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Want to do more for the environment but can’t seem to find the energy or the time to make changes? You’re not alone. But I have a solution. Small steps.
For so long, I’ve wanted to do more to help the environment. Unfortunately, life got in the way and it’s was way down my list of priorities.
I decided to make it easy on myself and started researching small steps I could take that will make a difference.
Below, find 30 small and easy steps you can take to help the environment. The good news is most of them take just a few minutes. Some of them even less than a minute. You can start making an impact in seconds.
There are enough steps to make it a monthly challenge and do one a day. Or you can just do it as and when you have time. Taking these steps will help gain momentum so that you want will to do more and more. Good luck!
1.) Use Ecosia for your search engine.
It’s the search engine that plant trees. They use adverts to generate income to provide the money. It takes roughly 45 of searches to plant a tree.
2.) Use cold water to wash clothes
Why? Cold water washing cycles use much less energy. Up to 90% of the energy for most washing machine cycles is heating the water.
I was sceptical about how well washing your clothes in cold water works. But it works better for cleaning some clothes. Now, I always wash dark clothes in cold water. The clothes don’t crease. Your clothes last longer. The colours don’t fade. Hot water can set the stains, cold water doesn’t. Cold water is also the best way to wash natural fabrics. And it saves you money.
Washing at a lower temperature will also mean you don’t have to separate your clothing. I admit, I do wash whites and lights with stubborn stains separately but most clothes I just put straight in the washing machine and when it’s full I switch it on.
The cold wash won’t work for everything. Items such as towels and lighter clothes with stubborn stains need a warmer wash. A warmer wash now and again will also be good for your washing machine. But washing some clothes in cold water or at lower temperatures is a win for you and the environment.
Many people use a liquid detergent rather than a power detergent when washing on cold. I still use powder, but I use a lot less detergent. Otherwise, you’ll find the powder won’t dissolve. If you have this problem, there are many detergents that are formulated to work better on a cold wash.
3.) Do a vegan swap
The number one thing you can do for the environment is change to a vegan diet. Eliminate all meat and animal products from your diet.
This isn’t exactly easy. But what is easier is replacing one meal with a vegan option once a week. Have a meat free Monday. Or perhaps make one permanent vegan swap. Swap from milk to almond milk in your tea or coffee. Swap from butter to a vegan spread. Every little swap will make a difference. And you can always do more at a later date.
4.) Turn your thermostat down by one degree and wear an extra jumper.
You can use less energy and not really feel the difference. Have a blanket over you while you watch TV. Wear an extra jumper and warm socks and use less heating.
5.) Swap Your Toilet Paper to Who Gives a Crap Eco-Friendly and Recyclable Paper.
There are many eco friendly swaps you can make. Instead of toilet paper from your local supermarket, buy whogivesacrap toilet paper. It’s recycled and comes in recyclable packaging, no more plastic wrapping! The toilet paper is 3 ply so excellent quality. The company donate 50% of its profits to build toilet and sanitation systems to help improve the lives of people throughout the world.
It takes 5 minutes to make an order. Go to whogivesacrap.org – super easy and you are helping to make a big difference.
6.) Buy an organic fruit and veg box
Organic food is better for you, but also better for the environment. Organic farming doesn’t rely on synthetic or petroleum-based pesticides or fertilizers. It reduces water and soil contamination. According to the soil association website, if half of all farming in the European Union converted to organic by 2030, we could cut almost a quarter (23%) of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. Organic fruit and veg also tastes better.
One argument against organic food boxes is that they are expensive. However, if you buy organic food from the supermarket, it often works out more expensive than purchasing a food box online. And if it is more expensive, it’s only a couple of pounds more. For most people, this is not a vast amount. And you support the farmers and the organic industry buying directly from them.
Some organic food boxes in the UK include Riverford and Abel and Co.
7.) Have a buy nothing day
Challenge yourself to a buy nothing day. Rampant consumerism isn’t good for the environment and buying less is one way you can help buck this trend. You can do it as a one-off or make it a weekly or monthly event. A regular buy nothing day is ideal to raise your awareness of how much you purchase stuff.
You will save money and take stock of what you already have (in terms of food, clothes and other resources). The less you buy, the more impact you will have in terms of climate change and your wallet!
8.) Buy online in bulk
Try and combine your online buying into one trip. A big box with just one or two things means much more waste. Also, it will mean fewer trips to your home, so less fuel.
9.) Shorter Showers
Shorten your shower by a few minutes, save water and energy as well as keeping your costs down.
If you want to go extra eco friendly, consider taking some cold showers. I haven’t been able to do this, but it’s something worth thinking about especially if you live in hotter climates.
10.) Air dry
Air dry as much as your washing as you can. Using a tumble dryer can cost up to £3 or £4 a week if you use it a lot. Over a year this can add up. Air drying your clothes can also make them last longer. Invest in a drying rack in the winter and a line for the summer months. Your clothes and your energy bill will thank you for it.
11.) Use your car less
There are easy things you can do to use your car less and it will save you money. Car sharing, walking, cycling and making fewer short journeys can all help.
For example, instead of making several short trips, can you combine them all in one outing? Or, ask a work colleague whether they will car pool for two days a week. One day you drive, another they can. Perhaps, walk to the local shop instead of driving. If you have to drive kids to school, can you park a little further away from the school and walk the rest of the way? Or ditch the car on the school run altogether.
12.) Meal Plan
Spend a few minutes writing a weekly meal plan, than make a list of what you need for your weekly shop. The idea behind this is that if you stick to a meal plan with the foods you need, there won’t be any food waste. Another way to help your bank balance and the environment at the same time.
13.) Slow Down.
When you drive, leave some extra time and drive slowly. Driving at 50mph and uses 25% less fuel than at 70mph.
14.) Check your tyre pressure
Under inflated tyres are less round and therefore take more energy to move. This contributes to more fuel being used and therefore more pollution.
According to Treehugger.com the average person who drives 12,000 miles yearly on under-inflated tires uses about 144 extra gallons of gas, at a cost of $300-$500 a year. For each gallon of gas, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. It doesn’t bear thinking about the figures when you multiply this by the millions of people in the world who are driving on under inflated tyres.
It’s a good idea to check your tyre pressure once a month and inflate them according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
15.) Switch to a green energy supplier
Switching your energy supplier to a greener energy tariff has never been easier and takes 10 to 15 minutes work. There’s a lot of “greenwashing” that goes on in the energy supplier field, so it’s important to do your research and find energy suppliers who use renewable sources of energy such as wind power and hydroelectric power stations.
According to the energysavingtrust.org.uk, the following energy companies clearly list the renewable sources of energy on their website.
16.) Switch your bulbs
Swap out incandescent bulbs for an LED ones. LED bulbs use about 10% of the electricity than incandescent bulbs, so switching them will help reduce your energy consumption. You will notice a difference in your electricity bill as well. And while you’re at it, make sure that you switch off lights when they aren’t in use.
17.) Change to natural cleaning products
Bicarbonate of soda and vinegar will do most cleaning jobs. They are inexpensive. And they won’t harm the environment like many of the branded cleaning products we buy.
For example, you can clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops with the 1-to-1 vinegar and water spray solution. You can also mop floors with a vinegar and water solution. Bicarbonate of soda is a versatile cleaner. It can be used to scrub surfaces in much the same way as commercial non-abrasive cleansers. And it works really well as a deodorizer too.
A quick search on ecosia will bring up lots of ideas on how to use natural products to clean. Pinterest is another great place to find out more about natural cleaners.
Put some on your shopping list and purchase them next time you shop. Then use them.
18.) Batch cook
Experiment with one day where you can batch cook your food for a few days. The oven will only be on once instead of 3 or 4 times, saving energy and money.
19.) Swap your bank
Have you ever thought about where your High street bank invests your money? Probably not. But it’s something we should all consider. It’s very likely your High street bank invests in arms companies, petrochemical industries and other industries supporting them.
Two banks in the UK that believe in ethical investment include the Co-operative Bank which only invests ethically, and then Triodos Bank which puts a list of the companies in which they invest into the public domain. And another one to consider is Charity bank which provides an ethical place to save money (although unfortunately, they don’t have a current account).
It’s super easy and quick to swap where your money is kept. A good website to look at is the Ethical Consumer to find out more.
20.) Buy or create an insect hotel
Insects are on the decline in the UK. This is going to impact our whole ecosystem. Without insects to eat, birds will die out too – and of course that is just the beginning.
If you have kids, a fun eco friendly activity to enjoy together is making an insect (or bug) hotel. There are many videos on youtube showing how you can create accommodation for insects. One weekend, make one with the kids. It’s an opportunity to chat and learn about insects at the same time. If you don’t have kids, don’t have the time or can’t be bothered, consider buying one. You can even order it online.
21.) Do a litter pick
You can do this on a small scale – for example, just find 3 pieces of litter to pick up. Or go one step bigger and join a local litter picking group. Or if you have time, you could even start a local group yourself!
22.) Support local
What food and products are available that have been grown or made locally. Buying local will reduce your carbon footprint as the goods you are purchasing won’t have been imported from the other side of the globe. Plus, you’ll be buying from local traders who will appreciate your support. Maybe there is a farmer’s market you could support nearby?
23.) Delete your emails
What? Delete your emails to save the planet? Yes, you read correctly. Every single email in the world takes energy to store on a server. Imagine trillions of emails around the planet being stored on huge server farms. These servers consume enormous amounts of energy, including litres of water used by air conditioning coolers.
According to Ovo energy, if Brits sent one less thank you email a day, we would save 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year – the same as 81,152 flights to Madrid.
So don’t send unnecessary emails, delete old emails, unsubscribe from social media notifications, unsubscribe from useless email lists and empty your junk mail folder recently.
24.) Unplug and switch off.
Again appliances on standby, computers left on during nighttime hours, phone chargers left plugged in when not charging are all times when energy is being wasted.
Make it a habit to unplug and switch off appliances when they are not in use. And encourage others to do the same. If everybody did this, it would be another collective effort to prevent unnecessary carbon emissions.
25.) Take out any unnecessary weight in your car
Do you have anything you are storing in your car that you can get rid of? Remove it from your car to reduce the fuel that you use when you drive. As well as helping to reduce your carbon footprint, it will reduce your fuel bill too.
26.) Use a laptop instead of desktop
Many of us are working from home nowadays and may have access to both a laptop and a desktop. Bear in mind, that a desktop needs a lot more energy to run than a laptop. So if you can, replace your desktop use with a laptop.
27.) Let Your Garden Go Wild
This has got to be the easiest tip in the article. Don’t mow your lawn. It’s great for the bees. The dandelions, buttercups and daisies are ideal for insects. Insects are essential for our eco system. They pollinate flowers and feed the birds. Yet, insect numbers are rapidly declining, which is not good news.
If the idea of letting your lawn grow makes you wince, consider having a wild part in your garden. Plant some wild flowers there. Ideally, look at plants which are native to the area in which you live as they are perfect for the insects that live there too.
28.) Cover Pans
When you’re boiling water or heating something up, don’t forget to use the pan lid. This will stop excess heat escaping, making it quicker, cheaper and use less energy to heat water and food.
29.) Wash Your Clothes Less
Most energy we use on our clothes is the water and heat used to wash and dry them. You can drastically reduce this by washing your clothes less. If your clothes smell okay, you can spot clean any stains.
You can also purchase clothes made of materials that don’t need to be washed as much. For example, merino wool doesn’t absorb the odours from sweat, so smells fresher for longer.
30.) Tell a Friend
Tell a friend or a family member about one step you’ve taken. One of the most powerful tools you have to help the environment is your voice. Telling people what you’re doing can be inspiring. It allows others to see how they can easily make a difference too. It also raises people’s awareness. The likelihood is they may not know that there is a search engine that helps plant trees or you can buy recycled toilet paper that gives back.
And if you want to, please share this article with others who may be interested and help spread the word!
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