Ideas for Incorporating Big and Small Sustainable Life Choices

Ideas for Incorporating Big and Small Sustainable Life Choices

Whether you’re ready to take a huge leap into sustainable living with major changes like a hybrid family vehicle or installing engineered flooring in your home, or you’re looking to gradually supplement with smaller, simpler changes, for a more sustainable lifestyle, the intention is what matters. Thankfully, the options are infinite, and when it comes to making a big difference, tiny conscious acts can go a longer way than you may think. We hope that this Ideas for Incorporating Big and Small Sustainable Life Choices inspires you. 

The accessibility and ease of certain strategies may make some seem more inviting than others, but with so many options for integrating an eco-conscious attitude into your home’s practices, it’s never been easier to take steps in the right direction — not to mention, to lead by example as the role model you are. The goal of reducing your family’s ecological footprint is a worthy one. The good news: it’s doable, at least to some degree, on any and every budget.

Ideas for Incorporating Big and Small Sustainable Life Choices

Natural and Homemade Cleaning Products

When it’s time to roll your sleeves up and get your scrub on, it’s important to remember that whatever products are wafting in the air are also being breathed in by you and your family. As you hover over the surface you’re cleaning, it’s impossible not to notice the strong chemical-laden stench of most commercial products. Making your cleaning products is one way to guarantee you know exactly what is going on on the surfaces of your home (and in contact with you and your family). Vinegar-based natural solutions, alcohol-based agents, and all kinds of other DIY all-purpose cleaners are an affordable and beneficial way to weave an easy bit of green living into your everyday routine.

Ethical Food Choices

Do you ever feel like the choices you make in the market are unimportant in the grand scheme of things? In a world so populated, it can be tempting to feel like our personal decisions aren’t so significant, but if everyone thought that way, change would be impossible. And it’s no secret that change is necessary to curb our unsustainable impact on the finite resources of the planet. The more empowering outlook, then, is to realize that every decision contributes to pollution and global warming in time. Whether it impacts them for better or for worse is up to you. 

Responsibly and ethically sourced ingredients are a start. Showing you value real and organic foods over processed ones can convey a meaningful pattern in more ways than one. Involvement in a community garden, or even starting your family garden, are more wonderful ways to bring sustainable practices to your loved one’s fingertips.

Our diet matters, too. A fully vegan lifestyle may be a stretch, but selecting one day a week for the household to go vegetarian is a cost-saving and carbon footprint-reducing sacrifice that by no means requires compromising on flavor. Not only will your taste buds thank you, but so will the planet. You’ll find it easy to feel proud of this rewarding ritual when you discover all the delicious meat-free meal options you can quickly and cheaply whip up for the family.

Principled Purchases

From fashion to appliances, and everything in between, when you spring for brands that pride themselves on transparency, sustainability, and conscious, compassionate, ethical practices, your purchase speaks volumes. The world of sustainable home upgrades like energy-efficient systems, renewable energy sources, eco-paints, optimized windows, and more, has become extremely competitive. Upgrades to your home that reduce waste are great for boosting its overall value. Plus, you’re bound to notice the difference in your utility bills.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Whatever else you find yourself buying semi-regularly, there is certainly an array of brands specializing in creating them responsibly. Karen Kane, for example, is building a powerful audience of supporters by proudly providing sustainable clothing for women that is both comfortable and beautiful. Their mission to make products with integrity, showing respect to the planet and their people, brings a whole new meaning to: “Look good, feel good.”

Daily Strides, Together

No one is expecting you to change your entire way of life overnight. Still, everyone feels a sense of accountability in caring for the planet, especially when your kids will grow up to potentially raise their children here.

A grand overhaul of your home operations is likely not as manageable to implement and consistently build upon, as a slower, simpler start with conscious, directed, relatively small trade-offs. This way, you can begin to get your ideas flowing as a family and gain momentum together, over time. We hope that this Ideas for Incorporating Big and Small Sustainable Life Choices post inspires you. Good luck!