Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” which is something I think many of us fail at, especially when it comes to changing the way we live so that we have less impact on our environment.

You want to buy biodegradable rubbish bags for your bin but just don’t have the time to get to that shop that specialises in them, you want to separate your rubbish but don’t know how to dispose of it separately, and the list goes on...

I'm certainly guilty of this, but I have managed to make small changes one step at a time, these changes just need to be added to your immediate ‘to do’ list instead of putting them on the backburner forever after.

One step at a time. Here are a few ways to start:

Separate Your Waste
A great way to do this is to use old milk crates, and to label them ‘glass’ ‘paper’ ‘cardboard’ ‘tins’ and ‘plastic’. Keep a separate bin for your wet waste. Fold or crush recyclable items as small as possible, and wait until your bins are completely full before you make a trip to your recycling depot and drop everything off together.

Avoid Buying Bottled Water
Unless plastic water bottles are recycled, they end up in the landfill or in the ocean. It also takes an enormous amount of energy to manufacture the plastic bottles in the first place. To avoid producing unnecessary waste, invest in a water filter and purify your tap water, rather than buying individual bottles of filtered water. Keep your water in a reusable bottle, and ensure that you keep healthy and hydrated all day!

Make Your Own Cleaning ‘Lappies’
For cheap cleaning rags, cut up old t-shirts and keep them handy. This avoids the use of paper towels ( thus saving trees), and enables you to reincarnate a favourite t-shirt into something useful. Old (clean) socks are excellent for polishing and dusting as they fit right over your hand. Old toothbrushes are always handy for cleaning right into the corners.

Eat Locally Grown Food
Local is lekker! When we eat food that has been grown locally, we reduce the distance that our food travels from its place of production to reach our table. If your food travels a shorter distance to the table, less carbon is emitted during the process of transportation, which means that your food has less impact on the environment. Buying locally produced food is also an effective way to support South African food producers.

For more ideas visit www.eco-logicalliving.com