Sustainable Living- What Is It And How To Do It Right?

Sustainable living is a lifestyle choice that is pro-environment. Our choices and decisions of today will affect what is left of everything for the generations of tomorrow to claim. 

Adopting a sustainable lifestyle means a shared experience to a common future wherein humans and nature can have a cordial existence and maintain equilibrium without compromising the future generations. 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, or the 3Rs is the golden thumb rule or a principle to live by when you opt for an eco-friendly lifestyle. Even though this seems to be easier said than done, this guide will help you understand how to imbibe an eco-friendly lifestyle which requires a great deal of thinking before you use any bought product or eat any readymade food. 

All you need to know is that it is a matter of habit, and after a month into adopting this lifestyle, you and your community will be well set in your sustainable ways to go about life. So let us dig in!

What Is Sustainable Living?

Simply put, what a sustainable lifestyle entails is choosing renewable and organic resources to ensure a substantial reduction in excess waste and preserving the natural resources for the future. 

Judicious use of finite natural resources has become the need of the hour. Making informed decisions so that you expend the least amount of energy by making little tweaks and changes in how we operate our appliances or things we buy from supermarkets will go a long way towards achieving a sustainable lifestyle. 

A self-sufficient lifestyle should become the new normal that endorses the practical thought of reducing our unprecedented reliability on natural resources. 

How To Do It Right?

The choices we make today are not as innocent in nature as it seems. These choices affect not only our environment, but these actions also impact the entire network of species that are linked to us directly or indirectly.

 Let us go through some of the things that we can do in order to adopt a self-sufficient lifestyle.

1. Shop Wisely

The golden rule of the 3Rs is the deciding factor after you have decided to opt for eco-friendly living. The idea is to leave as much less environmental footprint as possible. 

The packaging of the product that you want to buy always has detailed information regarding what raw materials were used during the manufacturing process, whether or not the manufacturing process contributed to creating pollution, etc. 

Also, it is wise to keep under consideration the amount and layering of plastic that went into packaging the product. After evaluating all these aspects, if it is an environmentally undesirable product, make sure to ask yourself twice if you really need that product. If yes, try to find alternative methods to organically produce the same that fall under the sustainable living plan.

2. Boycott Plastic

This is as simple as it sounds. Mass-production technology and advancement in science have not always been nature-friendly, and it is time to pay heed to the elephant in the room.

Since the pandemic breakout, we are not foreign to the phenomenological experience of being wrapped up in plastic. This is not to downplay the undeniable importance that masks and face shields hold in current times, yet you cannot deny the unnatural or the inorganic way of being since COVID-19 has swept the entire world. 

Excess of plastic in our daily chores means the excess generation of waste that leads to excess deposition of the same in the landfills and water resources.

Aquatic and ocean inhabitants suffer the detrimental consequences of the plastics that get dumped in the oceans. This is just one of the numerous consequences of exploiting and overusing plastics. Therefore, carrying environmentally friendly carry bags made of jute or linen cloth is vital to our sustainable living plan.

3. Being Considerate Of Wildlife 

Eco-friendly living involves a sustainable living community that is concerned with all the other inhabitants of our biosphere, excluding humans too. Our wildlife is affected in many ways that are often overlooked by us.

Even though products manufactured from endangered species are not legal in many countries, concerned authorities should pass stricter legislation to punish people who are breaking such laws. Habitat destruction is one of the major concerns behind the extinction of many species. 

We often buy products without going through the product description. Make sure that all these concerns are checked prior to buying products. Be aware, and you are one step closer to an eco-friendly lifestyle!

4. Scientific Approach To Tap Water

The consumer market often feeds off of your varying degrees of vulnerabilities, creating an unnatural fuss about everything to increase consumer traffic for their brands. 

Something as simple as water is no exception. Scientifically proven tests to ensure the quality of water have proved that tap water that is available to you for free is perfect. Such reliable information can always be your foundation to embrace sustainability. 

Access to bottled water can be avoided. Instead, you can install water dispensing appliances with an in-built system that offers flexibility in the rate of water flow. This can make a huge difference in embracing a judicious use of water in everyday chores such as washing utensils. 

5. Driving Green

Public modes of transportation like trains and buses can be extremely helpful to cut down on your carbon footprint. Long-distance traveling in your own car can deplete quite an amount of fuel but traveling in public transport can be a lot more comfortable and also cost-efficient. 

While traveling short distances like going to school or colleges, or going shopping, carpooling is an effective method. 

Final Words

Get your concerns and voice heard by engaging yourself in communities that share the same concerns as you. This will inevitably require you to engage in its political realm. Always opt for those political aspirants whose manifestos include environmental concerns.

 Being well aware of environmental policies to protest against MNCs and other organizations who violate the laws can help you ask for their accountability. 

You must make yourself and others aware of the fact that adopting a small family size means leaving less environmental and carbon footprint. Choosing a lifestyle that is environmentally friendly is the noblest of things to do in an otherwise corrupt world. Choose sustainability, choose the future!