Earth Day falls on April 22 this year, and there’s no better time to adopt some eco-friendly habits than now! Whether you live in an apartment, condo, or a house, incorporating sustainable practices doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, it’s often the small, everyday tasks that can make the biggest impact on the environment. This year, why not form some new, eco-friendly habits that you can easily implement in your everyday life while also helping out the environment in a big way? Here are some simple eco-friendly tips to begin within your apartment.
Washing Dishes
Do you keep the tap running while you scrub away? A running tap wastes up to 6 litres of water per minute! Instead, fill the sink with soapy water and fill another basin or large bowl with fresh water for rinsing. This simple step helps you conserve more and waste less.
Doing Laundry
When it’s time to head down to the laundry room in your building, this is also a task to be mindful of when it comes to being efficient with water and electricity. Schedule your laundry time at off-peak hours when the energy usage is lower, and set the machine to a cold water setting. Also, wasting a full cycle of water and energy on a few items is something to avoid. Try to wait to tackle the laundry until you have a full load each time.
Cleaning
Using chemical cleaners throughout your apartment is both toxic to you and the environment. Plus, they’re expensive! Instead, create your own natural cleaning products that are both effective and safe to use from everyday household ingredients. Create an All-Purpose cleaner by combining ½ cup of vinegar and ¼ cup of baking soda with ½ gallon (2L) of water. Stir it up and you can use this on just about any surface – showers, windows, mirrors, chrome fixtures – all without the harmful effects of chemical cleaners.
Shopping
Plastic bags, Styrofoam take-out containers, and plastic utensils are the nemesis to the environment. The amount of energy and pollution that’s necessary to create one plastic fork or bag is astounding. When it’s time to grocery shop or hit up your favourite take-out place, try to say NO to plastic. You can keep a reusable bag in the car, have a reusable water bottle and avoid taking any plastic utensils when you can.
Turning bad habits into sustainable, eco-friendly habits doesn’t take much. You just need the will to do it and some commitment. And now more than ever, our Earth needs every bit of help it can get from each and every individual. This Earth Day, try adopting some of these simple eco-friendly habits throughout your apartment to get on board with sustainability.
2017 is the 25th anniversary of Earth Day! Visit earthday.ca to see what eco-loving events are on tap in Ottawa on April 22. For more green tips, don’t miss our recent blog post Eco-Friendly Living in Your CLV Group Apartment!
