Eco-Friendly New Year Resolutions

The new year is here and a lot of people are looking forward to a fresh start. After all, it’s not just a new year that’s coming but a new decade! How about you, are you writing down new year’s resolutions? Let us help you with these eco-friendly new year resolutions to welcome 2020.

Use natural cleaning products at home

Home cleaning products are becoming increasingly stronger and more potent. There’s no mistaking that cleaning products consistently one-up each other’s formula. It has come to the point that they use industrial-grade chemicals which is overkill for the home. These products create toxic fumes or leave toxic residue which can be very dangerous for people and pets. A small mishap can earn you a trip to the emergency room. In 2020, why not try switching to natural or organic cleaners? Natural cleaning solutions are usually vinegar-based and use natural citrus scents. They can easily be made at home, too.

Lessen or avoid palm oil

Palm oil is one of the most used oils in the world, in Nutella, ice-cream, butter, and many, many other products. You will find it difficult to find a food product without palm oil nowadays. To its credit, the palm produces more oil than any other plant-based oil; it also has a long shelf life, neutral flavor, and has a wide variety of uses. Palm oil controversies, however, involve child labor practices, animal habitat loss, and greenhouse gas emissions from land conversion which also cause drought and flooding. Rainforests have been cut down and will not come back and is lost to produce oxygen. This is a severe topic in the Amazon and can influence the world climate. You can see that palm oil can be very problematic. If there is no other choice, look for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) seal on the product to support products that use responsibly-made palm oil.

Plant a home garden

A home or a kitchen garden doesn’t have to be big, neither should you start with a big one without prior plant experience. A small herb garden helps your house smell better and, when taken care of, will provide you enough herbs to level up your home-cooked dishes and drinks. Don’t have a green thumb? Try taking care of succulents which have been very popular in the recent months. Let those small plants at home freshen up your indoor air. Speaking of plants…

Start a compost

A compost is decomposed organic matter that can easily be made from food trimmings and garden scraps. Despite what you might think at first, composting is not smelly at all. It can be done on plastic containers of any size or clay pots. A good compost will smell like clean dirt or fresh garden soil. Once it fully decomposes and becomes suitable for use, you can put them on your plants and keep the cycle going.

Bringing an eco bag

A small eco bag packed in case you need it could be the solution to cutting down on plastic bags. When folded neatly, eco bags don’t take a lot of space so they’re easy to carry around. Eco bags come in all shapes, sizes, and designs. Who says being eco friendly isn’t fashionable? By doing this, we can hope to reduce plastic bags thrown into the ocean where sea life confuses it for food, leading to digestive problems or their death.

Check your plumbing

The start of the year is the best time to check plumbing for leaking pipes. Specifically, before summer when water usage increases. Leaky pipes waste water, aggravates corrosion on your home’s foundations, and most importantly becomes a burden on your water bill. Turn off all water usage at home for a while and watch your meter. If it moves, then it is time to get a plumber and trace the leak.

Completing the switch to LED light bulbs

Your home probably has LED light bulbs by now but in case it doesn’t, now is the time to make the switch. If you’re over 30 years of age, you probably remember when LED lights cost a fortune. Thankfully, technology has come a long way and made LED’s very cost efficient. They are now brighter, last longer, and cost the same (if not cheaper) than CFL lights. They also consume less electricity, saving you money in the long run.

Switch to reusable menstrual products

If you read our article on fast fashion, you would know how much resources are needed to produce cotton and synthetic fabrics. That’s why more and more women have been switching to reusable sanitary products like menstrual cups or washable napkins. They are becoming easier to find commercially because of demand. Check out reviews, read more about them and hear from other women to see what’s right for yourself.

The top eco-friendly tip

There’s our top eco-friendly tips you can use a new year’s resolutions. They’re all very easy to start, maintain, and achieve. If you do finish them, remember to add more eco-friendly ways to your daily lifestyle.

Do you have other new year’s resolutions for the environment? Let us know in the comments below or send them to us via email. You can also give our social media pages a like on Facebook and Youtube. To stay updated, sign up for the Flood Control Asia newsletter.