Simple Ways to Stay Eco-Friendly During a Pandemic
Well, I know a lot of us have had our work lives changed as of late, and we’re all living a new normal for the foreseeable future. And if you’re anything like me, navigating how to continue to be eco-friendly during a time where disposables are more necessary, and single-use is what we need to be doing to stay healthy, you may be wondering what exactly you can do to continue to be eco-friendly while staying safe.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, or on my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m all about using eco-friendly products, and of course with this pandemic raging around the world right now, it’s obviously heartbreaking to see those efforts thrown back a few steps given that, like I said, more disposable items are being used such as plastic bags, containers, throw away cutlery & plates, gloves, masks, and so on, because it’s the safe thing to do for our health right now. Of course, this all makes sense, but now more than ever, and we need to be finding ways to use eco-friendly items where it makes sense.
Using Eco-Friendly Storage
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m definitely cooking a lot more now than I have ever before, and that is resulting in a lot of left overs. Since we don’t need to be physically distancing with the people we live with (unless you are sick!), a pretty simple & obvious way to continue eco-friendly efforts during this time is continuing to use eco-friendly storage such as glass containers with bamboo lids, and using Stasher Bags instead of ziplock bags to store the leftovers in.
It seems really obvious to say to use leftovers, but if you really think about it, given how much food is costing right now (does anyone else find their regular groceries seem a lot more expensive now?!), eating as many leftovers as possible will definitely help you save in the long run on your grocery store bills as well. Generally, I like to eat left overs from my dinner the night before for lunches while we’ve been in this quarantine.
Bonus: Unless you’re sick, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t be continuing to use any reusable straws you have on hand, so keep using ‘em!
Reuse & Recycle
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve definitely put a pause on using my reusable shopping bags, and produce bags at the grocery store for the time being. That being said, it definitely makes me feel guilty, so I try to give those plastic produce bags & grocery bags a second job in life – I’ll use them to throw garbage in while I’m cooking. No, it’s not ideal, but hey, it’s better than just tossing it without using them for something else.
And then of course, there’s always a ton of plastic packaging with produce like berries, mushrooms, and so on – you know the sorts – so it definitely makes sense to continue with recycling those items where we can, and hey, sometimes these containers can even be reused. I used an empty mushroom container to organize some packets in my pantry this week, and it made everything so much more organized looking. Get creative!
Continue Supporting Eco-Friendly Brands
If you have the means to continue doing unnecessary shopping during this time, and you want to continue to be eco-friendly, supporting brands that stand behind those missions is a good place to start! A few of my favourite eco-friendly companies are Sand Cloud, Pela Case & Seed & Sprout, and a place that I never would’ve expected to find a plethora of eco-friendly products is Indigo! They sell a wide variety of items like reusable lunch bags, produce bags, nut milk bags & so on – definitely more for when life gets a little more back to normal, but still a great & accessible resource for a lot of people across Canada & the U.S. to find eco-friendly products.
Make Food at Home (Most of the Time)
I know what you’re thinking – yes, we’re already doing this. But, I just feel the need to make a point here! Making food at home is obviously going to keep your costs down in the grocery store, but it also reduces the amount of waste you’re going to be throwing out. Of course because everyone wants to be more sanitary right now, for very obvious reasons, there’s a lot of packaging and a lot of plastic involved in take out food, so if you’re making your meals at home, you’re going to be throwing out a lot less plastic.
Now, this being said, it’s also so important to be supporting your local restaurants right now, hence why I said “most of the time” in the title. Order from some local restaurants during this time, and support your community! We all need to help one another during this time, and let’s be honest, we all need a break from cooking every. single. meal. at home! Has anyone else realized during this quarantine how often they actually eat out?! God knows my family & I have.
I’m sure so many of these things seem like absolute no brainers, but hey, maybe they aren’t to everybody & that’s what I’m here for! Anyone else got any other suggestions on how they’re staying safe but continuing to be eco-friendly where possible? Leave them in the comments or message me on Instagram – I’d love to know! Also, how is everyone doing? I know this is a really mentally difficult time for a vast majority of us, but I hope you’re all holding up well and remembering nothing lasts forever & this is no exception! Xo.
