How to be a Lazy Environmentalist

You want to do the right thing and not hurt the planet, but who has the time and energy? With a few handy tips, you do! Making more eco-friendly choices doesn’t mean you have to take on hours of extra work because you can make just a few small changes to make your life easier and more sustainable while keeping your mind at ease.

Make recycling easy by placing your cans in easy to spot places where recycling accumulates. Place one in the bathroom for empty soap bottles and toilet paper rolls, one in the kitchen for cans and boxes, and one wherever you sort your mail for all that paper and cardboard. Next to each of these print out the guide on https://www.dwswa.org/recycling-101 and tape it next to or on the cans as an easy go-to for figuring out if something can be recycled or not.

While we want to make recycling easy, we need to make using the trash can a little harder. Try to place it a bit out of the way, hidden in a cabinet, or in a different room. This will mean when you’ve got that empty water bottle, you’ll be near the recycling bin first and probably use it instead.

Of course, you also have to make sure you take out your recycling. If you find dumping out the bins annoying, switch to using a paper bag. Once it fills up, you can bring it to a large recycling bin you leave at the curb or take to a convenience center and you can just recycle the bag too. Schedule a reminder on your phone calendar too. Plan to have it go off the night before you set out your bin or drop off your recycling so that you have enough time to gather it up. This way you also don’t have to think about it when you are rushing around in the morning.

For composting, you can use a lot of similar ideas. Keep a tub that you throw your food scraps in and keep it in the freezer so you don’t have to worry about smells or pests. Set a reminder on your phone to dump them out once a week saving you multiple trips to the compost bin. You can print out a compost guide that you put on your freezer as a reminder or stick to the simple stuff like veggie peels, coffee grounds and paper filters, and eggshells.

I recommend also keeping a big bin next to your compost that just holds your brown material like leaves, cardboard, or sawdust. This makes it easier to keep your ratio correct and you only have to worry about your brown materials whenever the big bin starts looking empty.

You can also adjust your habits so you can save water without wearing yourself out. When you are starting a shower, use a bucket to catch the water as it warms up and then you can use that to water plants or mop. Keep the bucket close by so you don’t have to try and go searching for it.

To cut down on your water usage once you are taking a shower, play a song that is around four minutes and try to get done before the song is over. You can also cut the water off while your conditioner is in and use that time to shave or exfoliate before rinsing off. To wash items like dishes or laundry, make sure you are only doing full loads so you aren’t using water unnecessarily. This also means you’ll save time because you load and unload less often.

With a few thoughtful adjustments to your space and routines, you can have a lifestyle that is still eco-friendly without having to spend a lot of extra time and work. You don’t have to be a perfect environmentalist to make a difference. We can still be a little lazy and still make a positive impact on our planet.

Amy Hartline is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Have a recycling question? Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or ahartline@dwswa.org.