Making this planet green is every one’s job! It does not have to be a uphill journey – it can be a very enjoyable one.
Here is our list of some very simple tips that you can introduce in your routine. Since they are simple and easy, you would be least resistant to implement these we hope. Every small move you make is adding up to the big numbers – just like every drop makes the ocean. And please, at no point should any of us feel – ‘what ONE ME can do! How does it matter when everyone around is continuing to litter?’
If every drop of water thought ‘what’s the point, I hardly matter’ – we wouldn’t have an ocean would we? Once it realized it was the whole ocean in that one drop, is when things changed. You are that one drop in the ocean and the ocean is you. So pick the ones you love the most and get started!
- Use a glass to fill water and use when you brush every morning. A running tap during brushing uses about 10 to 15 litres of water per minute! Do the math.
- Turn off the lights, allow natural light to fill your room during the day – 8 am to 5 pm. Good for earth, good for you! So go ahead and draw those curtains to let the green and the sunshine in!
- Each time you wash your hands with soap – remember to turn off the tap when you are still soaping your hands. This will save at least 2 to 5 litres of water per wash.
- Say no to paper napkins and tissues – use a cotton towel instead. Toilet paper is not recyclable and adds huge amounts of waste to our drainage systems and bins, which eventually pollute our water bodies.
- No bottled water – carry your own bottle wherever you go.
- Plant seeds for a tree today in a small pot. And promise to look after it through the next 6 months, so you can place it into the earth from the pot.
- Carry your own shopping bag. Even if it’s a paper shopping bag the departmental store is giving you, it is still adding up to our junk that needs to be recycled again. And this requires energy.
- Say no to paper cups for tea of coffee, and carry your own mug to work. Great one to keep yourself healthy and safe from the wax coating that comes off paper cups when you pour a hot beverage in it. So along with your tea you are also consuming unwanted stuff.
- Buy less. This is the best one. Just like prevention is better than cure. Think before you buy anything to ensure it does not just lie around later as a piece of junk.
- Buy good quality items that ensure longer life. This ensures you don’t need to throw them away too soon.
- Recycle more often – Use the back of printed documents that land on your desk, before you reach out for a fresh sheet of paper. Print less to begin with.
- Eat more vegetarian meals during the week. The meat industry is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases, so your little sacrifice will go a long way in saving the planet.
- Repeat your clothes more often by clustering them with different tops and bottoms or accessories. This is the new cool!
- Walk to close by shops instead of drive. Good for your health, allows you to enjoy some fresh air and green, while burning some of those tough calories.
- Buy more from the local shops than online. This reduces carbon miles on shipping products from faraway places.
Let’s not wait for another catastrophe to change our ways of living. Introduce yourself and your loved ones to a green lifestyle, so we can leave behind a planet where trees are found in parks and not in the museum.
Share this with your networks and contribute in building a green tomorrow. When you share it, make a pledge to follow any 3 of the above that you feel drawn to and nominate 3 more people to take this pledge. Get, set, go!
