Just for the record: the latest findings from CoP27 show that – only managing to keep the temperature restricted to 1.5 degrees C is not enough. There are other factors that one needs to be concerned with – such as: noting the climate tipping points, the risks associated with food security, and requiring better monetary help for developing countries. Long story short – climate change is fast approaching us, faster than we imagined, and we need to do something!
Taking that into account, in this comprehensive guide are some funny ways to lead an ecologically and economically friendlier lifestyle. So, let’s give you a glimpse into the same –
5 funny ways to make life eco-friendly
The best way to make things lighter and funnier is to include your family members, friends, partners, and especially kids in this process. After all, it is the kids who must be trained and prepared to embrace climate change in the correct way. Here are some of them –
1. Join your child in making reusable goods
It is common knowledge that the more goods you buy, the more waste you add to the environment. So, why not make your kids use the goods that they are probably ‘throwing out’ but in a novel way? Here are some options –
- Rather than using plastic baskets use paper baskets. Create them out of old newspapers and magazines and have one in each room
- Ever thought about what to do with unused wrapping paper? Recycle them to create gift bags!
- There are a host of video tutorials that show you some really cool hacks to turn your old T-shirts into tote bags.
You can get a host of other eco-friendly ideas in CyberGhost’s blog if you wish to reuse the discarded goods from your home.
2. Ever thought of making a compost bin?
On a regular basis, every household has a host of vegetable and fruit wastes. How about you turn that into something positive? We’ll tell you how! By making a compost bin out of the same!
- Take a discarded bin or bucket and poke holes in the side and base of the bucket. Keep aside, the waste materials (any organic matter that you can lay your hands on), water or buttermilk, loose soil, and paper.
- Combine the waste with paper and keep it under the shade. After that, sprinkle water or buttermilk and let it sit (continue this watering process for 4-5 days). Then aerate this blend.
- Keep adding the crumbs, soil, and paper to this mixture. Once it’s full, layer it with soil and let it sit for a month. Your compost is ready.
- In the whole process, you can ask your kids to join, use the paper scraps they throw away in this compost, and ask them to continue with the mixing process.
Its easy, fun and surely entertaining way to make the earth a better place to live.
3. Start making a small home garden
Did you ever think that making a garden in your backyard or even on your balcony could be a fun activity? It’s time you think on those lines! You can use the homemade compost or get some natural compost from the market and kickstart this process.
- Pick out an area that is well-aerated and allows plenty of sunshine. Take a small pot, a mud vase or even an old and discarded bucket and add the soil and compost to it.
- Bring a flower-bearing plant (rose, jasmine, and dahlia are the most common picks) and pot it well. If that sounds regular, how about getting microgreens? You could ask your kids to get a handful of them. Isn’t it exciting to plant the microgreens that you will have a couple of days later?
- Follow the usual planting schedule and water it regularly. With time you will see how it grows into a full-fledged plant.
4. Prep for ‘screen free’ days
Another really cool way to make your life eco-friendly is limiting screen time and concentrating on activities that make your day! Pick out one day, or maybe a weekend, and declare it to be a no-screen day at your home. Ditch the television, mobile, and laptops, and spend the day at the nearby park with your kids participating in some environmental activity.
- Go out and participate in some cleaning activities in your neighborhood with the kids.
- Set up your kids in some NGO-organised eco-friendly DIY classes so that they become conscious of the environment.
5. DIY artsy things to deck up your home
Who said you need to buy artsy decor from outside to deck up your home? You could do that very well by yourself! Here’s a range of things that you can create to deck up your home in an environmentally-friendly way –
- Sew up cushion covers yourself and hand-paint them with different motifs
- Create DIY paper lamps by using old glossy magazine covers and paint them with the choicest motifs
- Create a sea-shell chandelier for your home, by using scattered sea shells, waste paper, and glue. Hang an LED light in it, to enhance the effects.
- Did you know that you could make a tealight holder out of discarded plastic bottles? Rather than adding to the pile, reuse it in the decor.
Cautionary points to remember
If you have been reading this article till here, you supposedly have some really crackling ideas that can help you. It’s time you pick up any of the aforementioned ideas and try them at your home or office to create a space that is environmentally friendlier, but not in the usual over-the-top way.
Having said that, there are a couple of things you must follow to make this earth a better place –
- Always switch off your electrical gadgets, lights, fans, and other electronic goods when you are not using them. Save electricity and try to reduce the use of gadgets as much as possible (say, ditching the hair dryer or reducing the usage of AC).
- Rather than carrying plastic bottles, try to use glass, copper, or steel bottles that would reduce your plastic consumption. Along with that, save water as much as possible.
- Buy a cleaner car and environmentally friendlier car. Ensure that it reduces the carbon footprint that you are leaving behind. Additionally, while driving, lower your gas mileage and stick to the optimal (govt-specified limit) limit.
- Lastly, try to recycle your goods as much as possible since this will reduce the carbon footprint comparatively, leading to a cleaner environment.
Parting thoughts
As they say, charity begins at home. Therefore, it is imperative that before you go ahead and change the world for a better place to be in, begin the process at home. Involve your family into it, or your near and dear ones, and try to change your way of living – albeit in a light manner.
