9 Environmentally Friendly Habits for the New Year

Happy new year!

I've been doing a lot of running around lately, and even though I've been busy, I've been thinking of ways to better myself this upcoming year. Lots of people make resolutions to better themselves. Although the top resolutions for Americans are to lose weight and enjoy an active lifestyle, there's plenty of great habits unrelated to health that are easy to form and stick to. Studies also show that habits formed in groups are more consistently kept.

So whether you're considering your health or something else as you move into 2016,  do yourself and the earth a favor and adopt one (or all!) of the following environmentally friendly habits.

1. Use Reusable Canvas Bags for Grocery Shopping

The question of "paper or plastic" is so outdated. Reusable canvas bags should be the standard by now. It's 2016, for the sake of all things holy.

Despite my grandma's opinion, reusable bags aren't a conspiracy thought-up by grocery stores to save on overhead. They're actually a solution to a problem that began in the 1970s when plastic bags were introduced to make things easier for shoppers.

Here's some quick facts to make you think twice about continuing to use them:

• The U.S. uses about 100 billion plastic bags per year, most of which end up in landfills. 
• About one million birds, 100,000 turtles, and innumerable other sea animals die each year from ingesting plastic bags.
• The U.S. cuts down 14 million trees per year to supply the demand for paper shopping bags.
• If every person in New York City used one less grocery bag per month, it would cut waste by 5 million pounds and save $250,000 in disposable costs.

2. Stop Using Water Bottles. Seriously.

Like plastic bags, plastic water bottles are harmful to the environment because they create unnecessary waste. They're also costly, and contrary to their manufacturers' claims, aren't any cleaner or better than filtered water from the tap.

Additionally, plastic bottles contain a harmful substance called PET that doesn't look good our health. That's why you're not supposed to leave them in a hot car. Get a reusable bottle instead!

3. Store Your Food In Airtight Containers, Not Plastic Bags

You're probably getting the message by now: plastic, as a one-use disposable option, is bad news. It's just so wasteful. That means the days of bringing your sandwich to work in a plastic bag are over. Switch to glass air-tight containers instead. They'll last a lot longer and ultimately save you money because you won't be buying what is essentially made to be thrown away so often.

4. Compost Food Scraps

I love the idea of composting so much, I wrote an entire post about why we should do it and the different options we have when we decide to start a compost bin.

In a nutshell, composting cuts landfill waste and allows food scraps to decompose in a natural way. It also turns what would otherwise be waste into an organic fertilizer for our gardens (or, if you don't have a garden can easily be given away or sold.)

It costs almost nothing and is the upkeep is easy. It's a simple way to cut your contribution to landfill waste.

5. Reduce Paper Towel Consumption

There's a pattern here. Most of the ways to live sustainable lives are to reduce our carbon footprints. This means using less. The next thing on the list is to reduce our paper towel consumption.

Use hand dryers in public bathrooms whenever possible, and instead of using paper towels around the house, utilize rags. See? Easy.

6. Consider Alternate Means of Transportation

There's ways to get around besides driving. Biking, walking, public transportation, and carpooling are all suitable options for work and play commutes.

If getting in shape is on your list of new years resolutions, you'll kill two birds with one stone. 

7. Eat Less Meat

This infographic, by Cowspiracy, offers plenty of reasons to eat less meat (or quit eating meat entirely!) Cattle ranching is the prime cause of deforestation, with 1-2 acres of rainforest being cleared every minute. It's responsible for a staggering 91 percent of destruction in the amazon.

Additionally, 51 percent of global greenhouse gases are produced by livestock. This is an extremely harmful practice and it's not sustainable at all in our world. If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend watching Cowspiracy and reading Michael Pollan's An Omnivore's Dilemma. They're both shocking and eye-opening sources of worthy information on this topic.

8. Switch to Paperless Billing

9. Buy Less.

We're taught from an early age, not only to consume, but to over-consume. We buy things to make us feel better about ourselves and to prove our worth, and it seems that the more we have, the more we need. But it's a trap! We need to appreciate what we do have and stop wanting so much.

Not only will this cut back on waste, but it'll help us with our mental health, too. Being grateful is one of the top traits in happy people. When we've learned to say "thank you" is when we'll realize that we don't need to keep up with the Joneses, because we are the Joneses.