A common misconception about going green and leading an eco-friendly lifestyle is that it’s expensive. What with going plastic-free, using biodegradable materials, investing in reusable utensils, ditching fast-fashion for more sustainable brands – the list never ends!
This is a misconception for one simple reason: It’s absolutely not true! Going eco-friendly can actually save you more money than you can imagine year after year.
Not only does leading an eco-friendly lifestyle save the environment, it also saves cost! All you have to do is follow our tips and tricks on how to save cash while saving the planet.
PS: you don’t need to drive a Tesla to save the environment!
In Your Bathroom:
Put a brick in your toilet tank No, this is not a prank! Did you know that every time you flush the toilet, 1.6 gallons of water are wasted? While installing a low-flow toilet is the best option, if you are going eco-friendly on a budget, putting a brick wrapped in a water-proof plastic bag, or a plastic bottle filled with sand in your toilet tank displaces and
reduces the amount of water wasted with every flush! This, in turn, will lower your water bill significantly.
In the Kitchen:
Abolish paper towels Not only are paper towels non-recyclable goods that sit in landfills for hundreds of years, their cost also adds up! Trust us, re-usable napkins and tea towels absorb a lot more coffee spills and ketchup splatters than paper towels every will.
Say goodbye to water bottles Plastic water bottles are the enemy of the environment. They’re also the enemy of your wallet! At an approximate 1 AED a bottle, and a minimum of 4 bottles a day to stay hydrated, Buying a constant supply of water bottles for the year would cost an average person a whopping 1,460 AED a year!
And that number multiplies even further for big families.
Even investing in a water dispenser means that a big portion of your money will go towards buying large gallon bottles of water, most of which only get recycled a couple of times before they end up in landfills too.
Installing a water filtration system is a one-time purchase that not only saves the environment, but also saves you thousands! Who doesn’t want cool, filtered water on tap, 24/7, 365 days a year?
In Your Wardrobe:
Give pre-loved clothes a chance While shopping online and buying all the shiny new things may be tempting, shopping second-hand and vintage finds is the best way to go sustainable while shopping for clothes. Not only that, but you can often find original vintage pieces and items from high-end brands for the price of a t-shirt from H&M! By opting to go for second-hand and pre-loved clothing, you’re also making the conscious decision to stop supporting fast fashion brands that often use unsustainable methods of cultivating materials and putting them together. They are often also culprits of under-paying their factory workers, which goes against Fair Trade.
So not only are you saving money, you’re also saving the planet, the environment, and the hard-working employees!