As I’m sure you’ve already heard, eco-friendly is the way to go! I’m sharing five easy tips to kick start your way into an eco-friendly lifestyle. A lot of people think it’s too difficult or too expensive, but it’s really not at all. Follow these tips and you’ll be addicted to your new lifestyle, I’m telling ya – its feels great once you get in the habit of it!

1. USE REUSABLE BAGS

There’s really no excuse not to use reusable bags. Every grocery store offers some type of reusable tote for shopping, and they’re usually very cheap!. Buy two bags, keep one in your house and one in your car. If you’re like me, and have a habit of forgetting your bags – I put a reminder in my phone that’s set to go off twice a week. That way I get in the habit of bringing my bags to my car. Another great way to remember them, is don’t put them away after putting your groceries away. Most people don’t like clutter, and if you’ve got an empty reusable bag sitting out, you’re likely to pay more attention to it.

2. SAY NO TO STRAWS

Thankfully, most restaurants are on board with saving the sea turtles nowadays. Whenever I order a drink, I always specify that I don’t want a straw. Usually, when I request not to have one, the people I’m with decide to do the same. Straws are habitual and a convenience but truthfully, we don’t really need them at all. Give it a try, say no to straws for a week and then see if you even miss them at all.

3. PICK UP A PIECE OF TRASH EVERYDAY

Whether you’re an avid hiker, beach-goer or even just running errands chances are you pass by trash that never made it into the trash can. Picking up one piece of trash daily doesn’t seem like much, but think about if everyone did it! We’d probably wouldn’t see as much as we do now! To take it a step further, bring a [reusable] bag to the beach with you, not only for your own trash but for anything else you might find.

4. SWITCH TO ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS

There are so many companies who create clean, natural products and they’re budget friendly! Not to mention, switching to clean products is much better for you and your home. Almost every household cleaning product, beauty product, personal hygiene product and cooking product have a natural alternative these days. Many stores also make it easy to find these products by organizing them in the same place our placing a “natural” decal on them.

5. REUSABLE COFFEE CUPS

Okay, this one is very specific – but who doesn’t love coffee? Personally, I can’t live without my reusable coffee cups. I have one for both cold and hot drinks (a little obsessive, I know). If you’re a one kinda cup type person, most coffee shops sell them for cheap and you get a small discount every time you use them. This way you create less waste AND there’s a slight incentive, not to mention its the EASIEST way to help save this beautiful planet.