7 Eco-Friendly Habits

I read somewhere, or maybe Maria Schriver or Hoda said it; it takes 3 weeks to form a new habit. So that means you are only 21 days from a new habit. What habit would you like to change in 21 days? Well, in honor of Earth Day, I have 7 eco-friendly habits to start today. You could start a new habit for the next seven days and be well on your way to seven new habits in 21-28 days. And, you could start today; on Earth Day.

Eco-Friendly Habits

Now before I go all Mama Earth on you there is something you should know about my marriage. I am married to a man who uses a plastic bag to carry a box of nails from the Home Depot checkout to his car. It drives me crazy.

The good news is I believe it is a habit. And, all he needs to do is replace it with a new habit. My goal is to get him to think about changing just one of these eco-friendly habits.

1. Reduce or Reuse Plastic Bags

Reduce plastic bag usage. Think about this; one plastic bag holds 2 cartons of juice; so 2 bags would hold a total of 4 drinks. How many 64 ounce containers of milk can you compare using both your arms?

This is the hardest math you will have to do on this blog.

I love to see people bring in their own bags to the grocery store, but I take it a step further and specifically ask the baggers to not bag the milk and juices and my favorite low-cal lemonade. Using my math problem above, I can carry the same amount with my two hands into the kitchen.

I take it a step further and ask the baggers not to rebag items that are already bagged or boxed. I make a choice to carry it. And, if it requires a few extra steps from the car to the kitchen I think that is a win all around.

** the no bag at all rule works well with local restrictions on plastic bags.

Just try it for 21 days.

2. Repurpose Dry Cleaning Bags

Repurpose dry cleaning bags. I double knot the end of a dry bag that exposes the hangers’ hooks. And, ta-da I have a plastic liner for my trashcans and for these ideas too.

3. Empty Water Glasses & Ice into Plants

Empty your water glasses into a plant or pot. Or, dump the ice from your favorite mid-day refresher before tossing the cup. The little guy gets the ice cubes from my daily water intake.

4. Park + Walk

This is my new eco-friendly habit. When running errands in a strip mall retail center (funny story about that distinction for another day) I park in the middle of where I need to go. Sprouts, Michaels and Home Depot are within 60 yards of each other.

My goal is to park once and hit all three stores. If I have to drop off items in my car I park my car in the middle of the three. Try it! I get a few extra steps and I am not in and out of my car.

Elliott loves to join me if the days are cool.

5. Use What you Have

One of the best ways to practice eco-friendly habits is to organize your crafts, tools, paper, etc.

Use what you have before your run out and by more. I made this cute spring wreath using everything in my basement.

6. Bring Matchsticks Back

Did you catch this post where I attributed my love of matches to Charles Ingalls and his Little House on the Prairie? Well, what if we ditched the plastic Bic lighters and returned to matchsticks?

I shared the matches label for mason jars here.

7. Dropbox + Scanner App

I am a Realtor and the year we transitioned to online signatures was the year our industry collectively saved a forest. Why? Because we could access all of our documents online. And, with apps like Dropbox and my favorite app we can save and access personal and/or work documents through our phone. All of my photos are stored on “the cloud” which makes social media a little easier too.

And, it turns out Mother Earth has her own wiki page here.

And, if you are interested in other eco-friendly ideas, please check out my upcycle project page.