Kai Lincoln’s Earth Day Tips: Five Simple Ways to Build Eco-Friendly Habits

Make Earth Day, every day! Simply adjusting small day-to-day habits can go a long way in living a more eco-friendly lifestyle – and what better day to start implementing “green” habits than on Earth Day! The added bonus is that many of these simple suggestions can also lead to a healthier and more active lifestyle. Let’s start phasing out some of the long-held bad habits we’ve created over the years for a few of these simple

1. Only use lights when you actually need to. Many people turn on lights as a force of habit and then leave them on when they’re out of the room. Be aware of this both at home AND at your workplace.
2. Reduce your reliance on single-use plastics. This can be as simples as keeping a reusable water bottle on hand vs. opting for bottled water, bringing a set of reusable utensils to work instead of grabbing plastic utensils, and transporting your groceries in reusable bags instead of plastic bags, to name a few. Though plastic is almost impossible to avoid in our daily lives, you can do things to lessen your reliance on it.
3. Get outside and do something – walk, ride a bike, just sit in the local park and enjoy what nature has to offer! We have become reliant on screens, try giving your brain a rest by just being alone with your thoughts, reading a book, or even having a non-interrupted conversation with friends and family. 
4. Notice Rubbish! What does this mean? We’ve become conditioned to walk past rubbish on the ground as if it’s a completely normal thing. Guess what. It isn’t. Once you start noticing it, then step two - Pick it up and dispose of it appropriately – whether in the trash or recycling bin. Why does this have to be a once-a-year thing with an organized clean-up day? Get into the habit of picking up that discarded coffee cup, carrying a reusable litter bag and picking up rubbish as you’re on your walk, commit to a once-a-month neighborhood clean-up day you do with your kids, etc. 
5. Expand your knowledge. Get inspired by learning more about the environment and simple ways you can make a positive impact. One of my favorite websites is: https://reasonstobecheerful.world/, but there are a lot of sites across the internet where you can read about the positive steps being made around the world. Don’t believe the rhetoric that you don’t make a difference. Think about the potential impact we could have if EVERYONE committed to making simple adjustments to their daily habits. If everyone started using reusable water bottles, there would be no need for plastic bottles!

Earth Day is great, but we need to extend beyond a single day of impact and create long-term habits. One of the best things you can do is… PLAN. 

Think about your habits and figure out what you can do by simply planning better. This might include packing a lunch rather than buying a lunch wrapped in plastic, remembering your reusable water bottle when you leave the house, finding a grocery store that sells in bulk rather than buying pre-packed goods.

We have become citizens of convenience, but this isn’t irreversible! Get involved. Please.