Sustainable Practices

Here is a list of all the sustainable practices I have discovered and tried. I will try to rank them from easiest to most difficult, but that is greatly determined by your personal routine.

1. Reusable grocery bags. Bringing along reusable bags I think is the easiest sustainable practice, which is probably why many major cities, especially on the West coast have already banned plastic bags. To find out about pending or active legislation on plastic bags in your area check out the NCSL state plastic and paper bag legislation webpage.

2. Reusable water bottles. This one is slightly trickier, since I have seen some research showing that plastic reusable bottles can leach chemicals (like BPA) into your water. The metal or glass bottles are heavier to carry and more expensive to purchase. I still use a plastic reusable bottle (that I was given for free), but I am considering purchasing something like the S'well bottles.

3. No plastic produce bags. I realize that this one seems dirty, but I always clean my fruits and vegetables thoroughly when I get home with them anyway, so I see no reason to put them in plastic before they make it to my kitchen. Many fruits and vegetables, especially those that are not certified organic are coated with pesticides, so I like to soak my produce in a solution of 10% distilled white vinegar and 90% water for about 20 minutes and then rinse them off with a little more water.

4. Eat healthier. If you buy and eat produce (and don't get the plastic bag) instead of pizzas, pasta, chips, etc. then not only are you saving the waste that comes from the packaging of those foods, you are adopting a healthier diet. And boy, I need all the motivation I can get to be healthier.

I'll continuously update this list as I think of and try new things. Let me know if you have any sustainable practices I should try out and/or include in this list!