5 Little Things Everyone Could Do to be Greener

It always amazes me when I see this, but these are 5 things that people can do to be greener and they DO NOT..

1. Bring your own mug to coffee houses

The coffee stays hot longer, won’t have a chance of the lid popping off and then scalding your body, and is something that you can hold solidly and carry around all day.

Plus you can even get a discount on coffee if you bring your own mug. This is not that hard to do.

Here are some cute travel mugs that work well:

• Cuppow Glass Travel Mug – all glass in case you don’t want metal / plastic
• S’Well Insulated Stainless Steel Mug – drinks stay hot for 12 hours
• Ember Travel Mug – this is pricey and very slick
• Zojirushi Travel mug – I own this one as well and use it for water at work

2. Bring your own bags

I know this sounds stupid… but there are SO MANY reusable bags out there that you can keep in the car in case you forget, or have foldable ones that you can stick in your bag, that there is no dang reason to not have a bag.

NO REASON AT ALL. I have bags EVERYWHERE, even at the office just in case.

If you are truly dog dirty bone cheap, then go to the store, get yourself a nice, free sturdy plastic bag from a store (Winners has some solid bags, same with office r home stores)… then fold it up and REUSE IT by sticking it BACK in your bag or car for the next time you head into the store.

If you want to buy a nice reusable bag, here are some cute options:

• Baggu thin plastic bags for your bag/car/purse as a spare
• Striped J. Crew Reusable Tote ($8!!) with a larger version for $18 here
• This durable linen tote for $70 if you want to also use it as a spare purse

NO EXCUSE.

3. Use your own cutlery at work

Eat a lot of takeaway? Stop taking their cutlery at least.

If you have to use something that they give you to pack / takeaway your food in a plastic container or something, AT THE VERY LEAST, have your own cutlery at the office you can bust out to use instead of those terribly flimsy forks and knives.

It is an easy win.

Cute cutlery options:

• Black & Blum Cutlery Set
• Ever-Eco Bamboo Cutlery Set

4. Avoid buying any oxybenzone or octinoxate in your sunscreen

This one is not that difficult, but did you know that oxybenzone and octinoxate in your sunscreen is harming coral reefs?

I am more of a mineral sunscreen girl myself, but I know that chemical can sometimes be the only way to not turn out pasty white (or in my case, end up with purplish limbs)…

Here are some of the best sunscreens I’ve ever tried and would recommend wholeheartedly:

• Coola Mineral Sunscreen (Tinted) for the Face – worn on weekends under minimal or with no makeup; spreads on SO nicely & feels soft & wonderful
• Coola Chemical Makeup Setting Spray Sunscreen – used to refresh sunscreen during a workday over makeup – easy to spritz!
• Coola Continuous Body Chemical Spray – great for going out on weekends or a quick refresh over exposed limbs during a workday – easy and steady flow (smells good too)

5. Choose more glass, and less plastic

This.. is… not that easy. BUT! It is not impossible.

When I go for drinks, I choose more glass-bottled fare and avoid the plastic stuff.

Any plastic is less desirable for me than something that is glass instead.

I really think that just a small difference in deciding NOT to take a plastic bottled drink instead of a glass one, is one less bottle that is going to end up in a landfill.

Even for my milk, I buy milk in reusable glass bottles which is now readily available across most major Canadian cities – La Pinte in Québec, and Harmony Organics in Ontario as far as I know.

It is an easy decision at the counter for me to pick glassed kombucha tea instead of another soda drink in a plastic bottle, and it makes me feel better.

Or, just bring your own water in your mug and avoid paying for it completely.