Recently I been wanting to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle. Looking back over the years, I have found that I use an unnecessary amount of plastic and paper, thrown away untouched food, and have wasted a ton of energy inside my home. For the last month or so I have been changing things here and there in my life in order to live in an eco-friendlier environment. These changes I have made are easy and if you are looking to change your ways, I highly suggest reading this blog!

The first thing I started out with was bringing canvas bags to the grocery store instead of using the regular plastic bags every time. In fact, in some states, you have to bring your own bag to the grocery store.  This has been the easiest step since almost everywhere you can find canvas bags. According to a study done by Reuse this bag only about 2% of plastic bags actually get recycled leaving the other 98% to be buried in landfills or decomposed in our oceans. If the majority of people made the switch, we would not be having this problem.

The second thing I have been focusing on is using less paper. In our world today, the majority of things are sent via email, text, or somehow electronically. Therefore, there is no need to constantly be printing out documents, unnecessary papers, etc. Obviously, there are those situations where certain documents need to be printed, in that case, I use recycled paper. Recycled paper can cost a few extra dollars but is much better for the environment. A key thing to also remember is that the majority of people forget to recycle their paper leaving most of the paper in landfills, just like plastic bags. Remembering to throw something in the recycle rather than in the trash is a simple and easy step to a healthier environment.

The third way I try to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle is by reducing the energy I use. I recently purchased “The Red-Light Bulb”. These light bulbs are a more eco- friendly brand. These bulbs are CFL bulbs meaning they can last up to five times longer than a regular bulb and reduce the amount of energy being used.

The last and final thing I have started doing is growing my own fruit and vegetables. Majority of the time I don’t eat all the fruit and vegetables I buy so growing them has not only helped me not waste food but has also saved me money. Currently, I grow basil, tomatoes, and some different herbs. Over the next couple months, I am hoping to grow avocadoes, celery, and strawberries. Growing basil and different herbs was easy thanks to Target. At Target, thy have different “grow kits” that help you grow different types of things such as rosemary, sunflowers, pumpkins, the list goes on. Since growing my own vegetables, it has encouraged me to start making healthier meals for lunches and dinners.

Overall, there are many ways to become eco-friendlier in our world. Growing gardens can be fun because then you can invite your friends and neighbors over for a garden party. Penless has the perfect invitations/ goodies when hosting this special event. Penless has fruit sticker packs that would be perfect for the occasion. These fruit sticker packs have grapes, apples, pears, and strawberries, how perfect! I plan on hosting my own garden party in the near future where I can share all the changes I have made and hopefully encourage others to do the same.