15 eco-friendly tips: ways to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint

What would you change tomorrow? Would you try to find more joy in the simple things in life? Do something to serve others? Change the way you consume? Walk more, swim more, stop being afraid, live… differently.The future is in our hands, but what are we supposed to do with it? Here’are some ideas  to get you started. Chapter 1 small tips to save energy…

Part 1 – save energy

Small tips to make a big impact

Use appliances in eco mode – the cycles are longer, but less energy is needed to heat the water – or run quick wash cycles. These use up to 50% less water and energy.

 Wash your laundry on cold (30°C), it saves energy and is gentler on your clothes, and only wash on hot (60°) for loads that need to be sanitized (dishtowels, sheets, bath towels, etc.)

Turn down the heat: just 1°C (or ~2°F) cooler = 7% savings.
The recommended indoor temperature in the winter is about 19°C (66°F).

Turn off the heat in the winter
Bonus points: you’ll wake up feeling invigorated.

Cover your pots and pans when you cook, the water will come to a boil faster for energy savings of up to 30%.

Collect rainwater for watering your plants

Set your refrigerator temperature to 4°C (39°F)

Surround yourself with air-purifying plants, a great way to get in touch with nature.

What about your digital carbon footprint ?

Digital activity is contributing more and more to global warming every year. The information and communication technology sector contributes between 3-4% of all greenhouse gas emissions. If we don’t do anything to stop it, digital pollution could reach the same level as road traffic pollution by 2025 (according to the WWF, 2020).

Smart ways to leave a smaller digital carbon footprint

Turn off your electronic devices in the evening and leave them off overnight (computers, tablets, and smartphones eat up a lot of energy). You can even turn off your modem and router at night (when left on 24/7 it can consume as much energy as a refrigerator).

Send fewer emails and fewer attachments

Cut down on your data storage

• delete shows you don’t watch or music you never listen to
• sort through and transfer your photos and videos to an external hard drive
• empty your inbox often

These tasks will seem monumental at first, so work on them in 30-minute bursts. Once you’ve adopted a new “green attitude,” routine maintenance won’t take nearly as long.

Go green with your screens

Plant trees while you surf the web with Ecosia, an easy-to-use search engine app and browser extension. Bonus points: Ecosia runs on 100% renewable energy, doesn’t sell your data to advertisers, and doesn’t use 3rd party tracking. Learn more: ecosia.org

Swap movies and TV for a good book

Rediscover the joys of writing by hand, on recycled paper, in hand-printed and bound notebooks, or in refillable journals. Just because something is handmade or made from recycled materials doesn’t mean it can’t be fun and colorful! I found a few high-quality journals that are particularly pretty.

Slow Design notebooks: For sale in the Le Colibry Eco-Chic Concept Store

If you need some inspiration…

Recommended reading and browsing

101 ways to go zero waste – Kathryn Kellog  or Zero waste Home – Bea Johnson
Two practical guides to a more responsible and healthier lifestyle. Whether you want to start small or join a bigger movement, you’ll find tips about how to be more eco-friendly at the supermarket, at home (from the garden to the kitchen and everywhere in between), at the office, at school, and even on vacation.

wwf.org
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was one of the first conservation organizations in the world, and is now one of the biggest, working in over 100 countries with the support of nearly 6 million members.

Greenpeace.org
This international environmental NGO has projects on all 7 continents, including initiatives to slow climate change and fight single-use plastic.

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