#enviromentallyfriendly

save the planet!! I still need to work on a lot of these tips myself but I wanted to share some ways you can easily help out.

1. skip red meat, at least once a week! the beef industry is extremely resource intensive. It takes 7 or more pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef.

2. carry a water bottle with you. americans use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour, and only 1/5 gets recycled.

3. speaking of recycling, recycle!! luckily americans already recycle about a third of their trash. but each time you think that it’s only one plastic bottle you aren’t recycling, millions of others are thinking the same thing.

4. bring your own bags to the market. u.s households use about 100 billion plastic bags, 99% of these are never recycled.

5. think locally. try to find food near you. green markets, farmers markets, etc. all offer local produce. if you buy it, you conserve fuel, reduce pollution & of course support your community.

I know, being environmentally friendly is something we all say we want to do, but in execution, we all fall a little short. However there are still very simple life changes you can make in order to become more environmentally friendly. 

1. Use reusable straws instead of plastic ones. This is a fairly common thing now! In fact some places have completely outlawed plastic straws and many businesses have stopped using plastic straws. Many people complain about paper straws, and personally, I have the same complaints. I think they get all soggy in your mouth, and they start to break down while you use them. So, I would strongly recommend using metal ones (like these ones https://amzn.to/2QWOwkk ) or silicone ones (like these ones https://amzn.to/2RmuU8p ). I would just recommend that you get straws that have a cleaning brush and a carrying case. 

2. Use a reusable water bottle instead of plastic ones. This switch can actually financially benefit you in the long run! Any water bottle will do, but I think metal ones are just better. Now, I’m not saying you have to buy a Hydro Flask, I’m just going to leave a link because they are honestly nice water bottles! (https://amzn.to/2LFERbN )

3. Use a reusable coffee cup! This one could be trickier, but if you can manage to do so, you should! Yetis are pretty nice coffee cups, but this one is a cheaper option ( https://amzn.to/2EZ1jMs ) 

4. Use reusable grocery bags! These are super easy. Many local grocery stores have their own bags but here are some cute ones ( https://amzn.to/2Ti6k5U ). Just stick them in your car and leave them there. Then you never forget them! 

5. Use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. This will eventually save you money, as you  don’t need to be constantly be repurchasing dryer sheets! ( Here are some cute ones: https://amzn.to/2EUARD1 ) 

6. Compost! This is amazing for the environment and then you are not creating waste. I will upload a blog post about composting soon, but in the mean time you should Google it and begin composting!