Five Dirty (& Unsustainable) Habits To Break

Hi! Remember Earth Day a couple weeks ago? Well, I hope you didn't already forget that we need to celebrate and take care of this place we all call home (AKA Planet Earth) everyday, and not just once a year. (Kidding. I know LunaVida readers are 👑  The Smartest Of All The People 👑  because A. you can obviously read and B. you choose to read this blog, of course.) However, due to my undying love for our magnificent world, I feel compelled to share some simple tips today that we can all do to help beautify our planet.

I have considered myself a staunch environmentalist for as long as I can remember.
Throwback side story: Back in 7th grade, our National Junior Honor Society's yearlong project was to bring recycling into our classes and lunchroom. (Yes, I realize I was a borderline nerd. We've been over this already.) I also happened to be on the cheerleading team back then (I am living proof that one can be an unpopular cheerleader, by the way). There was another girl in NJHS with me, who also happened to be on my #squad. We were paired up to empty the recycling bins together after school one day, which happened to conflict with cheer practice (I know what you're thinking: "OH NO! NOT CHEER!!!!"). Our coach said it was fine to complete our NJHS responsibilities first and then join practice after we were done. But my teammate (squadmate? fellow cheer gal?) couldn't stomach the idea of doing something uncool, such as being a good steward of this fine planet we all share, over learning feisty new chants to scream at the crowds at middle school football games. So she left me to my own to EMPTY ALL OF THE HEAVY ASS, DIRTY RECYCLING BINS BY MYSELF. Yea. (Sorry for the extra long tangent. Obviously I had some leftover junior high angst that needed to be vented 45 years later.)
Anyyyyway, that diehard love for Mother Nature of mine has never left the forefront of my brain. And sometimes it may even feel like there's nothing we can to do to make this seemingly shitty, violent, polluted world a better place, but I am a strong believer that that is simply not true. There are plenty of ways to help make Planet Earth a better place for all, and we can do so everyday.
Below see five dirty and unsustainable habits we can all break immediately and simple tips to help.
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1. Forgetting your reusable shopping bags This one is such an easy step for us all to take to lessen our contributions of unnecessary waste in landfills. *A couple effortless tips so you remember to bring them? Keep multiple bags in the backseat of each car you may have in your family so they're always on hand. Also, you can hang one on your front door so you are reminded to grab them on your way out each time. (Matt personally hates that I do this in our own home. And yes, I acknowledge it doesn't look chic in the slightest, but it works. And do you want to know what's even uglier than a canvas bag hanging on your doorknob? The state of the world in the opening scene of Wall-E, my fellow Earth inhabitants.)
2. Not turning off the damn water when you're brushing your teeth/putting shampoo in your hair/handwashing the dishes I've mentioned this one before, but it begs to be said again. I can admit that although I am very conscious with my water usage, I definitely have some self improvement to work on in the shower water usage department. I love a warm, relaxing shower just as much as the next person, but my love for it is not worth the waste of H20 and energy.
3. Eating meat for every meal You didn't think a vegan could write a blog post about sustainability without mentioning the negative impact of the meat industry, did you? You can see facts about the detrimental effects the meat industry has on our environment for yourself by clicking here.
4. Leaving your electronics plugged in at all times Believe it or not but there are phantoms in your home. Phantoms who are eating up precious energy (and thus increasing your bills) every second of the day. You can vanquish these by unplugging your cell phone charger, Keurig (speaking of which, please also make sure you're using reusable pods like these), toaster, etc, etc, etc after each use. You may not realize, but even when these items are out of use they are still eating up energy. Unplug 'em, and you'll save precious energy AND money. (Plus, just imagine how much good we could do collectively if we all were doing this each day?! #TeamworkMakesTheDreamWorkButItAlsoSavesThePlanet)
5. Not recycling Come on if you are still not recycling in 2017. And I don't just mean at home. Some people probably don't realize the amount of plastics we all use everyday - especially in the United States. Every time you get a drink at Starbucks? There's a plastic cup, plastic lid, and plastic straw. Once we've finished our beverages, most people will most likely throw their trash out at the nearest garbage can. And while, yes, that is better than dumping it on the street, there's more we can do. How about hanging on to your plastic products until you come across a recycling bin? Matt and I have been doing this for years and sure, we may look insane to some people as we carry our empty plastics back into our cars and bring it home; however, if we were to count how much plastic we have "saved" (gosh, we are so heroic) from landfills over the years, I bet it would be a number that we're pretty proud of. (That being said, we do still have lots of room for personal improvement too, though.)
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What are some of your favorite ways to live a sustainable life? I'll take any and all advice to help make this world a better, cleaner place for us all to thrive!

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