Hey earth muffins! I can’t believe that March is already here – and St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner too! This holiday is all about “green”… Which is perfect for us environmentalists! With a holiday that celebrates such an eco-friendly color, it is time to be a wee bit more sustainable this St. Patrick’s Day… Here are 4 easy ways to be green!
1. Use reusables for all your drinking needs!
While not everyone partakes in the holiday festivities, St. Patrick’s Day weekend is notorious for lots of parties and drinking. If you find yourself at any type of event, avoid the single-use red Solo cups. Bring your own reusable cup OR opt for drinks in glass bottles that can be recycled at the end of the night. Such a great (and easy) way to have a zero waste St. Patrick’s Day!
Hey earth muffins! The first step in starting to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle is to figure out how green you are to begin with. This can be challenging to assess – we often see ourselves as more sustainable than we actually are. Just like your favorite Buzzfeed quiz, the following websites allow you to evaluate yourself from another perspective. Let’s jump into the best online quizzes that will help you improve your eco journey!
This first quiz calculates what your carbon footprint is. After entering in information about your household, travel habits, shopping preferences, and even food consumption, this quiz will tell you what your carbon footprint is (as well as showing you how you compare to the “average” person). While it asks for quite specific information, you can use estimates if you need to. However, you will get the best results if you take the time to fill it out as best you can! After calculating your carbon footprint, the website provides you with a list of ways to “Take Action” and reduce your impact on the planet.
Hey earth muffins! Whether you are prepared for it or not, the holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving and Christmas are some of my favorite times of year. It is important to stay eco-friendly even when we are busy celebrating with family and friends! If you prep in advance to stay sustainable, you will be more likely to stick to these values even during the busiest times. In today’s post, I will be sharing my top tips on how you can go green for the holidays. Let’s jump right in and get ready to celebrate! 🎉
Go green by reducing your food waste!
Especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner, take actions to reduce your food waste over the holidays. This can be as simple as planning your meals or shopping your pantry before the grocery store. But, you can even push yourself to cook more vegetarian dishes or start composting in your backyard! Check out this full guide on how you can reduce your food waste. You’d be surprised on how much food you can divert from the landfill by following these simple tips!
Hey earth muffins! There is no doubt about it – our cell phones play a large role in our day-to-day lives… So why not utilize them when deciding to go green? While it might be fun to follow your favorite sustainable bloggers on Instagram or Twitter, I suggest checking out some apps as well! 😊 In this post, I will be talking about some of the best sustainable apps on the market. These are all awesome resources for anyone going green; so, let’s jump right into it!
Top 3 Sustainable Apps
Olio – The Olio app is a great resource for a newbie low waster! After creating an account, your location is used to find unwanted food (and non-food) items in your neighborhood. Alongside finding free things, you can also offer up extras from your garden, excess baked goods, etc. It is such an amazing way to reduce the amount of perfectly good items from going to the landfill! 😍 Unfortunately, the app is only as good as the number of users in your location; thus, I haven’t been able to use it much because there are only 30ish people in my area using it. I still recommend downloading, following on Insta, and using the app, especially if you are in a larger city!!
Sadly, my app usually has no listings near me…
IKEA Better Living – I learned about this app during a virtual Zero Waste Festival session put on by a Calgary based nonprofit called Plastic-Free YYC. Many Scandinavian countries are great at sustainable practices, and IKEA is a Swedish company. IKEA has created a whole app dedicated to sustainable living – such a great place to learn when you are trying to change your habits! The app shares tips for eco-friendly living, allows you to track your new habits, and even participate in challenges with your friends. So cool to see a company as big as IKEA pushing green living! 💚
Refill – If you have been following my Instagram, you woud have seen me talk about this app during my posts during Plastic Free July. The app allows users to mark all the places where you are able to refill a reusable water bottle. Such a great way to encourage others to ditch plastic water bottles! Again, this app is really dependent on how many people use it in your area; it is more popular overseas but is gaining popularity in the US. A great app and resource when you are new to carrying around a reusable water bottle!
Apps to Help Pick Sustainable Companies
Good on You – Once you decide to start a sustainable journey, many people avoid fast fashion companies and opt for ethical, slow fashion brands. While shopping secondhand is an even better (and my favorite!) option, shopping at sustainable companies is a good start for newbies. 😊 This app ranks these ethical fashion brands from “We Avoid” to “Great”; a perfect tool for selecting companies that are actually sustainable!
Think Dirty – While there are many DIY recipes for cleaning supplies, makeup, and other personal care products, most people opt to purchase “green” options at the store when just starting out on their eco-friendly journey. This app allows you to scan barcodes of products and will rank every single ingredient from 0 (the best for you) to 10 (the worst for you). This is a great way to see which companies are greenwashing and what products are actually natural/green. 😇
Other Eco-Friendly Apps
Cycl – I saw this app featured on a Goodful video, and it looks really great! Cycl allows you to input how eco-friendly nearby restaurants are by sharing if they accept reusable bottles/containers and what the food comes in (for both takeout and dine in). This is a great way to avoid excess plastic if you can choose a restaurant that uses paper containers over one that uses three layers of different plastic tubs and bags. Again, this app is only as good as the number of users in your area so be a trendsetter and update your favorite local restaurants in your area! 🥳
YourLocal – This app allows you to locate excess food at local restaurants and cafes towards the end of the day. Then, you are able to purchase the food at a lower price. Saves the food waste and allows the establishments to still make a bit of money! 😍 Such a great idea; however, the app is currently only able to be used in New York City (and possibly Boston?) right now… But I hope that it expands soon!
Overall, there are so many great apps out there that can help you on your journey towards eco living! I’m sure I haven’t mentioned a bunch of great ones, so let me know your favorites in the comments! 🎉
