their huge environmental impact. For more information and recipes, see Harvest eating.

Decipher labels

Still today, many cosmetics and cleaning products contain pollutants. Luckily, there are also nature-friendly alternatives. The labels on these products can tell you a lot about what is inside the container. If you are no chemistry whizz, there are several eco-labels that make it easier for you, e.g. BDIH or Ecocert. Whenever you encounter such a label, you can rest assured that no harmful chemicals will find their way to our environment. When buying clothes, look for organic cotton shirts. Organic cotton  farms don’t use toxic pesticides and consume less water than traditional cotton farms.

Build green

It doesn’t matter whether you are building or renovating, construction can be eco-friendly. Key points are sustainable energy sources, quality insulation, water conservation and durable construction materials. To give you an example, my future house will be a locally harvested timber one with all energy originating from solar panels. I will opt for cellulose insulation and low energy appliances. For water conservation, I would like to recycle rainwater for domestic use (cleaning, toilet flushing,…). While the initial costs will typically be higher than with traditional building methods, this will be compensated by the low energy bills you will enjoy over the years.

Use your green fingers

I personally am proof that you don’t need a vast garden to enjoy nature at home. On my apartment balcony I have several pot plants that help create the illusion of a garden. If the climate allows you to grow herbs, this is an excellent way to improve your gardening skills and bring your balcony or patio to life. You will love the smell of fresh thyme, parsley, basil or oregano in the morning.

‘Ecofy’ your job

Our workplace is the place we tend to spend most of our precious time. A good reason to pass on some interesting shopping addresses to your company’s office supplies purchaser. On The Green Office for example, you can purchase everything from paper to eco friendly technology and furniture. If you cannot convince your purchaser, the combination of recycled paper and the use of ecofont is already a good start. The eco font alone will help you save up to 25% on ink or toner, just by printing drafts in this font. Genius!

To conclude I really need to point out that the best motivations for living green can be found in nature. So go out and take a walk in the forest. Muse on a flower and enjoy the chirping of birds. Watch your children play in meadows and pray that the beauty of nature may be enjoyed by many generations hereafter.

Denise

(image credits: white african)