Welcome back to my blog. I might have totally underestimated how busy I would be with working at my placement, doing my dissertation and trying to keep up on Instagram/my blog. It seems that I will only be able to post once a week for the foreseeable future. Anyway, onto today’s post! Sometimes people say they don’t have enough time to do sustainable actions, but you can fit in a lot of things in just a few minutes. I am sharing eco-friendly actions you can do in 5, 10 and 15 minutes!
Featured photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash
Why should we live more sustainably? What are the benefits?
If this exceptionally hot weather we’ve been getting hasn’t made you realise how serious climate change is, I don’t know what will! Living more eco-friendly, not only has environmental benefits but health benefits as well. Reducing our impact on the planet would make us a lot more healthy, it seems so crazy to me that more people aren’t doing something.
- Organic food hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides which harm the soil, and therefore the ecosystem. Eating food that doesn’t have pesticides and chemicals sprayed on keeps you from consuming them and harming your body.
- Driving less would reduce lots of different types of pollution which would mean we would ingest less harmful chemicals.
- Growing your own veg (hopefully) means you appreciate fruit & vegetables while also benefiting your mental health through gardening and being amongst nature.
- Reducing your energy consumption not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also keeps your energy bills low. Who doesn’t love saving money?
And the list goes on…
25 sustainable actions you can do in minutes
5 minute sustainable actions
5 minutes is a very small amount of time, but you would be surprised with what you can fit in!
- Turn off any unused lights
- Share eco-friendly tips on social media
- Freeze food that is near its use-by date
- Leave product bags/reusable bags in your car
- Pick up litter
- Calculate your carbon footprint
- Order a food waste bin
- Empty your email junk folder
- Delete unused apps from your devices
- Write a shopping list
- Check your fridge, bring forward things near their date/are going off soon
- Put a reusable bag in all your bags (handbag, backpack etc.)
- Turn off your computer if you aren’t going to use it for over 2 hours
- Check that your tv is off, and not on standby
10 minute sustainable actions
You could either do 2 of the above eco friendly actions, or one of the following:
- Put your clothes outside to dry
- Mend your clothes
- Clean your empty jars/cans etc.
- Delete duplicate files/photos
- Delete files you no longer need
- Meal plan to ensure food is not wasted
15 minute sustainable actions
- Plant some herb seeds – they are super easy to plant, and don’t tend to require repotting which is perfect if you don’t have a garden.
- Upcycle something – e.g. use old tights to make hairbands
- Make your own eco-friendly cleaning products – surface cleaner, toilet cleaner
- Plant some wildflower seeds to attract pollinators e.g. butterflies
- Cook a new veggie meal
Which sustainable action are you going to incorporate?
Best wishes, Cx
These are good sustainability tips. Will try to practice them. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks!
It’s amazing all the little things we can do and changes that we can make that all add up to help; great list — thank you for sharing!
I agree! thank you x
Such a great list! Will bookmark this, so I’ll remember them.
I’m trying to make my own cleaning products these days, so that’s one down. I’m doing some of the others, too. The rest, I will try to practice ASAP.
Homemade cleaning products are just so much better! x
Using old tights to make hairbands sounds so cool, I’ve never heard of that! I’ll be using that soon since I actually have a pile of clothes I wanted to throw away/recycle/upcycle and there are some tights in there. Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh great!
Ooh I love this! I’m long overdue a big clear out of my phone where I go through my apps and photos, and I’d really like to try making my own eco-friendly cleaning products! Thank you so much for sharing, I hope you’re enjoying your placement x
Thank you, it has been amazing 🙂
These are all great tips. Every little bit helps.
Definitely agree
Thanks for these wonderful reminders. I had no idea a tv oils be on standby.
Thank you
This is such a helpful post, Caroline! Love that you’ve split them up as well. I’ll be bookmarking this to remind me of all those little things I can do quickly to help!
Thank you Jenny!
This is a wonderful list of sustainable actions, and I love that you divided them into 5, 10, and 15 minute actions as it shows that you don’t need a lot of time to take steps to be more sustainable. I’ll definitely have to do a few of these like deleting photos and files I don’t need and I can look into making my own cleaning products.
Thank you!
What a great list of simple, quick sustainable actions we can incorporate into our days! I make an effort to turn off lights and make sure my devices are off when not in use. I am also a huge fan of digital declutters. 🙂
Me too, super important! x
I always turn everything off by the switch – more so to save on the bill than anything else but it helps to know that it lowers our energy output!
Definitely, the little changes add up!
just shows how many small things we can all be doing that dont cost the earth – literally!
Agreed!
These are all great ways to be more sustainable. I haven’t thought about doing a lot of these, so thank you. 🙂
Let me know how you get on!
These are such great tips and things we should all be considering.
The hot weather is concerning and we all need to do our part to avoid these effects.
Definitely agree x
I love these tips! I really like the 5-minute ideas. 5 minutes is such a short time to make a big impact! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Definitely agree x
I definitely need to remember to put a reusable bag in all my bags. I tend to forget to bring a reusable bag because after using it, I took it out of my bag. There are many tips here that can be added to my routine. Thanks for sharing x
Amazing, let me know how you get on 🙂
These are all really good ideas that each of can easily do. My city has a zero plastics policy for shopping bags so reusable bags are stashed in my purse, the car etc. Thanks for sharing Caroline!
Oh I love that! x
This has SO MANY great ideas Caroline – I love how simple small changes can make and to be honest I find I”m more likely to stick with it if they’re simple and easy swaps! Making eco-friendly cleaners, using bulk refill stores, and carpooling has been what I’ve been focusing on this summer!
Definitely, way better to keep habits! x
Great tips! A lot can be done around clothing especially meding things rather than having a throw away culture and washing things less.
We’re currently trying to bring our greenhouse back into use, figured with the cost of living that may be a good idea x
I definitely agree! I love that, hope it goes well x
I never thought about emptying my email folders as a way to incorporate sustainability but I love that tip! Also, I always try to pick up litter if I see it outside.
Amazing 🙂
Thanks for sharing this! Such a quick and easy things we can do to help!
Corinne x
Thank you Corinne x
I want to try drying my clothes outside more! Although it’s a little rainy in Anchorage, Alaska right now (okay *really* rainy lol), I’ll try it out the next time my laundry day is sunny! I also want to try it when I go back to Argentina since it will be warmer. My boyfriend’s family would hang dry most, if not all, of their clothing there too. I also want to try growing some herbs there as well. It’s a little challenging in Anchorage so maybe I’ll have a better chance in a warmer climate. I’d like to believe I have a green thumb!
Thanks for the great post! x
Oh that sounds amazing!
These are such good ideas! I love how you’ve laid things out too to make it as easy as possible. We can all do our bit.
Claire.x
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Thank you x
These are some really great tips that are simple and easy but can make such a huge difference to reducing your waste and your impact on the planet.
Thank you for sharing.
Lauren
Thank you Lauren x
Love this Caroline! Making changes to our everyday lives that help the planet is so important. Love these suggestions as their super easy to work into our lives but can make a difference. I can’t go anywhere without reusable bags now, I feel icky at the thought of using the plastic ones lol.
I totally feel the same! x
Such an amazing post and definitely the way to go in the future.
The tips are totally easy to folow..
Thank you x
Honestly, I love coming to your blog! Not only are your posts incredible but I learn so much. You’ve mentioned some really great changed here to become more environmentally friendly and I’ll be sure to put them to good use. I’m really trying everyday to make changes to my everyday life and your blog helps me out heaps with that! Thank you so much for sharing with us lovely Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
Aww, thank you so much Elle! x
These are great tips, Caroline! We have been trying our best to reduce our usage on so many fronts!
Thank you