Essential Key Green Habits for a Powerful Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – A Dynamic Recap of Series 1-10

Welcome to the last post of the series of my Daily Key Green Habits blog posts!

Over the past few posts, I have provided alternate solutions to almost all the daily necessary products that generate the maximum amount of plastic waste. Most of our plastic waste can be reduced by changing simple habits that don’t cost too much. Every artificial, chemical thing we replace in our daily routine might need a little additional work or a one-time investment but it will repay in no time as you can see the magical disappearance of your plastic waste and your health will start improving.

I have covered all the areas where I have replaced plastic and artificial chemically processed products with natural eco-friendly products in the past few years. Almost all of our daily need products have Sustainable alternatives to reduce plastic use and, in this post, I will give you exact steps using all my previous posts on the exact alternatives of plastic products. I will also provide some more practical tips that I have implemented in life. I will give you simple ways to cut down on single-use plastic in tried and tested ways.

Several people struggle with the most common question “How to implement powerful daily green habits for a sustainable lifestyle?”. There is only one answer to this question, start with one small change. Stick with it until it becomes part of your routine, and then move on to the next. Starting on too many changes at once can be overwhelming and generally ends in burnout. If you start with one small habit, it’s much more manageable and won’t disrupt your daily life. Take a look at the posts, see what resonates with you, and start with the change that fits your lifestyle best.

Several of my friends have asked me the same question “How to make powerful daily green habits a part of your routine? or how to live more sustainably”. I gave them the exact practice I followed, start small but be
consistent. Consistency is the only way to turn anything into a habit. It will feel like a painful chore in the beginning but soon it will become a part of your daily life. Without you realizing you have started living a sustainable lifestyle.

Key Green Habits – A Dynamic Recap of Series 1–9

In my previous posts, I have covered all the necessities of life where I have replaced plastic products with more sustainable eco-friendly products. Here I have summarized all of them. So please read on.

Key Green Habits – Disposable Plastic Bags

Most of our water bodies, and landfills are choking with disposable plastic bags, these are the biggest causes of plastic waste. They take hundreds of years to decompose, filling up landfills and causing pollution in oceans, and rivers or landfills. They often end up harming wildlife, as animals can get tangled in them or mistake them for food.

Most people have asked How to reduce plastic packaging in their shopping. Don’t worry, I will tell you exactly the ways I have reduced the plastic waste in my life.

I switched to reusable bags a few years ago and reduced my plastic bag usage by 90%, but there are still times I end up taking a plastic disposable bag in case of emergency. I feel proud of myself when I buy groceries in a reusable bag or do all my shopping without any disposable plastic bag.

Nowadays ready-made reusable bags are available which are stronger, last much longer, and reduce the amount of plastic waste generated, making them a simple yet effective way to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle. For heavier shopping, there are excellent quality canvas bags are also available.

You can read about it in the “Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 2” post.

Key Green Habits – Disposable Plastic Bottles

We’ve all seen rubbish bins overflowing with plastic bottles, whether it’s at the park, office, or around the neighborhood. This is not just one bin it’s almost the situation of all the bins. I often wonder where all this plastic ends up. Even at its best only 10-15% of this plastic waste gets recycled and the rest goes in waterways and landfills.

I drink about 2 to 3 Liters of water or other drinks every day and there was a time when I used just to buy a bottle every time, I felt thirsty. But once I decided to move to a sustainable lifestyle, it was not difficult at all to find alternatives. I have easily replaced almost all my plastic disposable bottles with reusable stainless-steel bottles.

You can read about it in the “Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 4” post.

Key Green Habits – Personal Care

Most of us use plastic like bath soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, etc. The first toothbrush was made around a century ago and it still exists somewhere on this earth. Just imagine the amount of plastic waste generated by this single product.

I have provided alternative solutions to most of our sanitary needs like periods, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash, and face masks.

Key Green Habits – Personal Care – Sanitary Pads

As females, we end up using a lot of plastic every month during our periods in the form of sanitary pads. Alternatives are just around the corner but unawareness and fear of the unknown are just a few of the reasons for us to still use plastic products instead of using better options.

Sanitary Pads can be easily replaced by Menstrual cups. It’s a one-time investment that costs around 35$ and lasts around 8-10 years. I have been using the same Diva Menstrual cup for the last 6+ years and it’s still going strong. The best part of the menstrual cup is that it doesn’t generate any waste at all and is very simple to use. Just rinse it with clean water and ready to be used again.

You can read about it in the “Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 1” post.

Key Green Habits – Personal Care – Hygiene Products

 Toothbrushes

Plastic toothbrushes can be easily replaced by bamboo toothbrushes and the only part of waste you will be generating is the head with bristles or filaments. I have been using bamboo toothbrushes for the past 6+ years and all my toothbrush handles go back to the pots in my garden. Almost all my pots have 15-20 toothbrush handles in them and all are thriving and growing very well. This act alone has helped me to reduce my plastic waste to a great extent.

You can read about it in the “Eco-friendly Personal Care – Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 6” post.

Shampoo and Conditioner

All of us need to wash our hair at least two to three times a week and we all use shampoo and conditioner which in general comes packed in plastic disposable bottles. Most of us use around one bottle of shampoo and one bottle of conditioner a month on average.  Most of the bottles are made from low-quality plastic which can’t be recycled and end up in landfill.

There are several alternatives to these liquid shampoos, I have been using shampoo bars and some of them are so good that I don’t need any conditioner.

You can read about it in the “Eco-friendly Personal Care – Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 6” post.

Body wash and Face masks

As a human we all need to wash our bodies to feel clean and body wash/face wash is a very important part of this need. We just don’t feel clean if washed with just plain water. Most people use liquid body wash or creams which come in plastic tubes. These bottles or tubes have the same issue as they end up in landfills instead of being recycled.

Once I saw the picture of the floating island of plastic waste in the middle of the ocean, I decided to reduce my plastic usage and started looking for alternatives. Just by little research, I found easy alternatives available in my pantry which has not only helped me in reducing plastic waste but also improved my skin and health.

All the alternatives I have provided are made using natural ingredients like aloe vera, essential oils, honey, coconut milk, and even Oats.

You can read about it in the “Eco-friendly Skincare – Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 7” post.

Key Green Habits – Personal and Kitchen Needs

Disposable Plastic Food Containers

Before COVID my takeaway for the entire week was limited to 2-3 times a week but during COVID lockdown times it had increased to 8-10 times.

Every meal comes in a disposable plastic container and though I was sure to wash these containers, dry them, and put them in recycles I knew that most of them were not getting recycled and were ending up in generating plastic waste on earth.

Every day we were ordering 2 meals for almost 4 to 5 people and everything was coming in disposable plastic containers and growing waste in my bin caught my attention for good and I started wondering how can I help reduce this waste?

Once I started looking around, I found several alternative solutions like making my lunch at home and packing them in bee wrap instead of using plastic sandwich bags. Instead of getting the food delivered, I started picking it up from my favorite restaurants in my reusable containers. There are several options available and my favorite one is a set of 4 collapsible containers. It’s made of food-grade silicone so it’s perfectly safe, I have been using the same set for the last 3+ years and it still doesn’t have any Odor or marks and I love to carry it in my handbag along with my folding reusable bag.

You can read about it in the “Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 5” post.

Disposable Sandwich Bags and Lunch Boxes

A few years back, I used to pack all my, my partner’s, and my kid’s lunches which used to be generally different kinds of sandwiches in plastic sandwich bags. However, once I started thinking about the amount of plastic I was generating with this single habit, I decided to find an alternate sustainable solution for this issue. Alternate was not far away, it was very close to us and readily available, it’s just that the lack of awareness made us not reach out for it.

Now all my sandwiches are packed in Bee’s Wrap Reusable Beeswax Food Wraps.

Kids carry their lunches in reusable lunch boxes which are available in various brands and sizes, you can take your pick based on your needs and preferences.

You can read about it in the “Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 3” post.

Key Green Habits – Disposable Cutlery

We all are social animals and we do have several social gatherings almost every week. The majority of the disposable plastic waste comes from cutlery which most of us have been using for the past couple of years since it came into existence around a few decades ago.  Slowly and steadily, it has crept into our lives and become an integral part of it. Several of us have started noticing the impact it’s having on our environment.

But there are several sustainable eco-friendly alternatives available in the market which do cost a little extra but does that matter? We spend a lot on invitations, food, decorations, and even favors, it doesn’t matter to spend a few extra dollars on cutlery as long as it does not result in disposable plastic waste.

My favorite one is the set of 150-piece disposable cutlery set made from Palm Leaves. It has 50 plates, 50 spoons, and 50 forks. So, 1 set is enough for a party of 30-40 people. It cost around 30$/- which is worth when I just look at the compost I made after party using this cutlery.

There are several other options like bamboo and corn starch cutlery which is also a good alternative to plastic.

I am yet to find a completely eco-friendly solution for glasses and end up using those paper cups but we all know that these cups have a plastic lining inside. I am still looking for a sustainable eco-friendly solution for glasses.

You can read about it in the “Sustainable Event Planning – Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 8” post.

Key Green Habits – Simple Actionable Tips

We all know the 3R – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle and there is a lot of information available online but I was not able to find any actionable tips where I can just refer and start using them. That’s where I got the idea of writing down the things I was doing for the past few years and others can just follow it.

We have several pieces of plastic which can’t be avoided like chips, cookies, cereals, grains, or most of the food packaging. In my post, you will find how I have been reusing this packaging. I agree that this doesn’t help in reducing plastic waste but surely reduces my purchase of unnecessary plastic material like wrapping paper, arts and crafts material, etc.

You can read about it in the “Simple Ways to Reduce Plastic Waste – Powerful Daily Green Habits I Adopted for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – Series 9” post.

List doesn’t end here; I will give you some more actionable tips that you can use directly in your daily life.

• Try your best to reduce your consumption. Before buying anything irrespective of the cost, ask yourself do I need it? Wait for a few days there are very high chances that you will not buy it and would have already managed without it. I do this with my kids too and have surely saved few hundred dollars by now (Happy Mother).
• Be creative with everything, before tossing out disposable things in the waste basket, think if they can be reused. I use all cookie-plastic boxes to segregate my small items. My entire dressing table is organized very well using the disposable boxes.
  • All lipsticks, nail polishes, eye liners, etc are segregated very well using these boxes. It saves a lot of time while getting ready.
  • All my younger one’s arts and crafts material is segregated using empty packets of chips or other grocery items.
• Use all small packaging that can’t be reused for anything else, and can be used as a garbage bag, especially for kitchen waste. It’s very easy and handy to use. I use small instant noodle packs also for garbage bags.
• There are several apps where you can donate your used items which are in good condition. Just be human and ensure that items are clean and in usable condition.

There are so many experts in the field of sustainability but I found the best teachers are my older generation, especially my grandparent’s generation because they came from a generation with a mindset that“ if broken repair it while our generation has the mentality to just replace it”. This mindset is creating a lot of waste which can be avoided we just cultivate the habit of repairing things.

I will give you my own experience which happened in my house, my kid’s bed broke down and immediately my kids came and said, let’s replace it with a new one and immediately started discussing the designs and all. Initially, I got angry but luckily I didn’t reach in front of them as this was a situation for them to learn things first-hand. I called our handyman and he repaired it for just 50$. I was so happy and my happiness was more for saving the environment than money. Kids were surprised that it could be done. I just hope that they have learned something from this incident.

I am still learning as I still find quite a bit of plastic in my waste basket, please feel free to share your tips with me in the comments section. Together we can make a difference.

I warmly invite you to share your own inspiring and powerful daily green habits that contribute to a healthier planet in the comments section below. I believe that we can all learn from each other, and I’m genuinely eager to hear about the eco-friendly practices you’ve been following. Your experiences could offer fresh perspectives and practical tips for everyone in this community, including myself. Every single day, I make it a point to seek out new strategies to reduce waste and minimize my environmental footprint, with the ultimate goal of leaving this planet better than I found it. By sharing our knowledge and habits, we can collectively make a greater impact.

You can refer my other posts here.