Welcome to the first edition of my Blog Takeover. In this new feature, I turn my blog over to other bloggers and writers to share their thoughts and tips on waste reduction and eco-friendly living.

I’m always grateful for the learning and support I get from the blogging community. Today’s post features submissions from three great bloggers. I encourage you to visit their blogs to see what they’ve got to offer. I hope you enjoy their work as much as I do.

If you’d like to participate in a future post, I’d love to hear from you.

Without further ado, I introduce you to today’s guest bloggers:

Cher from The Chicago Files

I practice eco-friendly living and waste reduction in a number of ways (although I most definitely need to increase these activities).

With mindfulness about the amount of power consumed, I make it a point not only to unplug things when I’m not using them, but to make sure I turn off lights if I’m not going to be in that particular room. This is something I try and remind myself about every day.

I also recycle everything that can be recycled. That might sound simplistic, but here in the United States recycling is not even close to what is practiced in Canada and other countries. I make it my mission to ensure that not only do I recycle here in my home, but if I see a wayward detergent bottle in the laundry room, I take it and recycle it.

Plastic reduction in all areas of my life is another thing I do on a daily basis. No more plastic bags, plastic straws have been replaced by metal ones, and I’m purchasing glass bowls instead of plastic containers not only for storage, but for mixing, etc. I no longer buy bottled water; instead, I purchased a large Brita container. Although it is plastic, the reduction in the use of plastic is significant, as I don’t have plastic water bottles in my home.

I am constantly looking at products I purchase and ‘boycotting’ those whose plastic packaging is unacceptable. There is no need for most of it, so I am looking for alternate products by manufacturers with much less plastic wrapping. 

I have a lot more to change, but I know I can do it!

Nick from Money Millenified

I have always thought that living an eco-friendly life was very similar to living a frugal (yet enriched!) life. There are parallels between managing your finances and living sustainably.

It starts with action-oriented behaviour. We are all brought up to recognize the “reduce, reuse, recycle” sign and understand its significance, just as we are taught that it is smart to save money for the future. However, it takes more than just understanding concepts to act on both. I think that humans, when faced with large endeavours such as “going green” or saving for retirement, often become overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. This ultimately leads to indecision, doubt, and stagnation.

Luckily, when it comes to living an eco-friendly and money-savvy life, there are some really simple things that you can do in order to be successful.  The most important thing that you can do is to just start! Even if you aren’t the most money or environmentally-conscious person, any step you take, big or small, is a step in the right direction and can be built upon. Although saving one dollar and recycling one bottle might seem to have little effect at the moment, it is the compounding actions over time that lead to success.

Here are some small and nuanced steps that we at Money Millenified do to compound our eco-friendly living:

• Making home cooked meals/“brown bag” lunches to limit single-use containers
• Using Sodastream for carbonated beverages instead of purchasing cans
• Using bar body soap, foaming tablet hand soap, and bar shampoo
• Using silicone food wraps in lieu of plastic wrap
• Using laundry detergent sheets as opposed to pods/liquid that comes in plastic

Bonnie from Beautiful Minimal Millennial

What Happens When a Maximizer Declutters?

Growing up in a typical American household in the 1980s and 1990s, it seemed like the more the better. More clothes, more toys, more scrunchies, more hairspray, more everything! One weekend when I was young, our parents got mad at my brothers and I so the punishment was to take non-essential items out of our rooms. Our parents literally boxed up every non-essential item while secretly the three of us sat on our beds giggling inside. 

For some reason that memory made a huge impact on my life. Even though I fell into thousands of dollars of credit card, car, and student loan debt thinking that I was living the American dream, that childhood moment always felt peaceful to me. About 2 years ago, I performed my very own KonMari tidying event that brought that sense of peace back. You may think that removing a large portion of my things was the major event. What happened next is the secret. The stuff nobody talks about but you swear you see it happening. The unicorn of living or the Instagram-worthy stuff started.  

• My husband decluttered in his own way and on his own time. I never had to get involved. Often times I hear “How do I get my spouse, partner, roommate on board?”  The answer is let them do their thing.  
• Our household cleaners got a whole lot cleaner. Check out my favorite spray cleaner below!
• We stopped running to the store to replace something without first attempting to repair it and/or determine if it was in fact necessary to replace.  
• We ate healthier and healthier. With more time to meal prep healthy foods, we lost weight.  
• We have time to take mid-day naps when needed and have no issues with saying no to things that do not excite us.  
• We ride bicycles, take walks, and use a motorcycle to get around as much as possible.
• AND SO MUCH MORE!

Favourite All Purpose Spray Cleaner

• 2 ounces rubbing alcohol
• 14 ounces water
• 3 drops of dish soap

As a result of decluttering the things, we live a much cleaner, healthier, and more eco-friendly lifestyle.  

Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.

Thanks to my guest bloggers

Thanks Cher, Nick and Bonnie for sharing your unique perspectives. Here are some of my favourite insights. Don’t forget to click through and take a look at their blogs!

I am constantly looking at products I purchase and ‘boycotting’ those whose plastic packaging is unacceptable.

Cher, The Chicago Files

Often times I hear “How do I get my spouse, partner, roommate on board?”  The answer is let them do their thing.  

Bonnie, Beautiful Minimal Millennial

Even if you aren’t the most money or environmentally-conscious person, any step you take, big or small, is a step in the right direction and can be built upon.

Nick, Money Millenified

Look for next week’s Blog Takeover when I’ll have more great ideas from the blogging and writing community.

Which of these ideas resonated with you the most? Join the conversation below.