It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when you start living a more conscious, holistic lifestyle — we want to do all the good things — eat all the healthiest, organic food, clear out all of our home products for more natural alternatives and go no-waste or more eco-friendly. I was thrilled when Thrive Market agreed to team up with me to share some of my easy-peasy eco-friendly hacks!
If you haven’t heard of Thrive Market before, they’re an online grocery store that sells all of your favorite non-GMO, organic products at 25-50% off retail price. They sell everything from pantry staples to beauty and supplements, even cleaning or household items. I love how easy and affordable they make healthy living. Read more about Thrive Market (and get a special goodie) by reading until the end.
These five little shifts will be practically effortless to add to your life, be super cost-effective and leave you feeling like you are on your way to living a more green and sustainable life while keeping all your healthy habits in check — double whammy!
1.Grab yourself a re-usable mug and USE IT.I’m obsessed with this “U-Konserve” mug because it feels like my coffee cup, isn’t as bulky as a lot of the to-go coffee containers and to be honest, just feels super chic! It’s important to genuinely like whatever re-usable mug you select because it will help you use it on the regular. Bringing my mug to the local cafe not only saves a paper cup and plastic lid every day but also usually saves me a $1 because I only get charged for a refill. This mug paid for itself in coffee savings in under 2 weeks and it’s a big ole high five to mother earth to not be going through all those coffee containers!
2. In a similar vein, grab yourself a glass bottle for your water and fill it up with your at home filtered water instead of buying plastic bottles. Again, super simple and not only helps the planet but also helps your bank account! I reuse a glass bottle that I got from a local juice shop with a green juice in it originally, VOSS also sells their water in glass bottles so you can grab one for around $3 and reuse it infinitely. Get yourself a nice filtered water pitcher of your preference or get a gallon of water delivered to your home monthly. I subscribe to a monthly gallon of water service and it costs me about $9/month — way cheaper than always buying water out and so much more eco-friendly. Do some googling to find one near you or ask at your local co-op!
3. Bring your own produce bags to the farmers market (or grocery store). Confession, I stopped using the plastic produce bags for my fruit and veggies long before I found these amazing re-usable produce bags but once these came out into the world I was hooked. These little roll-up-able produce bags hide in your purse and help you hold your favorite greens, veggies, and fruit in their own separate bags. They’re adorable and you get to feel good because your seasonal produce addiction no longer needs to create a surplus of plastic waste!
4. Get an amazing on-the-go meal set for you to bring your lunch, snacks or dinner on busy days. This is a win-win for your wallet, your health and the planet. It’s so easy on hectic days to succumb to ordering a sandwich at your local deli or stopping at your local fast casual spot but having a fun meal carrier will inspire you to make your own food to keep in the car or at your office. I have found that this reduces my own food waste by keeping me accountable for using what’s in my fridge and saves me money because I don’t buy excess food when I have a full fridge at home. Not to mention, you will undoubtedly make healthier choices when you pack your own meal instead of waiting till your ravenous to grab something on the go AND you will be reducing waste by not having all the extra plastic that ofter comes in to-go orders. Once again — wins all around!
5. Oh hi, have you met my new friend, the re-usable “ziploc” bag. Okay these aren’t ziplock brand but that’s pretty much what I call these kind of bags and what a great invention for those of us who were raised going through a few thousand plastic sandwich bags growing up. (Hey, our moms didn’t know!) I am all about using glass containers when I can for left-overs or prepped food but somethings are just easier (and lighter if we’re tossing it in our purse) in a bag! These re-usable bags are my favorite for airplane snacks and on the go nibbles, I rotate the several I have, clean them and feel better about not going through box after box of sandwich bags anymore.
Honestly, just writing out these five easy shifts out has me thinking of sooo many more, so if you enjoyed this post and would like more simple ways to be more sustainable while keeping your healthy lifestyle, be sure to let me know in the comments below.
I want to thank Thrive Market for partnering with me to bring you these tips as well as so kindly offering you a special discount so that you can get a FREE 30 day trial as well as 25% off their already low prices by clicking here. Most of the products above I got on Thrive Market super affordably and I even got a few little things for my healthy, eco-friendly pup, Carl, while I was at it! See below for his earth loving leash, collar and bio-bags! 😉
xo,
C
Of course, I couldn’t help myself but grab some goodies for my little fur nugget! Carl made out with a new leash and collar that are eco-friendly and made from soy as well as some bio bags for walks!