Five Best Sustainable Living Habits That Could Cut Your Waste In Half

Sustainable living is the art of more with less. The more we value and longer we use the things we own, the less waste fills our landfills, oceans, and lives. Transitioning to a more sustainable lifestyle can take a lot of time, research, and energy – but it’s worth the effort to remove the clutter from your life and make room for more holistic, mindful practices. For the past four months, I tracked the kinds of waste my household was generating (excluding organic waste), and where that waste was coming from to shape my habits and waste less.

Chart shows the number of items by material type used in our pilot household over the past 16 weeks.

Chart shows the number of items by material type used in our pilot household over the past 16 weeks.

Tracking helped us create more urgency around our waste. For example, more than 80% of our household’s waste was coming from food and beverage packaging, and 70% of that packaging was plastic. Each week we had a tangible goal to work towards and it was shocking to see how the small adjustments we made changed how much we threw away. Below are the top five sustainable living habits that helped us cut our household waste by 60%.

 

1. Cook More, Takeout Less

Getting takeout or meal delivery can be convenient in the moment, but choosing these conveniences can waste 3 to 5 times more plastic than cooking at home. With a little advanced planning, meal prep is a healthier and equally convenient way to feed yourself.

2. Buy Things You Love

This might seem intuitive but a lot of us use retail as a way to relieve stress. Getting clothes and products delivered to your house uses a lot more packaging than buying something in person so leave the $20 dollar clothes behind and reserve the deliveries for things that “spark joy.” One way to validate what you’re buying is more than a retail itch is to let it sit in your shopping cart overnight and sleep on it before hitting that buy button.

3. Switch to Reusables for Drinking and Dining

Most Americans use plastic cups or utensils at least once or twice a day. It’s convenient, and cheap but not if you’re comparing the lifetime of one water bottle and one fork to thousands of plastic bottles and forks. Keep a mug and some steel utensils from home in your desk at work. Make it a pretty mug and you will probably use it more!

4. BYO Backpack or Bag

When you go shopping or you’re out and about try to keep some personal storage space available for whatever goodies you might want to bring home. Use mason jars or beeswax when you buy produce / bulk – it’s sustainable and convenient because your produce is already stored and organized in a nice container when you get home.

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5. Reuse and Repair

Find creative ways to turn old things into new things. A lot of plastic takeout boxes are perfect for meal prepping, and next time something in your house breaks do a quick google of how to fix it before tossing it out. I’ve fixed my television, refrigerator, jeans, chairs, tables, and more with combinations and permutations of Youtube, epoxy, tape, and a toolkit.