Most of us genuinely like the idea of living more ecologically conscious, environmentally responsible lives. Unfortunately, many of us are also so used to the status quo of our lives that we procrastinate and indefinitely delay making decisions that could help us live better, more responsible, more sustainable lives.
How do you stop procrastinating and start living a more eco-conscious life?
A Better Philosophy
First, you need to take on a better philosophy. We’ll explore some of the reasons why people procrastinate in this area in the final section of this guide. But for now, understand that to take immediate action, you need to be motivated to take steps now.
Different people are motivated by different things, but many people succeed when they adopt and accept a mentality that baby steps matter. You don’t have to completely overhaul your life to make a difference; even one small habit change or one small upgrade is a step in the right direction. Once you fully embrace this, you’ll find it much easier to justify individual decisions toward sustainability – and you’ll stop delaying major decisions that can greatly reduce your environmental impact.
Actions You Can Take Today
These are some of the most important actions you can take today to start living a more eco conscious life:
1. Get a bidet
Because bidets use water, many people falsely believe they’re bad for the environment. On the contrary, upgrading to a bidet improves your environmental friendliness. That’s because toilet paper takes an inordinate amount of water to produce; by comparison, bidets use far less water. They also reduce toilet paper demand, which can collectively reduce the need to ship toilet paper and thereby reduce total energy consumption.
2. Identify appliances to replace
Modern appliances are designed to be highly energy efficient, but older appliances are energy hogs. If you have any appliances that are more than a decade old, you should consider upgrading them to save energy in the long term. This is especially true if these appliances are presenting mechanical or functionality issues.
3. Seal air leaks
Air leaks throughout your house can compromise your ability to heat or cool your house effectively, driving up your energy usage significantly. Thankfully, most of them can be easily sealed with a bit of caulk. Search for air leaks around your doors and windows – and consider upgrading your insulation while you’re at it.
4. Find some vegetarian recipes
Vegetarianism isn’t a requirement to be “environmentally friendly,” but it’s still a positive move from an environmentalists’ perspective. It’s also a great way to discover some new, creative, flavorful meals. Even if you don’t want to go fully vegetarian right now, you can look up some vegetarian recipes to work into rotation. Limiting your meat consumption even slightly can help reduce our collective demand for meat.
5. Get reusables
Today, consider purchasing some new reusables to replace disposables you might have used in the past. For example, purchase some canvas tote bags so you no longer have to get plastic, disposable bags at the store – or purchase a steel tumbler so you don’t have to keep getting paper cups at the water cooler.
6. Make upgrades around the house
Walk around your house and see if there’s anything you can upgrade for the sake of energy efficiency. For example, do you have any old incandescent light bulbs that could be replaced with LEDs? Are there any old shower heads that could be replaced with newer, water-saving varieties?
7. Start composting
Starting a compost bin isn’t at all difficult. You can likely start one in your own backyard after 15 minutes of reading and a small investment to purchase supplies. Once you have one, you’ll have an easy way to get rid of your organic waste – and a great product to facilitate your gardening efforts.
Why We Procrastinate
Why do we procrastinate in this area when it’s so important for us to change our habits proactively?
1. Investments required
Some people don’t want to move forward because of the investments required. They don’t want to spend a lot of money, they don’t want to spend a lot of time, and they certainly don’t want to make upgrades that require expenditures in both areas. This is understandable, but not all environmentally friendly upgrades require much of an investment.
2. Feelings of helplessness
Some people talk themselves out of making improvements because they see them as inconsequential at the highest level. Why should you bother limiting your plastic bag consumption when billionaires are flying on private jets every day? But this defeatist mentality is toxic; if everyone shared it, we would make no progress whatsoever. It’s each individual’s responsibility to make whatever progress they can.
3. Competing priorities
Sometimes, environmentally friendly decisions lose to competing priorities. For example, you may not have the money to upgrade your old appliances if there’s another, more urgent fix you need to apply to your house. Some of these competing priorities are much more reasonable than others.
As you can see, there are both valid and invalid reasons for indefinitely delaying sustainability and environmental friendliness improvements in your life. The better you can sort out your feelings, and the more action-oriented you become, the more you’ll be able to contribute to our global movement of greater accountability.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
