Saving the earth may seem like a hopeless situation—best left to lawmakers and politicians, but there is great power in individual choices- many made from the comfort of your home.
Today’s instructor Ashlee Piper is going to teach us changes we can make right away, to make our homes a more eco-friendly place.
Ashlee is a political strategist turned vegan and eco-lifestyle expert, writer, and TV personality whose work has been featured in and on GLAMOUR, Refinery29, Apartment Therapy, Design*Sponge, Women’s Health and ABC News just to name a few.
In June 2018 she literally wrote the book book on stylish, sustainable living, titled: Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet.
By the end of this class you’ll know the dos and don’ts of recycling, have a greater knowledge of some great eco-friendly technology and have action steps for building out your space more consciously.
HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL RECYCLING TIPS:
- Recycling is not a cure all. Refuse, reuse, reduce.
- You need to check your municipality for rules. Go on city website.
- Plastics have numbers on the bottom that will determine when and if they can be recycled.
- Super small pieces of anything are not recyclable.
- One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.
- Clean out all your containers before recycling.
- Glass and aluminum are more easily recycled than other materials.
- You can’t recycle certain types of glass that are treated to do something special (like mirrors, Pyrex).
- Recycling shouldn’t only happen in the kitchen.
MENTAL SHIFTS BEFORE BUYING:
- So much of what we buy is emotionally driven.
- The less stuff you have, the less you need to clean and find.
- Think about the end of something before you buy it.
- Consider refillable merchandise.
GREAT ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGIES:
- Energy Star rated appliances.
- Smart appliances.
- Low flow shower heads and toilets.
- Lower tech things make a huge difference: planting trees to cut cooling/heating and ups resale value. Donate whatever you can from your remodel. Reuse repurpose.
- Window coatings
- Solar panels.
WATCH YOUR PHANTOM ENERGY USE:
- Anything that stays plugged in can account for up to 80 percent of your energy usage.
- Cable boxes are a huge energy suck.
- Get an energy efficient power strip you can turn off and on.
- You can save up to $150 a year.
FOOD WASTE:
- Composting is more beneficial than recycling and it’s a great exercise in tracking your garbage habits.
- Americans waste a lot of money on food.
- 1 in 6 people in the country are food insecure.
- If you live in a city you can freeze your food scraps and bring it to your farmers market.
TOP ACTION STEPS:
- Do a shopping fast for a week.
- Don’t buy anything that’s not essential.
- Quit paper towels and use reusable cloths.
HOMEWORK:
- Look at the trash you create and identify where it’s coming from. Study your own habits and make some tweaks.
- Eat less meat. Enjoy a meatless meal…or 2, or 3!
FIND ASHLEE:
HER BOOK– http://www.ashleepiper.com/book
WEBSITE- http://www.ashleepiper.com
INSTAGRAM– https://www.instagram.com/ashleepiper/
