Living a Greener Life Step 7: R-E-C-Y-C-L-E (Is it a scam?)

When people talk about green living, oftentimes the first image that pops into our heads is recycling. For years I’ve been taught to separate my plastic bottles, compost, cardboard, etc. from regular trash. But how effective is recycling? The more I read about the recycling industry, the more discouraged I become. Now it’s important toContinue reading “Living a Greener Life Step 7: R-E-C-Y-C-L-E (Is it a scam?)”

Living a Greener Life Step 6: R-E-P-A-I-R (fix before you buy)

Another major lifestyle change I’m working on to live a greener life is repairing broken items instead of just going out and buying a new one. This is a challenge at times because in today’s capitalist society, it’s so much easier just to buy something new. It’s often cheap to just replace something instead ofContinue reading “Living a Greener Life Step 6: R-E-P-A-I-R (fix before you buy)”

Living a Greener Life Step 5: R-E-U-S-E (common ways to reuse items)

We live in a single-use world where items are quickly discarded never to be used again. This has clearly become a problem as the amount of waste has piled up. Plastic waste is especially a big issue since it doesn’t break down easily and ends up in our oceans and other places. One major aimContinue reading “Living a Greener Life Step 5: R-E-U-S-E (common ways to reuse items)”

Living a Greener Life Step 4: R-E-P-L-A-C-E (top green swaps)

Living a greener life means making some changes to our lifestyle. We can change the way we shop, the way we eat, the way we have fun, the way we cook, the list goes on and on. These small changes might not seem like they’re having a big impact, but if enough people swap forContinue reading “Living a Greener Life Step 4: R-E-P-L-A-C-E (top green swaps)”

Living a Greener Life Step 3: R-E-S-A-L-E (buy local, buy used)

It is impossible to live a life completely free of consumption, but we can choose what we consume and where it comes from. When it comes to shopping, I strive to buy used as often as possible. There are some items that should be purchased new such as socks, underwear, hygiene products, helmets and otherContinue reading “Living a Greener Life Step 3: R-E-S-A-L-E (buy local, buy used)”

Five Steps to Green Up your Toiletries

Recently, I’ve started helping people clean out their pantries and closets. I’ve been partnering with multiple charities in my hometown to donate good, usable items after I do a clean out. Much of the clothing and food items are not fit for donation, however, and must be disposed of environmentally. Fortunately, most food items canContinue reading “Five Steps to Green Up your Toiletries”

A Greener Way to Donate

Recently, I’ve started cleaning out closets in a bid to encourage minimalism and greener living. Our closets are full of clothes that will never be worn. The first step to greener living is to change the way we shop for clothing. By reducing how much we buy, opting for resale items, and avoiding fast fashion,Continue reading “A Greener Way to Donate”

10 Tips to Green up your Closet

I’m going to host a clothing swap party soon (again). And not just as an excuse to sip wine with my girls, but also because clothing swap parties offer two of my favorite activities: decluttering and getting free stuff. Once a year, I try to go through my closet and pull out the items IContinue reading “10 Tips to Green up your Closet”

10 Tips for Preventing Food Waste (Green Living and Food Part 3)

I’ve revamped my dietary plans and now I have goals for greener grocery shopping. The last thing I’d like to focus on is preventing food waste. According to estimates by the Economic Research Service, nearly 30% to 40% of food gets wasted in the United States. This number is alarming. Nearly half the food producedContinue reading “10 Tips for Preventing Food Waste (Green Living and Food Part 3)”

A Guide to Greener Grocery Shopping (Green Living and Food Part 2)

I’ve been working on updating my dietary habits. I’ve never paid close attention to what I eat or where I get it from. But now that I’m trying to live a green and healthy lifestyle, what I eat and where I buy it has become very important to me. In a previous blog I lookedContinue reading “A Guide to Greener Grocery Shopping (Green Living and Food Part 2)”