MY ECOHACKS - reduce plastics, adjust diet, all natural cleaning & within the community- TRY THESE!

I am very passionate (obsessed) with working towards a natural and sustainable lifestyle. Below are some ideas. These are things I practice (not perfectly). I hope to spread the word to make a difference in other people's lives because I have found a positive impact on my own!

To reduce plastic I...

• Save plastic bags from bread, paper bags and random wrappers from things so I don't have to buy bags.

• Use beeswax wraps and mason jars.

• Bring my own containers to our favourite take-out restaurants.

• Skip the thin bags at the grocery stores and opt for the brown paper bags at the mushroom section- I reuse these until there is definite residue lol.

• Bring tote bags everywhere just in case, and invest in cute cloth ones whenever I find them!

• Bring jars to bulk places / butcher / bakery to reduce wrapping- key thing is to go to the cash first to weigh your stuff to get the right pricing.

• Purposely skip brands that over-package!!

• Seriously say no to plastic water bottles. Will go thirsty versus buying a plastic bottle- or I ask to use someone's bathroom and just use my hands to drink water from the tap.

To adjust my diet I...

• Try my best to eat local and in season.

• Certain foods I try to only buy organic, fair-trade, eco-smart, etc.. like crops that have a negative impact on the environment when bought commercially, or cause turmoil in the country where they are grown- e.g avocados, chocolate, coffee..

• Try my best to avoid supporting direct or indirect companies that use GMO. A key thing to look for to avoid supporting GMO is buy organic, since legally something can't be both. Not eating processed foods is a good way to decrease GMO consumption.

• Shop at farmers markets.

• Grow and compost my own food- will be blogging about this during the summer!

• Attempt (lol) to not overeat, or waste unnecessarily.

• Support companies that put effort into reducing their packaging or using reusable materials.

Read: What about GMO is so bad?

Within the home I..

• Try to make all my own products like skincare, cleaning, etc.

• Bought the metal clothes drying racks so I can skip the dryer.

• Use wool dryer balls to increase the speed of drying in the machine and eliminate the single-use waste of dryer sheets.

• Try to buy fabrics that last.. like wool, leather, hemp, cotton.. etc.

• In the summer (I try my best) to skip the air conditioning and opt for the open window method.

• Try not to run water unnecessarily, a.k.a make a huge stink about my family members that leave the water running when they brush their teeth!!

• Organize recycling into plastics and paper and take note of brands that use unnecessary packaging

Cleaning I..

• Use natural homemade cleaning solutions for counters, air fresheners, bathroom, floors etc.. This saves two ways: reduces the bottles and packaging and also no chemicals are washed down the drain / in the air. It's super easy to make with saline solutions, vinegar and essential oils.

• Use homemade soap or locally made products that sell without packaging.

• Use bar soap for the dishes with a European abrasive plant cloth thing I got from a hippy store- it works!

• Have sets of cotton / microfibre cloths for around house to forget the use of paper towels

In my community I...

• Pick up trash in parks and on nature paths.

• Support small businesses where possible.

• Take public transit, bike and walk.

• During the winter I shovel versus using a snowblower.

• I use a push mower- lol

• Recycle properly when possible.

• Speak up when others act like idiots and litter around me.

Some cool things I have seen around the neighbourhood..

• Impermeable driveways that allow water to absorb into the system instead of becoming runoff

• Solar panels

• Shareable libraries for book recycling

If you have some cool ideas, let me know! :)

-Samantha