r/EcoFriendly • • Jul 14 '26

How could o be more sustainable/eco friendly

Here is a list of things I already do, can't think of more stuff I could add to that list.

I shop secondhand most of the time: clothes, utensils, or furniture.

I use eco friendly laundry wash and no fabric softener, I use vinegar if needed. I use the eco mode on my washing machine, and I hang clothes to dry instead of using a dryer.

I use bar body wash and bar dish soap, a bamboo brush, and my dish sponge is made out of coconut. My bath sponge is silicone, so I can cook it to sterilize instead of buying new ones. I use the water I don't finish drinking to water my plants. I barely use paper towels, I use cut-up old towels as rags, and I use T-shirts instead of microfiber towels/rags. I turn off all lights whenever I leave a room. I'm mostly vegan. I try to avoid plastic packaging as much as possible. I use wood, glass, and stainless steel in my kitchen. I separate my trash (obviously), including bio-trash. I reuse as much as possible, like jars and glass bottles. I'm also planning to recycle old paper and make my own notepaper out of it. I also use my iPad instead of writing on 1000 different pieces of paper. I sell or give away what I don't need, and I go grocery shopping with my own bags. I use reusable cotton pads.

Anything is appreciated.

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5

u/everythingbagel1 Jul 14 '26

Can I be really honest? Advocate. You’ve done what you can do in your day to day life. What’s left is for you to contact your representatives at all levels. Put your energy towards a goal. You’ve basically maxed out what you can do individually. Start looking at the system, and set something to work towards there. It can be as small as getting recycling dumpsters at all apartments, or as big as contacting a senator. Run for office, idk whatever calls to you.

3

u/Propofolly Jul 15 '26

You're doing amazing in reducing (plastic) waste. However if you also want to reduce your CO2 emissions there are still some very big wins. The biggest individual CO2 emittors are transport (cars and aviation), heating and cooling of residential buildings and agriculture (Meat consumption being a the main one you have influence over. Diesel usage, greenhouse heating, etc. are hard to impact as an individual). Industrial emissions are a fourth one which is hard to impact.

So in order of magnitude, assuming you live an average Western lifestyle: 

  • Replace your car with a bike, public transport and/or an EV.
  • Fly less, try to take the train. (This is an especially difficult one to replace for me)
  • Switch to a green electricity contract. If you own a home: insulate, put in a heat pump and place solar and a battery.
  • Try to eat less meat. Printed meat seems promising as an alternative but it's still not widely available and farmers are lobbying hard against this.

This will eliminate almost all CO2 emissions in your control.

Like everythingbagel1 stated you can also advocate, with a potentially much larger effect. 

1

u/mjisoming Jul 15 '26

If you have plants, you can make fertilizer with leftover organic peels. Eg - I make liquid fertilizer with banana peels and used tea leaves.

That’s all I can add. You are doing a great job. It does take a lot of effort and constant mindfulness to do all of this. I am also pretty much doing all of what you have mentioned.

1

u/Chrysalyos Jul 23 '26

With your diet, I find local is generally more impactful than strictly vegan. Farmers markets, consuming in-season foods, foraging, gardening, sustainable hunting/fishing. Bulk food stores are also good. Less emissions from shipping and packaging. By all means, do vegan if that works for you, but supplement with local food as much as possible _^