10 WAYS TO LESSEN OUR FOOTPRINT ON EARTH

WE ARE ALL GROUNDED. AND IT'S BEEN LONG!

Earth day(2020) has recently gone by and humans are literally grounded across the globe. And there is no escaping the mess that we are in. No matter how together we are in this, there is a battle each one of us is fighting individually.

Have you ever thought...as you pull that decor look, or clean your spaces, or take up organizing and purging, what this might lead to? Do you ever question yourself about the effect of all your dos on the planet and the environment? Are we looking at sustainability or not ? What are the steps that we can take to lessen the burden on the landfills.

Someone has rightly said," I cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good that I can do." Then hell ya! That's what is needed.

Over some weeks I have been searching for tips that I can share with you all, to lessen our footprint on the world around us. These tips and tricks primarily relate to our homes and what changes we must bring about in our ways of living for making the spaces around us less burdened.

10 TIPS TO LESSEN OUR FOOTPRINT ON EARTH

1. YOU CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH

》》》You can only do so much. Try to donate what you can.

》》》 Try not to obsess over every little thing. That's when people get overwhelmed and stuck in the process of giving away and purging. 2. STOP BUYING JUNK

》》》 Avoid buying junk and plastic, especially on your travels.

》》》Be very careful about what you bring into your life. This is a whole conversation about - all the “stuff” of our lives. 3. CLOTHING -THE CULPRIT

》》》 Clothing is a big culprit. A lot of the clothing we donate can actually be reused. Most of us don;t make an effort to reuse them or try to sell them to second hand shops/thrift online stores. Thus, much of them end up in landfills. This is the cost of “fast fashion”.

》》》The key is to buy less and less.

》》》Rethink how you make all future purchases. For example, inexpensive clothes made with synthetic fabrics don't last as long, are worse on the environment to create and launder plus they tend to be clothes that are trendier and go out of style.

4. CHOOSE CHARITY

》》Donate to the local charity places, or to your house helps on a regular so someone else can use the things that still have potential. 5. REUSE YOURSELF

》》》 Try to reuse the discarded things, instead of justifying everything by putting it in the local recycling. Or giving it away just like that. Basically take some burden of recycling yourself.

》》》Recycle old clothes, so others can use them. Use eco friendly products, and good storage means. And all those old rags make super cleaning cloths.

》》》Yes! The waste being created is huge and also hurts immensely. Try to reuse, recycle, repurpose, compost, and donate whenever you can. 6. ENLIGHTEN YOURSELF

》》》I donate as much as possible, recycle as much as possible, and try to not buy new things. Re-approacing how you shop will make a big difference.

》》》For somethings, try used items when possible.

》》》Try joining Facebook pages like '2020 No spend Challenge'. Pages like these will keep you conscientious of all the wasteful purchases you make.

>>> Work on more sustainable choices. Lately, I’ve started buying all gently used furniture items rather than new.

》》》Pick up books on ZERO WASTE MANAGEMENT, that encourage us to not create more trash in the world. Please remember , a part of our effort to be tidy is to care about the earth. Goto the link to get a list of books on zero waste lifestyle. { https://greendreamer.com/journal/zero-waste-lifestyle-books}

》》》 Its important to be committed to buying less stuff in general. Look for renewable/recyclable packaging, and not buying more boxes/bins to hold the stuff you already have. Yes! It’s hard to believe how wasteful we can be. How we just throw things away without considering where it’s going and how it affects our planet. How we consume so much for no real reason other than we WANT and want. So much. 7. FOLLOW SOMEONE WHO IS PROPOGATING THE CHANGE.

Following people like Marie Condo, Joshua Becker, Courtney Carver, The Minimalists can really help us in making the right decisions about the 'stuff' in our lives. 》》》One of the neat things about the Mari-Kondo method is that it forces you to see the waste that mass consumerism causes. Once your space is clear, and everything has a place, you will be less likely to consume more things unless they are really needed. Yep for sure. It really makes you think. If I donate the items I am not using, it could prevent someone from buying the same item, but new. Here the item gets used just not by me, but by someone else too. 》》》They make us reflect on prior purchases in order to be more informed and thoughtful going forward. It really doesn't matter how much you can donate or recycle, it's more important to consider the prevention of things that will need to be donated or recycled.

》》》I really liked the quote "The most environmentally friendly product is the one you didnt buy" - Joshua Becker

>>> Rather then dumping and buying here people give and share. Look for one in your area by searching Facebook groups. It’s actually terrific. You post what you are in search of rather than buying new and when you are done with something you pass it on to someone else in the group. You can share everything from outgrown diapers to clothes to furniture and toys etc.

> > > Try putting very little in the trash. Donate clothes or try to sell things. Give yourself a set time. If it doesn't sell in that period, then it goes into donation. >>> It definitely makes you severely reduce your financial/material/economic footprint You end up consuming much less! 9. MAKE THE CHANGE AND RAISE A VOICE.

》》》If possible, purchase from local green market and take home in your own, regularly washed, bags.

》》》Get rid of single use plastic and plastic food storage entirely. Invest in glass, cleaner and healthier since you won’t absorb the toxins and hormone disrupting chemicals.

》》》Slow down, enjoy nature, and if you see people littering beaches or parks, say something. Raise a voice. 10. ASK WHY

Asking yourself why you continued to buy all that stuff , all these years, you don’t need or like anymore? After all on another note it only increases the amount of material and products that companies are producing. The surplus of junk everywhere that people keep buying is huge. The production of a lot of these products is what’s polluting our world and the fact that certain materials are not biodegradable and will still be on this earth 3 and 4 generations later, is a true but very sad fact.

Try to ask yourself the same question and again as your hands go to click on the "buy cart" next time. None of us can unwind the knot we have created for Earth. Reallocating what you don't need to Homeless shelters, resale shops ... Commit to staying downsized once you've done it. Setting criteria for our future purchases will take us a long way in deciding further course of reaction from mother Earth. Key is to remember what we are going through and never to repeat those action that have led us here.

Cheers to Sustainable Living.