How to Be More Sustainable in the Home

We all want to make greener choices. Ways to be sustainable in everyday life. But sometimes it can feel overwhelming.

Our local supermarkets are filled with plastic packaging with few alternatives. Organic fruit and veg is expensive and oftentimes out of our budgets, and then there’s the simple element of time! Working a 9-5 alone can leave us feeling tired and unable to do all the things we would like to do.

Despite this, there are some affordable and simple ways we can still make a difference. Every small effort towards sustainable living goes a long way and what better place to start making changes than in your own home? Simply bringing your own mug to get coffee can save 265 cups from going into a landfill every year. The benefits are endless – and not only have a positive impact on your personal wellbeing, but also the health and future of our planet.

That’s why we’re here with some impactful facts and resolutions to help you become more sustainable and make reducing your global footprint an everyday habit.

Fact: A single plastic toothbrush takes over 1000 years to decompose.

How you can help:

Everyday household items like toothbrushes, kitchen sponges and plastic wrap can be easily replaced with compostable bamboo alternatives, washable cotton dishcloths or linen sponges, and paper bags or wax strips. They may cost an extra few dollars upon purchase, but will save you money further down the line and cause less harm to the environment.

Swap out short-lived items and treat yourself (and the planet) to the reusable essentials like straws, bags and drinkware. You’ll have less trips to the garbage, less to recycle, and there will be one less item added to the garbage pile being shipped to countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

FACT: By 2050, it’s predicted the world’s global garbage is expected to reach 3.4 billion tonnes! In Canada alone, the average person throws out 81 pounds of textiles annually – most of which could be reused or recycled.

How you can help:

With a small switch to buying and storing your food in glass containers, you can reduce plastic waste and reuse them for food storage. They’re perfect for bulk buying oats, lentils, nuts, pasta, spices and beyond and can be repeatedly filled. Not only does it look more organized, but also doesn’t leach toxins into your food and helps reduce pollution!

Holes happen…rather than sending your clothing to their doom, pick up a sewing needle and stitch it up. Voila! And if you have outgrown your clothes, make a little pile to either donate to a second-hand shop (because one man’s trash is another man’s treasure), or arrange a clothes swap with your friends. The last one can also be super fun!

FACT: Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted. If our collective food waste were a country, it would be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the main contributor to extreme weather, respiratory diseases and disruption in food supply (to name a few!).

How you can help:

Plan your meals to avoid waste. Think about each meal you’ll make that week (plus snacks) with the ingredients you buy and map out each recipe for the week either mentally or on a piece of paper. You can also can or pickle your food to make it last longer.

Freeze your leftovers or our personal favourite – that brown banana lurking at the back of your fridge. It’s perfect for making delicious, homemade healthy ice cream and all you need is the one ingredient. See recipe.

Make it all edible! This can be fun and practical. Use a cabbage leaf as a plate for example, and the cabbage you can eat after.

Compost. By using this natural process of decomposition and recycling, you can reduce waste while enriching the soil and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Composts can be created in bins, tumblers or bare earth. Learn how.

For those who live in bear country (like us!), here’s a great article on how to make your compost odour-free rather than an enticing bear magnet.

FACT: The earth lost more than 500,000 square miles of trees to deforestation between 1990 – 2016 and due to overfishing, it’s predicted by 2050 we could run out of marine life – compromising the world’s ecosystem. Our reliance on coal, oil and natural gas has also led to predictions we will run out of fossil fuels by 2060 if we don’t turn towards alternative energy.

How you can help:

Minimize the use of your dishwasher
Make sure you always turn your lights off and use natural light when you can or switch to LED bulbs
Unplug unused electronics (we see you sleeping with your laptops plugged in!)
Wash full laundry loads to reduce total amount of washes
Take shorter showers and don’t run water while brushing your teeth or shaving

Volunteer for a beach cleanup or plant a tree! It’s cost free and also a great way to get involved in your local community. Both can be a weekend activity to be enjoyed by all ages.
Grow your own garden to reduce the negative impact of importing food and packaging. You can also reap the benefits of knowing you are eating the food you have produced with your own hands and hard work. There’s something that makes it taste that extra bit yummy!
Eat vegetarian food 1-2 days a week. One way (among many) this helps the planet is its potential to help reduce world hunger – it’s estimated that around 700 million tonnes of food that could be consumed by humans goes to livestock every year!
Bike, walk or use public transport whenever you can. Not only will it keep you more active and help with your mental and physical health, the less we use our cars – the more we can reduce air pollution and the use of non-renewable fuels.

…We want to know!

What are some of the ways you will try first now you know how to be more sustainable with food, more sustainable with water, and more sustainable with clothes etc? If you have any other ideas, be sure to drop them in the comments below for all our readers.

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Sustainable Living is a large part of our ethos here at Treeline Collective. We love mother nature and all that it provides and work hard to ensure our production aligns with both ethical and sustainable consumption. You can read more about this on Our Story.

We carefully source quality materials and reinvest our profits into environmental and social initiatives worldwide. When you buy with us, you can shop knowing you are contributing to the global issues that truly matter to our brand.

With our products, we hope to pave the way for other businesses to coexist alongside our planet and its people and aim to create a world in which we ultimately want to live. Browse our products today.

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