Easy Ways to Live Sustainably

WRITTEN BY

Megan Baranuk

Do you want to live sustainably, but just don’t know where to start? This article will point you in the right direction!

Sustainable living may seem like an ideal lifestyle for rich people with oodles of time and money, but in reality, everyone can make small changes to dramatically decrease their own carbon footprint. Oftentimes, sustainable living will actually save you money and make your life easier in so many ways.

The first way to make your life a bit more sustainable is by focusing on what you can reuse. Instead of throwing away a milk jug, wine bottle or coffee grounds container, why not convert them into planters? Just pot your favorite plants into these fun containers, and you can even decorate the new pots with acrylic paints. Not only will the planters be sustainable, but they’ll be one-of-a-kind!

In a similar vein of reusing goods, carrying a reusable tote bag for groceries, shopping and any other goods you might gather on your various voyages is a painless way to eliminate a massive amount of plastic consumption — this will cut out plastic bags from your carbon footprint almost entirely!

Let’s talk about another plastic item that we’ve all been culprits of using and abusing — the plastic water bottle. Though these bottles might be convenient, a reusable water bottle can carry more water and actively prevent plastic consumption, thus increasing your sustainability efforts! Personally, I love my Hydro Flask! The bottle can be customized, with a plethora of colorful options, and you can decorate it with paint or stickers to really make it your own. If you aren’t ready to commit to a reusable water bottle yet, try forgoing plastic straws when you go out to eat!

Being conscious of how much clothing you buy can hugely impact on the environment and increase your sustainability efforts. Thrifting is a great option to find new styles and pieces while saving a TON of money (not to mention actively rejecting the consumerist culture we live in!). When we buy into fast fashion — or buying what’s trendu only to throw it away the next season — we are wasting money, filling landfills and (in many cases) supporting child labor and poor working conditions. Rather, thrifting is an alternative that reuses clothing, keeps clothes out of the landfill, saves you money, and can be a fun activity to do with friends! Finding new pieces is so exciting, and you never know what you’ll find!

An important part of living sustainably is minimizing energy consumption. Luckily, this step is super easy! Turn off lights when they’re not in use, and open your blinds or curtains during the times of natural daylight — this should become even easier as the days become longer throughout the summer. Make sure to unplug your chargers and electrical appliances when they’re not in use, too. Taking shorter showers (the length of three songs, or about five minutes) can dramatically decrease your water consumption, especially if you find yourself taking extra long showers. These tips will also help you lower your bills at the end of the month, too! Being sustainable pays!

A creative way to rid yourself of trash is by building eco-bricks. Eco-bricks are made by packing trash very tightly into a two-liter pop bottle. You can continue to compress these with each piece of trash until it is a tightly compacted brick. This eco-brick is then sent to third-world countries, where it can be used to build homes and other appliances, all made completely from material that would have otherwise been thrown into a landfill.

Food is a major part of the sustainability equation, and we can cut down on our waste in many ways without going completely vegan, as that’s not often an option for certain people. If you do feel that you could go vegan, that would definitely contribute to abstaining from the energy demands of slaughterhouses (not to mention the inhumanity and violence, but that’s an article for another time!). Eating natural food is also extremely beneficial to your health and body. Abstaining from takeout cuts down on waste, as the disposable packaging is often thrown out and does not decompose easily in most cases. Some takeout packaging is actually very sturdy and can be washed and reused for leftovers. Take advantage of these when taking leftover food from restaurants home! Eating consciously is another important part of increasing sustainability. Being conscious of how much food you eat and saving leftovers can contribute to less waste and will save you money on grocery shopping.

Here at Cleveland State, we have an Office of Sustainability! This office creates and promotes efforts to keep our campus green and conscious of sustainability efforts. In terms of energy, CSU has solar panels on the South Garage. The solar panels reduce emissions by 73 tons each year! CSU is heated through an energy plant that recently transitioned from using coal to natural gas, reducing carbon monoxide emissions by 49,200 tons per year. As far as transportation, CSU offers students U-Pass RTA passes on their student IDs, which allow for a more sustainable mode of transportation. Students who carpool are also doing the environment a favor by cutting carbon emissions in half! Recycling bins are available throughout campus, and students and staff are encouraged to make use of these facilities. You can be sure that CSU is truly recycling, as the bags are color-coded — check it out for yourself the next time you’re on campus! CSU also offers compostable items with orders through CSU Dining. Another green initiative that CSU has taken on is water bottle refill stations throughout campus. These stations make it easy for students to bring and refill water bottles on campus.

We hope you’ll keep these tips in mind for beginning a sustainable way of living, and we would love to hear your sustainability tips as well! Email us (submit. vindi@gmail.com) and we’ll feature your tips on our social media!