We consume a large amount of resources on a daily basis (and not all of them are renewable). Today, I challenge you to think a little outside the trash aspect of zero waste and save resources like water and electricity.
Typically when we think about waste, at least in the context of this blog, we’re thinking about trash. I’d like to shift that perspective today.
It’s day eleven of the zero waste challenge!
The beginning of the challenge focused on simple swaps like bringing your own water bottle and bags to the grocery store. Now, we’re entering into the second phase of the challenge. These changes are lifestyle changes like learning to make your own snacks and decluttering your life.
Today we’re talking about saving resources.
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the problem:
I know that’s pretty big, but whenever going zero waste it’s really easy to kind of narrow down on just your plastic trash without thinking of the overall big picture.
So, today I want you to take a step back and look at that big picture. There are so many resources that we consume daily such as electricity or water.
As you know, we’re using way too many resources like we talked about in day one of the challenge. There are a lot of easy ways that we can cut down on our usage and consumption of these resources.
Water, for example. Are you turning water off when you brush your teeth?
Can you put basin in your sink to catch the water while you’re washing your dishes instead of running the faucet?
Are you reducing the amount of animal products you consume? So much water goes to animal agriculture and by reducing the amount of animal products you consume, you’re also reducing your water consumption.
Everything we do, everything we use and consume has a water and energy footprint. Very rarely do we get to see the amount of resources that go into the making of an item.
Check out this water footprint calculator to really blow your mind.
the solution:
Here are five more ways to cut water consumption:
Place a bin in the shower with you to collect water instead of letting it go down the drain. Use it to water potted plants.
Save the water you use to wash your produce to water your plants.
Take shorter showers: Challenge yourself to finish showering after listening to a five-minute song.
Drink more water: It takes more water to grow the crops needed to make tea, coffee and lemonade than it does to drink straight up water.
If you have a backyard, consider getting a rain barrel.
Another way to easily prevent unnecessary resource usage is phantom electricity. Ten to twenty percent of our electricity usage is just from appliances or electronics running with them plugged into the socket but not even connected to anything.
So instead of just unplugging your laptop from the charging port, go ahead and unplug the charging port from the socket. I think your electricity bill will make you pretty happy and you’ll also be relieving pressure on the power grid.
Here are eight other ways to reduce the amount of electricity you use:
Turn off all the lights in a room when you’re not in it.
Shut down your computer at night so that the monitor isn’t running all night long.
Invest in Energy Star certified electronics and appliances so that way the products you use consume less energy altogether (look for the energy star sticker while shopping).
Hanging up Christmas lights? Set them on a timer, or plug them on only at night.
Choose better lighting options, LED bulbs being the best choice (they use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs).
Use a power strip to reduce your plug load.
Reduce the amount of time you leave the air conditioner on, even going so far as using a fan in its place.
Heating takes up energy as well, so instead of turning the thermostat up, try other methods of staying warm like putting on more clothes and using blankets.
These are just a few ways to reduce your consumption of resources. I’m sure there are plenty more you can think of.
Here are some other ways to lower your overall carbon footprint.
The other bonus to all this is your water and electric bill will greatly reduce the more conscious you become of your consumption habits. And who will say no to saving money, right?
So today I challenge you to think about your overall resource consumption and find easy ways for you to reduce that.
take the challenge!
Over the next 20 days, your challenge is to save resources. Reducing trash is great, but we also waste a lot of resources like electricity and water on a daily basis. Find ways to cut back on electricity and water consumption such as unplugging appliances and electronics when not in use, taking shorter showers, using energy star products and getting a rain barrel.
Will you be taking the challenge?
want more?
Just starting out? Have 1,000 burning questions!? Get access to my private Facebook group, where I’ll be hosting weekly lives throughout the challenge and I answer all of your most pressing questions.
I’m the head content creator over at pelacase.com and have partnered with them to create an email version of the challenge. I will be sending out weekly recap letters with Pela if you’d prefer to have this challenge in larger chunks and delivered straight to your inbox.
PLUS! I’ll be sending out a brand new e-book at the end of the challenge called the Game On Handbook. Which is all about individual ways to fight climate change. You don’t want to miss it.
miss a day?
