More and more people are thinking about the impact they have on the environment. When you incorporate sustainability into your life, you serve the planet, the environment, your community, and yourself.

There are both big and small practices that everyone can follow to help the environment and lead a cleaner, more natural life. Even if you start with small steps, these practices can help change your life and preserve the natural world around you. Build environmentally friendly habits for yourself and your family with these ways you can start living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Why Choose Sustainable Living?

Sustainability is the practice of using fewer resources and creating less waste to preserve the planet’s resources. There are countless ways to be sustainable. The food you eat, the products you buy, and the services you use all have an impact on the environment. When you’re smart about the resources you use, you can avoid wasteful or harmful practices.

Sustainable practices help protect natural environments and the animals that live in them. However, sustainability can also benefit you through fresher foods, healthier products, and a more fulfilling lifestyle. Read on to learn more about how you can benefit from some of the most common ways to start living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Rethink Food Shopping

When you go to the grocery store, do you think about where the food you’re buying comes from? Big chain grocery stores usually sell food that travels for thousands of miles before it hits store shelves. That means thousands of miles of emissions and fossil fuel usage. These big retailers also source their products from commercial farms that are more likely to use non-sustainable farming practices, like monocropping and using chemical pesticides.

Opt for buying food locally wherever you can. Farmers’ markets are a great source of fresh, locally grown produce. In addition to avoiding paying for harmful emissions, buying food locally lets you support your town’s economy.

Grow Your Own Produce

You can also grow your own food—especially produce—to avoid buying less sustainable options. Keeping your own garden is a rewarding hobby that lets you spend more time outside and enjoy delicious, homegrown fruits and vegetables. Even if you don’t have a lot of outdoor space around your home, you can keep windowsill herb gardens or similar projects.

Be sure to follow sustainable practices in your garden. Avoid using chemical pesticides to make sure your garden is pollinator-friendly. Additionally, avoid food waste by canning and preserving excess produce. You can also sell or give away excess fruits and veggies from your garden to encourage others to eat more sustainably as well.

Eliminate Food Waste

Reducing waste is a key part of living sustainably. When it comes to food, you can reduce waste by planning meals, freezing leftovers, or creating a compost system.

When you plan meals for the week, think about how and when you can use leftovers. Be sure to properly store leftovers so that they don’t go bad before you can eat them. If you have produce or other fresh ingredients that have been in your kitchen for a while, look for creative recipes that you can make to use them while they’re still good. If you have a garden, you can also use your leftover food scraps as compost to enrich your soil.

Shop for Reusable Products

Reusable products also help you reduce waste. There’s a good chance you’re already using products like reusable water bottles, straws, or grocery bags. What other reusable alternatives can you start using? Cloth napkins at the dinner table are a great place to start. You can also buy rechargeable batteries to use in your electronics.

The more you look, the more reusable products you’ll find. The kitchen is a great place to start. Try to use food storage containers instead of sandwich bags when packing lunches or storing leftovers. You can also find reusable food storage bags, cling wrap, and similar products to reduce the amount of plastic you throw out.

Make the Products You Have Last

Investing in eco-friendly products is great, but that doesn’t mean you should throw out everything you own to make room for more sustainable alternatives. One of the best things you can do for the environment is make your belongings last for as long as possible.

Take good care of dishes, furniture, and other lasting products. Learn a few basic skills for upcycling or repairing belongings. For example, if a dining chair is starting to look old, see if you can sand it down and repaint it or stain it before throwing it out. Sewing is also a great skill for sustainability. If you can patch, repair, or turn old clothes into something else, those items won’t end up in a landfill right away.

Donate Items Where You Can

If you’re not using certain items anymore, see if you can donate them instead of throwing them away. When you donate old belongings, you give them new life. This prevents unnecessary waste, keeps more products out of landfills, and allows other people to make good use of quality products.

Look for charity drives or similar opportunities in your area to donate old clothes. You can also give clothes, dishware, furniture, and other belongings to secondhand stores—many of which promote sustainable values themselves.

Learn Your Labels

Various food labels can tell you if a product is sustainable, organic, or ethical. The Fairtrade label is one of the most prominent sustainability labels. If a product has the Fairtrade label, it means the company follows sustainable production practices. There are also product-specific labels—such as those on coffee or chocolate products—that can help you choose sustainable or ethical options. Paying attention to labels allows you to navigate a myriad of product options to choose products that are good for the environment.

Avanchy is committed to sustainability. We value natural products, renewable materials, and ethical practices in everything we do. That’s why all of our baby and toddler dishware consists of healthy, safe, and sustainable materials. For example, our bamboo toddler plates are just one example of the gentle, functional, and lasting products we sell. Visit Avanchy today to browse our collection of thoughtful and high-quality baby dishware.