Wondering how to create a daily sustainable routine that actually makes a difference, and makes you feel you’re creating a positive change in the world?
Being sustainably-minded is about understanding how our daily choices impact our environment and finding better solutions for our daily needs.
It’s about protecting and enhancing our environment, controlling our overconsumption, reducing our dependency on plastic use, and lowering our impact on this planet.
It’s best to implement small sustainable changes over time and make them long-term habits. Building a sustainable daily routine is important to stick to your goals of reducing your eco-footprint.
With this post, I hope to inspire you with some easy ways to create a sustainable daily routine that you’ll adopt and use!
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Tips For Creating A Sustainable Daily Routine
Just like setting a new workout routine, or implementing a new cleaning schedule at home, developing new sustainable habits will take some work and time.
Here are a few of my tips on developing a sustainable daily routine:
- Layout a plan and write down the new routine you envision. Keep your routine visible so you are constantly reminded of what’s coming next until it becomes second nature.
- Tackling too many changes at once can lead to failure. Change your routine by slowly adding one or two new habits. Let your routine evolve over time by adding new sustainable practices when the old ones become routine
- Track your progress. Put a checkmark on your calendar every day you stick to your new routine. See if you can check off every day that month!
A Good Example Of A Sustainable Daily Routine:
MORNING
Brew Your Coffee At Home
Who doesn’t like a cup of coffee to start the day? There’s no reason to give it up, there are various ways you can clean up your coffee drinking habits.
Let’s start with an easy swap. Try brewing your coffee at home and pouring it into a reusable coffee mug for your commute to work. Why? Because, in Canada, it is estimated that we use 1.5 billion disposable coffee cups a year.
However, if you are craving your favourite Starbucks or Tim Hortons drink and nothing else will do, you can bring your reusable cup for them to fill. Starbucks even gives you a $0.10 discount if you use your reusable cup.
Use A Bamboo Toothbrush
Another great addition to your sustainable daily routine is using a bamboo toothbrush!
Did you know that plastic toothbrushes can take up to 500 years to decompose? Switching your conventional toothbrush or a bamboo toothbrush has to be the easiest switch you can make. The only difference is that you can throw your bamboo toothbrush in your compost or green bin when you are done with it instead of the garbage.
Sourcing bamboo toothbrushes is probably your biggest hurdle as they are not readily available in most drug stores. I’ve had success finding that at local eco-friendly stores or buying them in larger quantities from Amazon.
NOTE: If you’re in Canada, Well.ca has a good selection for online shopping!
Take A Five-Minute Shower
Conserving water is another facet of sustainable living!
Here in Canada, conserving water might not be top of mind because it’s so abundant that we are not afraid of it running out. However, it takes a lot of energy to treat the water, distribute it to your home, heat it for your bath or shower and then treat the wastewater afterwards.
A 5-minute shower should be part of your sustainable daily routine as it will do the trick at reducing your water use. The bonus here is that you’ll be saving money on your water bill and energy bill.
Taking a 5-minute shower isn’t easy. You can set a timer, and try to reduce your shower time by one-minute increments until you get to five minutes. Adding a low-flow showerhead will further reduce your water consumption.
Reconsider Your Commute To Work
Fossil fuels emitted by cars and trucks pose one of our biggest environmental challenges today and contribute to global warming.
Reducing your dependence on cars will also reduce your eco-footprint, so it’s time to reconsider your commute to work.
Depending on where you live, this change to your commute to work could look quite different. In the city, you can take a bus, the subway or even walk or ride your bike to work.
If you live in rural areas, could pose a bigger challenge. If your place of work is within 10 km of your home, you can consider driving your bike when the weather permits. But, if you have a long commute, you could consider carpooling instead.
Driving your car to work every day is a very difficult habit to break. You might want to try to pick a day a week to try an alternate mode of transport!
Depending on how you decide to travel to work, you might have to adjust your daily routine to accommodate your new commute. You might have to wake up earlier to allow more time to get to work!
Lunch
Pack Your Lunch With Reusable Containers
One of the easiest things to add to a sustainable daily routine is to pack your lunch!
Packing a lunch instead of buying your lunch is a habit that takes time and planning, but is also very sustainable.
Ditch the quick-serve burger and fries and pack your lunch using reusable containers, placed in a cooler bag. This will help reduce the amount of plastic you generate.
Here are some ideas of what to pack:
- Sandwich or wrap packaged in reusable beeswax wraps
- Layered salad in a mason jar
- Leftovers in a small thermos
- Cut up vegetables
- Whole fruit
- Baked goods or homemade granola bars in silicone baggies
- Nuts, trail mix or dried fruit (if permitted)
Not only will packing your lunch be a sustainable habit, but it will also be a healthier and budget-friendly practice.
TIP: Batch or pre-pack your lunches the night before to make it super easy to just grab and go in the morning.
Bring Your Reusable Water Bottle With You
You’ll need something to wash down that yummy, healthy lunch. The sustainable option is to carry a reusable water bottle with you. It’s cheaper than buying bottled water and you won’t be adding to the plastic waste issue.
According to the Environmental Defence, less than half the water bottles make it to recycling bins. The rest, make it to landfills, or worse, into our waterways.
Tap water is safe, healthy, inexpensive, and an eco-friendly beverage to accompany any good meal!
Check out the LARQ self-cleaning reusable bottle and check out Margaret’s Larq review as to how it works! Get free shipping for purchases over $80.
Dinner
Make One Weekly Dinner Meal Meatless
Eating less meat will reduce your carbon footprint.
Livestock farming is a large contributor to gases that cause global warming. Chicken and pork are more sustainable choices over red meat as they produce less agricultural emissions, however, adopting a vegetarian diet is still better.
If you are a big meat eater, try making at least one meal a week meatless. The best strategy to stay on track with healthy or vegetarian meals is to create and stick to a weekly meal plan.
| Related: Herbed Cottage Cheese Recipe For Snacking And Sandwiches
Set The Table With Cloth Napkins
This next sustainable daily habit should be an easy one to take on!
Ditch the paper napkins and use cloth ones. It’s not only more sustainable but it will make your dinner table look classy.
Use what you have at home, but if you need to acquire new ones, linen or organic cotton are better sustainable choices for fabric.
| Related: How To Set The Dinner Table: Tips For A Formal Dinner
Evening
Make Your Daily Laundry Load A Sustainable One
If you are a mom of kids, doing laundry seems like an endless daily task. While you are at it, take time to consider how to make your laundry routine more eco-friendly.
Here are some quick tips:
- Wash in cold water
- Use laundry strips instead of bottled laundry soap
- Use dryer balls over dryer sheets
- Hand dry when possible
Go To Bed On Organic Cotton Sheets
I prefer cotton over synthetic material any day, that includes my bedsheets. Cotton is a good choice, but organic cotton sheets are the most sustainable choice.
Organic cotton has better ventilation than synthetic sheets. Also, organic cotton keeps you cool and dry. Cotton is also a durable material that is biodegradable.
Why is organic cotton better? Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. It also uses less water than regular cotton.
| Related: Tips For Creating The Perfect Bedtime Routine For Optimal Sleep And Rest
Wrap Up
Fitting new habits into your sustainable daily routine is totally doable. It takes planning ahead, and consciously making better choices, sometimes over the conventional ones, and it also takes time to get comfortable with your new life choices.
I’ll end this post with one of my favourite quotes:
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Anne Marie Bonneau, Zero Waste Chef
QUESTION: What would you add to a sustainable daily routine?
Read more of my guest blogger Lucie’s work on her Green Slice Of Life blog!
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