Fun and Easy Sustainability Activities for Any Lifestyle
This year, we're committed to taking sustainable action - both at work and at home. But fitting it in can be tricky.
We all have busy schedules and lots of commitments. How can we make sustainability fun and easy?
Luckily, sustainability is more accessible than ever with online tools and education. Plus, you don't need tons of resources to start making a difference. You just need inspiration.
If you're overwhelmed with where to start, don't worry - we've got you covered. Keep reading for fun and easy sustainability activities and tips you'll love.
Recycle
Recycling is one of the easiest and most fun activities you can do to be more sustainable. It's also one of the most important. Before starting, make sure to find out what recyclable materials you can collect in your own area.
Start a compost bin in your backyard or kitchen for scraps from meals. Reuse your plastics, glass, and aluminum. Donate unwanted items and find a new life for used clothing, furniture, and books.
Pick up Trash
Pick-up Trash is one of the simplest, most tangible, and immediate tasks you can do to make your home, neighborhood, and environment more sustainable. It is fun, easy, and available to any lifestyle and area.
Taking a few minutes to find and pick up even small pieces of litter or discarded rubbish can have a positive effect on the environment. Walking with a trash bag or bucket to collect litter from nearby streets, parks, and beaches can serve as a small exercise session while yielding results for the environment.
Sort the Garbage
Sorting the garbage is an easy and fun sustainability activity that anyone can do. It helps to break down our waste into easily recyclable categories and also helps to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
It is important to start by educating yourself on what types of materials can and cannot be recycled. This can be done by checking with your local waste management center. Once you know what can and cannot be recycled, you can easily sort your garbage into different categories, such as plastics, paper, metal, glass, and food.
Make Laundry Products at Home
Making your own laundry products at home is an easy and fun way to live a more sustainable lifestyle. The beauty of this activity is that it takes almost no time and requires very few supplies.
Plus, you'll be able to customize the product to your own preference. All you'll need is baking soda, a few essential oils, a grater, and some fabric softener. Start by grating the baking soda, then add a few drops of essential oil.
Reuse Items for Crafts
Reusing items for crafts is a great way to promote sustainability and help conserve our environment. Items such as old clothes, bits of material, buttons, and even bits of paper can be used to make fun and creative artwork.
Another example might be a dream catcher made with old jewelry, a coat hanger, ribbon, and feathers. Kids can get involved by making ornaments and decorations from bits of paper and cards.
Make Homemade Art Items
Making homemade art items is a fun and easy sustainability activity that can be enjoyed by any lifestyle. This activity is great for boosting creativity and can be very rewarding with how unique your end product can be.
There are several options to make art items with easy-to-come-by materials found around the house or items that can be purchased from your local store. You can create framed collages with scrapbook paper cut to fit the frame or make a painting with paints from the dollar store.
Play Outside
Playing outside is one of the simplest, most fun, and most impactful activities to help promote more sustainable lifestyles. Games such as tag, capture the flag, and even flashlight tag makes for a great way to enjoy the outdoors and expend saving energy.
Planting a vegetable garden in the backyard can provide healthy food and teach kids about the needs of plants. Going on a nature hike in the local park can not only provide some exercise but can also increase awareness about wildlife and their habitats.
Make Homemade Instruments
Make Homemade Instruments is a fun and easy sustainability activity that can be done on any lifestyle. It can kickstart the journey to becoming a more sustainable lifestyle by encouraging creativity and allowing people to have control of their environment.
It is also a great way to use materials that may have been thrown away, such as old milk containers or two-liter bottles that could be turned into shakers or drums. It is a great activity for kids to get involved in, as it teaches them to be mindful of their environment and to appreciate music in a new way.
Collect Rain Water
Collecting rainwater is a simple yet effective way to make your lifestyle more sustainable. It is a fun and easy activity that anyone can do, regardless of age or experience.
Installing water storage tanks is an effective way to store the rainwater that you collect, and you can also use it for other activities such as cooking and bathing. It is also an excellent way of saving money in the long run, as it is free and it will not take up too much of your time.
Read Books About the Earth
Reading books about the Earth and sustainability is a great way to learn about your impact on the planet and how you can better your lifestyle for the better. There are countless books out there that discuss various topics in this domain, ranging from narrative non-fiction to textbooks.
Most importantly, it can help to break down complex topics into manageable chunks, so they become more manageable and understandable to you. Aside from learning something new, reading books about environmental sustainability can be a great way to start conversations among friends and family about topics that matter.
Make Your Own Paper
Making your own paper is one of the easiest and most rewarding sustainability activities. It involves the reuse of scrap materials to create unique and exciting sheets of paper.
Depending on the desired page size, you will need a recycling bin, a blender, a large shallow pastry pan, and some paper towels. To make unique paper, start by shredding down the content you're reusing with scissors.
Make a Compost Bottle
Making a compost bottle is an easy and fun example of sustainability-oriented activities that can fit into any lifestyle. It's an efficient way to compost organic materials without taking up too much space.
To create a compost bottle, you need a one or two-liter bottle, a few holes drilled in the sides and lid, and kindling such as dry leaves and twigs. Place the organic material in the bottle, add water, and shake it to mix the contents.
Make an Air Pollution Science Experiment
Doing an air pollution science experiment is a great way for anyone to incorporate sustainability activities into their lifestyle. Begin by gathering materials such as two identical containers, baking soda, vinegar, a measuring cup, water, and a funnel.
Then, fill one container with clean air and the other container with polluted air. The polluted air can be created by adding vinegar and baking soda to one container. Allow them to interact and record the results.
Plant a Tree
Planting a tree is a fun and easy sustainability activity that will benefit any lifestyle. Tree planting is an activity that anyone can do anywhere, and it has long-term environmental benefits.
Planting a tree is an investment in our planet that will provide oxygen, help creatures that dwell in trees, and provide shade to the people and animals living in the area. It's also a great way to get some exercise outdoors and bond with other participants or family members.
Make a Worm Farm
Making a worm farm is an excellent sustainable activity that can fit easily into any lifestyle. Worm farms help to break down food scraps into high-quality compost, which can be used to fertilize garden plants.
Worms need to live in a habitat that provides protection from the elements and ventilation for the soil to be healthy. To make a worm farm, you'll need a plastic container, some charcoal, soil mix, and worms.
Do a Water Pollution Experiment
Doing a water pollution experiment is one of the fun and easy sustainability activities that can be easily incorporated into any lifestyle. To conduct this experiment, all you need are some basic materials like a bucket, an eyedropper, saving water from a faucet, water-based food coloring, and a few tablespoons of salt or sugar.
Once the ingredients are gathered, mix the food coloring and either salt or sugar into the water, and then the experiment is ready to begin. Using the eyedropper, drip the solution into the bucket that contains clean tap water and observe what happens.
Make Your Own Cloth Napkins
It not only reduces waste but can be a surprisingly enjoyable activity as well. First, choose your desired fabric, preferably something durable but colorful. Cotton works well.
To make the edges more aesthetically pleasing, sew a simple French seam around the perimeter of the squares. Finally, embroider something creative or just use a decorative stitch around the seam for extra flair.
Make Some Seed Paper
Make Some Seed Paper is one of the many fun and easy sustainability activities. To do this activity, it is necessary to collect old paper and blend it in a blender along with water. Following this, one must filter the pulp, lay out the paper on a tried surface, and add the desired type of flower seeds to it.
After the paper has been dried, it can then be used to make cards like greeting cards or planted in a pot or garden directly. This activity doesn't just provide one with environmental benefits but also is extremely therapeutic and calming!
Make a Mini Greenhouse
Making a mini greenhouse is a fun and easy sustainability activity for any lifestyle. A mini greenhouse is ideal for household plants, whether you're a casual hobbyist or a committed green thumb.
To make a mini greenhouse, all you need is a clear plastic storage bin, weatherproof tape, a sharp blade, and some horticultural soil. For maximum effectiveness and efficiency, start by measuring the bottom side of the storage bin so that the frame for it is the same size. Then, cut six 1-inch holes around the top of the bin.
Become More Efficient With Your Errands
Sustainable lifestyle practices don't have to be time-consuming or costly. Small, easy shifts in your day-to-day activities can have big environmental benefits. Practicing efficient errand running is one of the best ways to start living sustainably.
Start by cutting back on the number of car trips you make. Consolidate trips to the store by planning out your shopping list ahead of time. Schedule grocery stores and other errands in the same area. This will help you save time and gas. Take advantage of public transit, bike riding, or carpooling with friends and family.
Utilize Solar Panel
Making the shift to consuming less and living a more sustainable lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular due to the environmental consequences of untamed consumer culture.
Utilizing solar panel energy to reduce one's carbon footprint and energy consumption is an easy and fun activity that anyone can do. Installing solar panels is a great way to become energy self-sufficient with renewable energy sources.
Furthermore, solar panel installation comes with various tax credits and incentives depending on one's location. Additionally, if access to your home's roof is not possible, there are also several ground and mounting systems available to easily mount solar panels in one's backyard or any other space.
Finally, aside from having access to an efficient energy source, learning more about solar energy production is a great way to become more educated and in tune with nature. Get more information about solar panels on the link.
Learn More About Sustainability Activities
By educating ourselves on sustainability activities and becoming more mindful of our everyday activities, we are taking the first steps towards protecting our planet for the future.
We can make a difference by making simple changes to reduce our environmental impact.
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