Earth Day has come and gone for the year, but it definitely did not look like the Earth Day of previous years. There were no protests or rallies, no wide scale beach clean up efforts, and no world wide tree planting quota to fulfill. We were all stuck in our homes, pondering the fact that the Earth has begun to heal itself with the reduction of human consumption. But, being at home all the time creates a whole new type of wasteful and unsustainable living. In honor of Earth Day, I thought of a few simple ways to implement cleaner, greener habits into your at home life.
1. Make your own disinfectant spray
Being in the midst of a pandemic means that we have all become extra cautious about sanitation. We’re wearing masks, washing our hands, and cleaning more often than we ever have before. While all of these measures are absolutely necessary in order for us all to stay safe and healthy, more frequent cleaning creates more waste. This is especially apparent in our new household cleaning habits. We are all stockpiling more cleaning products, overusing paper towels, and exposing ourselves to a lot of chemicals that are not so great. Instead of buying another bottle of disinfectant, consider reusing your old bottle and fill it with a homemade disinfectant. As long as your cleaning solution is 70% alcohol, it will do the job of a powerful disinfectant. For wiping down surfaces and drying your hands, consider using old rags and towels to do the job, and washing them with the rest of your towels in hot water whenever they need to be cleaned.
2. Learn how to upcycle your clothes
When it comes to beating quarantine boredom, no one is more tempted than me to turn to online shopping. It seems that all of my favorite retailers are having crazy amazing sales and new collection drops constantly. But the reality is, binge shopping for clothes will result in you having a lot of clothes that you’re either not going to wear, not going to end up liking, or won’t use sufficiently enough. On top of that, most if not all of the most popular retailers are not sustainable, sometimes referred to as “fast fashion” brands. Their clothing and products are made in factories with huge carbon footprints, and the materials they use may be acquired unsustainably. This means that the rate in which they are taking the materials cannot be maintained, and eventually they will run out of whatever material they are using because they are taking too much. Furthermore, the materials used are most likely not biodegradable, meaning that when they eventually end up in a landfill, they will continue piling up.
Instead of buying into the fast fashion industry or spending a greater amount of money on clothes from sustainable brands, look into various methods to upcycle your own clothes. During quarantine, I have been learning embroidery, and I’m hoping that I can get good enough to embroider designs onto my jeans, jackets, and shorts. You can also tie-dye old, plain t-shirts, bleach dye stripes onto denim pieces, or cut and crop your long, baggy shirts.
3. Cook more meatless meals
All of the non-essential businesses are closed right now, which means all of my favorite restaurants are closed. Needless to say, I’ve been doing a lot more cooking than usual. Since I’ve been cooking more for myself, I have been trying to be more mindful of the things I am cooking. I’ve been trying to consume fish as much as possible when I’m eating meat, but if I can help it, I’ve been trying to eat as many meat free meals as possible. I’ve been substituting avocado, quinoa, and tofu for all of the meat products I usually eat. In the event that I do order something from Postmates instead of cooking, I again try to get the fish or vegetarian options. Tofu bowls from Flame Broiler and sofritas from Chipotle are some of my favorites.
While you can’t really go out and clean up the litter around your neighborhood, or go thrift shopping instead of buying new clothes, there are still a ton of little changes we can make to live a less wasteful, more sustainable life.