So you want to be more sustainable, but looking at the eco warriors you see on facebook and twitter looks a bit daunting, you're not sure you're ever going to get to that place but you still want to help the environment. Well this post is for you!

Here I'll outline some really easy ways to become more eco friendly, that don't require you to step into super eco warrior mode to do and don't require a complete overhaul of your routines to be able to achieve. I think a lot of people don't make changes in their lifestyle because it's seen as difficult and time consuming, which some of them can be, but you can really start making an impact by doing really small things.

These switches are super quick, easy, and once they're done you barely have to think about them again. Seriously it can be this easy to get started, you don't even have to move from where you are right now!

Note: This blog post contains some affiliate links, this means that I earn a small commission from anything you purchase through these links. It doesn't affect the price for you, and helps me keep this site going.



Switch to an ethical bank
Banks are huge investors in the fossil fuel industry, since the Paris agreement in 2015 just 33 banks have invested over $1.9 Trillion in fossil fuels. With $600 billion going to just 100 companies still looking for new sources of oil and fossil fuels. The climate science here is clear, we need to switch to more renewable sources of energy to slow climate change down and lessen its impact. But banks are helping to continue to pump more Co2 into the atmosphere and by investing your money in them you are helping them to do that. Plus many banks invest in other questionable industries such as fracking, arms, nuclear weapons, and fur.

But there are ways to bank more sustainably, and ethically, I recommend Ethical Consumer's Money section to look at a variety of investments from current accounts, to saving and mortgages. They're my go to resource for all things ethical. My friend Besma also wrote an excellent guide to ethical banking.

Over 75% of people have never switched bank and so it may seem like a daunting task but it really isn't that difficult, just take an afternoon out of your week, do your research and switch banks. Once it's done, it's done, and you could get a better deal than you currently have whilst saving your money more sustainably.

Some Ethical banks include Triodos, Nationwide, Co-oporative bank, Ecoloy, Charity Bank, and Monzo.

 Switch to a Green energy provider
You will still use the same electricity or gas that you've always used, it's just that with a renewable energy provider they match the amount of energy you use each year from renewables. So you're essentially directly supporting renewables with your bill. The more people that switch to renewable energy tariffs, the more demand there is for renewable energy and the more investment there's likely to be in the industry. Supply and demand, baby!

You can also save money, it's recommended that you look to switch energy provider each year to get the best deal anyway, so why not switch to renewable?

These include Ecotricity, Octopus Energy, Bulb, and Good Energy.

And for a full guide you can try Jen's guide to switching to renewable energy. It's very helpful and in depth!

Paperless receipts
Receipts contain chemicals that react to heat (which is how they print) but they're not recyclable and can contaminate whole batches of paper if they end up in recycling facilities. So opting to go paperless if a really easy and completely free way of changing this up.

If you don't need receipts simply refuse them. Though a lot of places  now offer to email you recipients instead of printing them. So if you like having receipts or need them for expenses they you can keep them in your emails instead.

You could also use them for arts and crafts projects like I have... but best to just refuse them in the first place!

Use Ecosia
It's like Google, only it plants trees. Ecosia is a search engine which uses the money it generates from ads to plant trees all over the world. They work with local communities, to plant local trees and all you have to do is search the internet like you normally would. It's a no brainer.

I have been using Ecosia for about 8 months now, and on my laptop alone (there's a little counter at the top of the search) I've planted over 1,500 trees. From just searching the internet.

The only drawback is that Ecosia doesn't have tools like google scholar, or it's own maps service, but to use these I just go back onto google for the search and then continue using Ecosia for everything else. This is the most low effort way of helping to plant trees.

See also: 18 Apps to help you live more Sustainably

Unsubscribe from emails Lists
A lot of us are subscribed to loads of email lists we don't need to be, from fast fashion brands to random other junk! But they keep us enticed and often buying things we don't need, so spend ten minutes unsubscribing from email lists that don't bring you any value and you'll be a lot less tempted to shop in the future (not mine though, you should subscribe to my email list).


Pack a Tote
Right now, after you've finished this blog post, go and grab a tote bag or reusable bag and put it in the bag you use daily, your car, your bike. Just go and do it! Done it? Now you won't get caught out the next time you go shopping, no more single use plastic bags for you my friend.

Well you do have to remember to put the tote bag back into your bag once you've used it once but you're on your own there friend.

This also works with water bottles, coffee cups. Just get into the habit of taking reusables, it's really easy! Though you do need to wash those, please.
So that's it for my 5 easy tips on how to be more sustainable right now. I hope you've found it helpful and will be implementing one or two of these things. Do you have any other super easy tips? Let me know in the comments.

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