Many people are opting to ditch living with a partner and live alone. While they may do this solely for their own mental health, they will find that it can also be good for the planet. Here’s more information about solo living and its benefits to the environment.
Why It’s Important To Be Eco-Friendly
With the population being larger than it ever has been before, it’s imperative that people practice eco-friendly living. If they don’t, greenhouse gasses will rise, and there will be more waste and fewer resources to use. This can create a catastrophic situation in the future.
How Solo Living Can Be Beneficial To The Environment
For those that are living by themselves, they may not realize all of the different ways that solo living can be beneficial to the environment. Some of the positive impacts include the following:
Less Water and Electricity Usage
Individuals who are living solo will naturally use less water and electricity than large families.
More Control Over Recycling
In a family, not everyone may be on board with recycling. This can make it difficult for those who are concerned about the environmental impact of waste. Those who practice solo living won’t have to deal with others standing in the way of their recycling.
Having Fewer Items
A lot of people who are living by themselves live in small spaces. Because of this, they tend to buy fewer items than others simply because they don’t have a lot of room for storage Not only can this be good for their bank account, but it’s good for the environment as well.
Living Closer to Work
People who have a spouse or kids don’t always have a lot of control over where they live. It’s not uncommon for many families to choose to live close to one spouse’s work or their kids’ school to make it easier on them. This can cause the other person to waste a lot of gas going back and forth to and from work. Individuals who live on their own can choose to live wherever they want to. They can live in a location where they won’t have a long commute. Not only will they save on gas, but their car won’t emit as many emissions as it would if their commute was longer.
Going Green Tips for a Single Person Household
While a lot of individuals who are living on their own know that living this way is beneficial to the environment, they may want to do more. If you want to lessen your ecological footprint even more, you can utilize the following tips:
Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables
You don’t have to live in a large space in order to grow your own fruits and vegetables. Container gardening has become fairly popular since you can grow a variety of items indoors in buckets.
Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
These types of lightbulbs are good for the environment and can help you save money. If you aren’t sure whether or not your home has energy-efficient light bulbs, you should go ahead and change them.
Ditch Disposable Bags
Did you ever stop to think about how many disposable bags you use every single year? There’s a good chance that this number is in the hundreds! Because of this, you should ditch the disposable bags. Bring reusable bags with you to the grocery store to put your groceries in. Don’t use plastic bags to store your food in. Opt for plastic storage containers that you can wash and reuse.
Stop Using Disposable Water Bottles
Landfills are littered with millions of water bottles each year. If you have gotten into the habit of buying disposable water bottles, you can easily replace them with reusable bottles. Most retailers have water fountains that you can use to fill them up when you are on the go.
Only Do Full Loads of Laundry
As a solo person, you may not accumulate that much laundry regularly. Therefore, you might have gotten into the habit of only doing small loads of laundry each week. If you want to be greener, wait until you have a full load of laundry before you use your washer. You can also save some electricity by letting your clothes dry on a drying rack rather than putting them into the dryer.
Things to Watch for That Can Negatively Affect the Environment
Despite the fact that you are concerned with the environment, you may be doing something that is negatively affecting it that you should watch out for. They may include the following:
Eating Out Too Often
Eating out often comes with a lot of food waste. If you don’t live close to the restaurant, you will also have to use your car to get to it as well.
Not Paying Attention to Energy Usage
It’s not uncommon for single people to not pay attention to their energy usage. This has to do with the fact that they think that they don’t have to because they are just one person. Make sure you aren’t using more energy than you need to. Turn off the lights, fans, and televisions in rooms that you aren’t in. Open the blinds to let in natural light rather than turning on a lamp.
Letting Food Go Bad
One of the drawbacks of solo living is it can be very easy to waste food. Fruits and vegetables often come in quantities that many individuals have a difficult time consuming by themselves before they start to rot. You can keep this from happening by sharing some of these items with your family or friends.
While solo living can be beneficial to the environment, this is only true if it’s not done the right way. Even little things that they do can have a huge impact on the environment and help them be greener overall.
