Ways To Live A More Sustainable Lifestyle

Julie Starr • June 4, 2024

It’s not always easy to go green and care about how your habits impact the environment. However, it’s an important cause that you should be paying more attention to in your daily life.

If you’re ready to make some changes to how you’ve been living you’ve come to the right place to learn more. All it requires is paying closer attention to what you choose to do or not do on a daily basis. Here you can review some ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle. 


Educate Yourself

The first step is to educate yourself on the matter. The more information you can gather the better. There are many available resources out there to check out both online and offline. Take the time to learn more about the environment and steps you can take to improve your ways and approach. It may be helpful to read up more on how plastic impacts the environment or all the reasons why you should try to cut back on electricity usage in your home.


Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

It’s also important that you choose to reduce, reuse, and recycle in your daily life. You don’t always have to purchase new items. It’s also wise to keep a separate can for recycling in your home so you’re not just throwing everything in the trash bin. If you declutter and go through your belongings in your home you may realize that there’s a lot that you can get rid of. In this case, you may want to check out how waste hauler software can help. It’s a great way to dispose of the items you no longer need or use. 


Conserve Water

If you want to live a more sustainable lifestyle then consider the ways in which you can better conserve water. This includes taking shorter showers and turning off the water while you are brushing your teeth or washing dishes. You can also choose to water your garden with a watering can instead of turning on the hose. This way you’ll be doing your part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 


Grow Your Own Food

You can save yourself trips to the grocery store by planting a garden in your backyard. Growing your own food is a great way to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Gardening is also a mindful activity that can get you some exercise and help you relax. It’s also an opportunity to cut back on eating so much meat. Switching to a vegan diet is an opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint. If you do need to shop for food then consider buying local items or heading to the farmer’s market to make purchases. 


Support Environmental Causes

There are likely many ways in which you can get involved in helping the environment right in your own local community. For example, there may be opportunities to pick up trash or plant trees. All you have to do is research different local opportunities and see what’s going on right in your neighborhood. There are also chances to donate to causes online if you want to help the environment this way. 


Choose to Walk or Bike Instead of Drive

You don’t always have to hop in your car and drive places, especially if you’re going short distances. Reduce carbon emissions by choosing to walk or bike to your destination instead of driving. It’s also a chance to get some exercise which can feel refreshing. If you must drive places then consider carpooling with people in your area. Think about biking or walking to work instead of driving every day as well. 


Invest in Sustainable Products

Consider the items that you’re buying and keeping in your home. For example, you can invest in sustainable cleaning and beauty products. You can look up recipes right online for different types of cleaning supplies you can create. This way you’ll feel good knowing that you aren’t using harmful chemicals in your home. There are many companies out there that take pride in caring about the environment and produce products that help save the environment. 


Conclusion

There are many different ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle. You should now have some good tips and ideas for getting you started on making some changes. You’ll sleep better at night knowing that you’re making a conscious effort to go green in your daily life. You may begin to think twice about buying plastic water bottles or printing off documents and using up a lot of paper. You should be proud of yourself for wanting to do a better job in this area of your life.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.