Becoming More Eco-Friendly - Start Small

If you want to help save the planet, there are lots of ways to do it. You don't have to be perfect with all of them at once, though—taking even a few small steps can make a big difference!

Donate your clothing.

You can donate your clothing to:

• Charity. Most local charities have donation bins or boxes, so if you're not sure what to do with your old stuff, just drop it in the bin! Many charities are happy to take clothing donations and even pay for them.

• Friends. If you want to pass along your clothes but don't want them going into a landfill, consider giving them away to friends or family members who may wear them again. This is also a great option if you have outgrown an article of clothing but still love it—just pass it along when its new owner stops wearing it! It might even be worth offering an incentive for taking on the item (for example: "I'll give this away if I can borrow one of yours").

• Thrift store/secondhand store/homeless shelter/church donation center/etc... There are lots of ways besides charity that people can receive used goods; another way would be through secondhand stores that sell items at reduced prices or donate proceeds entirely (or partially) back into their community instead of spending money on advertising like traditional retail chains do."

Go paperless.

• Enroll for paperless billing with your banking and utility providers

• Choose email receipts whenever possible with brick and mortar stores (like CVS)

• Reduce paper consumption

Eat less meat.

The first thing to do is to eat less meat.

There are many reasons that eating less meat is good for the environment:

• Meat production requires more resources than plant-based protein sources and also produces a lot of pollution. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), it takes approximately 607 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef compared to only 39 gallons for one pound of tofu; this means that if you ate two pounds' worth of beef versus two pounds' worth of tofu, you would use over 1,200 extra gallons - or about two months' worth - just from growing and processing those animals!

• The production process also emits a lot of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the air we breathe; this has been linked with global warming and climate change.

These issues are not limited to land-based animals either—they extend into fish farming too! A study published in Nature Communications found that aquaculture (fish farming) contributes 90% more greenhouse gases than wild-caught fish do on average due to factors like escaping waste or producing excess feed crops which require energy inputs like fertilizer production or transportation costs (to ship feed).

Keep reusable shopping bags in your car.

In addition to bringing your own shopping bag to the grocery store, it's also important to keep reusable shopping bags in your car. Whether you're picking up groceries or stopping by the pharmacy on your way home from work, having a bag on hand will help you avoid using plastic bags when possible. You can use cloth or canvas bags, which are easily washable and fold up neatly for storage. If you prefer something that is more durable than cloth, there are plenty of options out there including canvas with waterproof linings (great for carrying wet items), nylon fabric (which won't rip like regular cotton), and recycled plastic material made from old water bottles (perfect for wet produce).

Recycle and/or compost as much as possible.

• Recycle as much as you can.

• Composting is a great way to reduce waste, especially if you have a garden or backyard. Composting at home is easy and saves money, since it requires only some space on your property and time for the compost bins to work their magic. There are many places where you can buy compost bins or make your own out of recycled materials—you probably have something lying around that could be used! After all, what good is recycling if the items aren't being reused in another way?

Use Reusable items and Reuse items that would normally be thrown away (like jars).

• Buy an eco-friendly reusable water bottle

• Reuse jars for storing food, crafts and more.

• Use jars as drinking glasses.

• Recycle jars to make a terrarium or container garden.

• Make a jar lantern using empty glass bottles and candle holders made from recycled materials (such as old tin cans).

• Turn leftover wine bottles into oil lamps by filling them with water, then placing the flame of your choice (like votive candles) in the opening at the top of each bottle.

Use appliances that use sustainable and/or biodegradable materials.

• Choose to support companies that use recycled and/or biodegradable materials (like Seventh Generation)
• Choose an Ecofan Filter over a typical air purifier that utilizes plastic. Ecofan Filters are the World's First Eco-Friendly Air Purifier. we use a Biodegradable Casing and ship with zero plastic packaging.

Little steps add up to big results!

If you want to start being eco-friendly but feel overwhelmed, don't worry! The key is to take small steps. If you make significant changes all at once, it can be overwhelming and discouraging. Instead, focus on one thing at a time and work up from there.

One way to do this is with a "before" and "after" checklist. For example:

• Before: Buy paper towels for cleaning cars instead of getting them from home

• After: Use reusable cloth rags for cleaning cars

Parting words

And that’s it! It might feel like a lot to tackle at first, but these suggestions are easy to implement and can make a big difference in your carbon footprint. And remember, every little bit helps. If you want to start small but don’t know where to begin? Start here: Donate your clothing!