Do you want to live greener? Despite what you might think, doing so is not so hard!
BUY USED AND SELL
Shop refurbished! Not only will you reduce your carbon footprint, but you’ll save money too. With eBay’s (eBay.com) Certified Refurbished program (ebay.com/CertifiedRefurbished), shoppers can find like-new items spanning across home appliances, tech and more, that are easy on the planet and your wallet. Certified Refurbished gives second life to products that are guaranteed to work like new and come with new accessories and manufacturer-sealed packaging.
You can also sell your unwanted items on eBay, yet another way to live more green. whether it’s last season’s fashion and accessories or unused tech, small kitchen appliances or fitness gear. You’re sure to find that perfect buyer. The marketplace is giving sellers 200 free listings every month, meaning it doesn’t cost a thing to list.
AN EASY WAY TO REDUCE WASTE
Yes! If you love bottled water, consider switching to ZenWTR (ZenWTR.com, $1.49 and up), a new mission-based company and the world’s first and only beverage in a bottle made from 100% recycled, certified, ocean-bound plastic. Every ZenWTR bottle is made from up to 5 bottles that were rescued from at-risk coastal environments, preventing them from reaching and polluting our oceans, so by simply choosing ZenWTR, you’re making a difference and helping to reduce future ocean pollution. ZenWTR is on a mission to help reduce the amount of plastic polluting the world’s coastal environments and is on track to rescue up to 50 million pounds of ocean-bound plastic from global coastal environments by 2025. They also pay it forward by dedicating 1 percent of sales to organizations committed to ocean conservation and recycling advocacy.
Visuals: bottles of ZenWTR water
GREEN CLEANING
A good place to start is switching to earth-friendly home cleaning products like Cleancult, which is a non-toxic, zero waste cleaning brand. Their Complete Home Bundle (Cleancult.com, $160, currently on sale for $89.99) has everything you need for a natural and effective clean routine – from hand soaps to laundry detergent to all-purpose cleaner. Cleancult’s products feature non-toxic, plant-based formulas that harness the power of coconuts and other biodegradable elements and are tough on grit and grime but gentle on you, your skin, and our planet. Their innovative refill system means that each product coming in recyclable, paper-based milk carton refills, along with stylish, shatter-resistant glass bottles to put the formulas in. Visit Cleancult.com to customize your own subscription plan.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR ECO-FRIENDLY PURCHASES
For those pricier earth-friendly purchases, look for savings on a deal site, like Slickdeals.net, which crowdsources their deals from 12mm users. You can visit their site or install their free browser extension to be automatically alerted of available savings as you browse online. This month, I’m sure they will have lots of deals on those items that help us live greener.
EASY TWEAKS FOR GREEN LIVING
Try to throw fewer things away, i.e. use reusable baggies and plastic wraps, buy refillable products. When cooking, make stock out of food scraps, compost your foods to use in your garden, buy fewer pre-packaged foods…once you get into the frame of mind of throwing less out, it becomes second nature. Also, remember to recycle!