Seasonal Sustainability: Tips For Being More Eco-Friendly In Spring

Each season brings something different for sustainability. Whether that means actions we take, the food we eat, what we have at our house, etc.

But it is good to be aware of what uniqueness each season brings.

There are some actions and items that are appropriate year round such as using reusable items that are made to be long lasting. If you have those items keep using them or once you use up the non-reusable items make the switch if it's possible.

But there are some actions and items that are only appropriate in certain seasons. Similar to switching your summer and winter clothes you also have to switch habits and the food you consume.

Here are some tips for being more eco-friendly this Spring:

1. Buy plants for your home (both indoors and outdoors):

As we head into Spring and in Spring, it's a great time to expand your plant collection. A lot of the garden centres start having a bigger selection of plants available so it's a good time to start looking at what you might need.

It's good to think of outdoor and indoor plants.

Getting plants for inside your home can help remove toxins from the air, it's been shown to help improve your health and it increase your humidity. If you're allergic to pollen (like me!) there are lots of plants that are allergy-friendly. Check out this article for some great options and remember, everyone's allergies are different. Figure out which plants are best for your system and sell the ones that affect you.

Getting plants for outdoors you want to make sure you focus on ones that help support the pollinators. When we help support the pollinators that means their populations increase. Pollinators are directly responsible for roughly 1/3 of the food we eat so we need them. Right now, their populations are dying so supporting them is essential right now. Check out this article on creating a pollinator-friendly garden or space and what types of plants you should buy.

2. Check your house habits

Spring, for many places, brings nicer and brighter days. When you see the sun is out and the temperature increase it's time to turn off the lights as long as you can and turn your heat off or down.

Everywhere starts spring at different times and not every day will you be able to keep the lights off depending on where you live, but I encourage you to do this as much as you can. Not only is it an easy way to improve your eco-friendly habits but it also saves you money! My electricity bill over the winter was well below 3 figures.

3. Start using eco-friendly forms of transportation

As the weather starts to improve that's a great time to start biking, walking, or scootering (scooting?...) to get to where you need to go. If you commute to work I encourage you to try biking instead. Since it's still winter where I live this is a great time to look at buying a bike. Once spring and summer hit bikes will fly off the shelves.

Cars contribute heavily to pollution and rush hour is the worst culprit often meaning there is a lot of slow-moving cars and idling. Sometimes jumping on the bike can actually be a faster form of transport as well as a more eco-friendly version. Then you have the added bonus of getting in exercise and being outside. It's like a win-win-win!

4. Eat seasonally

One of the most important tips is seasonal eating. Spring and summer bring an abundance of incredible fruits and veggies. Take advantage of this season to get tons of incredible nutrients.

To learn more about seasonal eating check out this article (if you're from Canada). Here is another great article with lots of seasonal spring options. Begin to keep your eyes open for when farmer's markets open up. They are usually later in spring but sometimes you never know!

You can also follow your favourite local farmers on Facebook and Instagram and buy directly from them.

Don't make sustainability complicated and laborious. You can increase your habits each year and it doesn't have to be perfect. I'm not saying never drive your car I'm saying when you can, choose your bike instead. I'm not saying never buy blueberries in January but try your best to be aware of which foods are in season.

I saw a quote on Instagram recently that said "We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly."

When you take steps to living a more eco-friendly life that creates a ripple effect. Not only are you helping decrease plastic, reducing pollution and your carbon footprint but others in your life will start to notice too. They'll ask questions and you can start a dialogue with them and potentially they'll start making changes and impacting people in their life and so on.

Every choice you make has consequences, some good and some maybe not so good. Educate yourself on this topic and just do your best.

Interested in learning more about Sustainability and creating a more healthy and eco-friendly home? Grab a FREE copy of my resource guide here.