Changing your lifestyle can be a challenging feat. This is especially true if you are planning to change your family’s lifestyle for the better. It is not enough that you let your family know the importance of sustainable living. Since changing the habits your family has come to love will have to change for the sake of sustainability, there are things worth investing in so you can garner better results.
Encouraging Sustainable Living at Home
Be the Best Example
Your family will learn better if you practice what you preach. Set good examples for your family and explain how crucial it is to live a sustainable lifestyle. Let them know that sometimes, change is necessary for the family to achieve a better state of life.
Don’t simply tell them how to live sustainably. Show them how to do it. This way, it will be easier for them to learn how to do it right.
For example, set up a backyard garden and allow the kids to help take care of the plants. When grocery shopping, bring along reusable bags and a list of sustainable food items you and the whole family can shop for. Explain why these are the more sustainable choice and how they will benefit the entire family.
When at home, teach kids how to save water and energy. Teach them how to take quick showers and turn off the lights when no one is using them. Show them how to reuse and recycle old stuff and how to reduce the waste they create.
Provide a More Sustainable Living Space
It can be tricky to promote sustainable living at home when your house is not sustainable enough. Use this opportunity to improve your home. This will allow you to reap the rewards of having a more sustainable living space.
You can start with the basics. For one, consider improving your plumbing and allow the pros to address this for you. Invest in low-flow water fixtures, and it will be easier for your family to reduce your water usage.
Switch to energy-efficient appliances when it is time to replace your old ones. Make sure to dispose of your old appliances the right way. Remember that how you get rid of your old stuff can also affect your environmental impact.
Add additional insulation to your home. When renovating the house, invest in materials that are green and sustainable. Choose local contractors and suppliers who are into sustainable practices.
Volunteer as a Family
Volunteering as a family is a great way to bond with all of your members. This helps keep them engaged and encourages growth as a unit. This also proves to be a great way to introduce fun ways to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
Sometimes, the best way to encourage the whole family to live a more sustainable life is to take them out to volunteer. There are tons of community activities the entire family can engage in to promote green and sustainable living. Some community activities you and your family can get involved in are as follows.
- Be a part of your community garden
- Join ride-a-bike or marathons for a cause
- Start a community compost bin
- Join community clean-up activities
- Join tree planting activities
Introduce Mindful Eating
Making and cooking your own family meals is an excellent way to entice your family to eat healthily and mindfully. This is also a great way to introduce healthier and more sustainable food options to each member. Remember that the more colorful your meals are, the better.
Adding more colors to your family meals usually means consuming more fruits and vegetables than meat. The less red meat your family eats, the more sustainable your eating habits become. This is since it takes a lot of work and resources to produce meat.
Mistakes to Avoid for a More Sustainable Lifestyle
There are certain things families should avoid when living a sustainable lifestyle. Not all innocent practices are suitable for the environment. Make sure you and your family don’t make the following mistakes.
- Keeping old appliances after investing in energy-efficient ones
- Believing all brands that claim their products and services are sustainable
- Not recycling properly
- Always choosing new products instead of second-hand items
- Shopping without keeping sustainability in mind
It may be challenging to instill new habits and live a sustainable lifestyle with the family. But this is nowhere impossible since today’s tech makes it easier to achieve our sustainability goals. You can also consider this list as your guide if you need tips on how to get the family involved in living a more sustainable lifestyle.
