How to Style Your Life in a Go Green Way – 8 Eco-Friendly Tips

I wish you Happy World Environment Day! On this day, dedicated to protecting and restoring our planet Earth, here are a few environmentally friendly lifestyle and design ideas. Think Green! 🙂

World Environment Day is officially celebrated every year on the 5th of June, and unofficially every day – through our choices and actions. What we eat, what we buy, how much water and energy we consume, what form of transport we use, how we design our homes and workspaces, which materials we choose for our furniture and clothes, do we recycle, and how much waste we make… Is our lifestyle eco-friendly and cruelty-free or ego-friendly and cruelty-full (food, clothes, cosmetics, furnishings, transportation)? These are the decisions we make daily.

Our choices have an impact on the environment. If you think that you are just “a drop in the ocean” and that your choices don’t make a difference, then think again and remember that every drop counts. So, how can every one of us help to protect and restore our environment? Here are a few ideas.

Design in Harmony with Nature

Design your home and workspace in harmony with Nature. Discover the benefits of biophilic design, upcycling furniture and home décor, sustainable materials, recycled materials… Read more about the topic in this related article – Let’s Create in an Earth-Friendly Way – Think Green.

Plant a flower, plant a tree, and grow a beautiful garden that attracts pollinators (animals and insects). They have an essential role in sustaining the plant world. Also, a lot of our food, including fruits and vegetables, is created with the help of pollinators – birds, bees, and butterflies…

Save Water and Energy

Sparingly with water and energy in your home. Choose energy-efficient appliances, water-saving shower heads, and faucets.

Opt for clean and renewable energy sources. For instance, solar power, wind energy…

Recycle and Reuse – Reduce Waste

Recycle, reuse, and create as little waste as possible. Place glass, paper, metal, plastic, and food… into recycling bins so that they can be materials for the making of new products. Before throwing anything into waste, think about whether you can reuse that item. Maybe you can upcycle it – thus creating something new out of it. There are many creative ways to repurpose candle jars, glass bottles or plastic bottles, drawers, mirror frames, doorknobs, other furniture and home decor pieces, window frames, shutters, clothes, fabrics, wood pieces…

Buy the Things You Really Need

Buy only things that you need. For instance, before buying a new piece of clothing, go shopping in your fashion boutique – your closet (wardrobe). You’ll most likely find some clothing items that you have forgotten. Reacquaint yourself with those dresses, skirts, shirts, pants, suits…

Firstly, fashion trends return so that clothing items don’t have to be old-fashioned just because they were purchased years ago. Also, some fashion styles or pieces of clothing are always trendy. The same applies to interior design styles and pieces of furniture.

Secondly, if you can’t wear it as is, think about restyling it or creating a new clothing item from that fabric. Put your creativity to work and be your own fashion designer.

Additional designer’s tips – individuality and environmental consciousness are among the top trends in both fashion design and interior design. In other words, cherish your style and be eco-chic.

When buying clothes, opt for items that are made of organic cotton or linen, for instance.

Eco Shopping Tips – Choose Cruelty-Free Products and Recyclable Packaging

Decide that you’ll buy only cruelty-free products. For instance, cosmetics or cleaning products that are not tested on animals, clothing, and furnishings from vegan materials.

When buying various products, opt for those without packaging or packaged in recyclable materials. Glass or paper, for example. Instead of collecting plastic bags from the stores – take your eco-friendly shopping bag, made of organic cotton, always with you.

Eco-Friendly Gifting and Gift-Wrapping

When wrapping gifts, go for reusable wrapping. A scarf or some other sort of decorative fabric, for instance. In this related article, have a look at a few environmentally friendly gifting and gift-wrapping ideas – 7 Eco-Friendly Gifting Ideas – Plantable, Vegan, Recycled, Reusable.

Go Green Diet – Organically-Grown Plant-Based Food

Choose an organically-grown plant-based (vegan) diet. Your body and our planet will thank you for it. Here are some of my favorites:

• olive oil
• pasta made of chickpeas, peas, or lentils
• rice
• creating a color palette on my plate from various vegetables and fruits
• herbs and spices from around the world
• various seeds – sunflower, chia, sesame, flax, pumpkin
• green tea, sage tea
• plant milk…

Embrace Walking or Riding a Bicycle More Often

How about walking or riding a bicycle instead of driving a car everywhere you go? Firstly, it is well known that walking and riding a bicycle are such great fitness activities. Secondly, both of these activities are environmentally friendly. Thirdly, although the car could get you there faster, you might also be missing a lot of great views.

Our daily thoughts and choices paint the world around us. Let’s make them pink – optimistic, let’s make them green – environmentally friendly. Greetings from Danica! 🙂

For more eco-friendly ideas, you are welcome to follow Danica Maricic, Interior Designer, on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and discover these related articles.