Mahatma Gandhi put it best: “Live simply so that others may simply live.”

What if we could minimalize our lives, simplify what we use on a daily basis and reduce the amount of consumption and waste we output in the planet? Sounds like a win-win effort for us all to sustainably live longer and more healthy.

At Dafi, we’re committed to taking better care of our planet, eliminating single-use plastics with our Dafi Alkaline Crystal Glass Pitcher in the home and on-the-go filtered water bottles. In fact, one of our alkaline filters delivers between 30-40 gallons of water monthly, replacing around 150 34 fl oz bottles, which accumulates to about 58 pounds of plastic waste saved annually.

So, what does it actually mean to live more sustainably, aside from reducing waste?

As described by Wikipedia, sustainable living describes a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the Earths natural resources, and one’s personal resources.

At first, making changes like such can sound incredibly difficult or daunting. But, I promise you, little efforts and baby steps add up to make some huge changes in how we approach consumption, addressing what we really need to sustain our lifestyle.

Here are 25 tips to sustain the lifespan of items in our home, while being a bit less harmful to the environment in our day to day lives.

Add an extra layer instead of turning on the heat in your home.

1. Bring your own bags to the grocer market. Instead of forgetting each time, have them already in your bag or car to use in advance.
2. Eliminate single-use plastic bottles completely from your home, instead using an alkaline filter glass pitcher for quality water
3. Turn off the lights in a room when you’re not using it
4. Regulate the temperatures in your home by using shades, sunlight, layers, or other natural sources
5. Plan your meals in advance to bulk buy, putting extras in a Dafi air-tight container to store until using
6. Bring your own filtered water bottle when traveling instead of purchasing bottles or taking one when offered
7. Opt for Meatless Mondays, or cut back on meat consumption in general one day less
8. Eat out less often, cooking at home to reduce food, financial and transportation waste
9. Meal plan, cooking your meals on two to three occasions, putting extras in an air-tight container until ready to consume (this cuts back on throwing out extra food too)
10. Use washable linens instead of paper towels
11. Bring your own containers to the grocer, buying in bulk to eliminate plastic bags
12. Reuse your coffee grounds for a beautiful skin scrub
13. Borrow books or purchase eBooks instead of buying paper ones
14. Say no to disposable cutlery and bring your own or reuse recycled versions instead
15. Repurpose glass jars
16. Walk when possible, and consider it part of your workout, instead of driving everywhere
17. Just say NO to plastic bottles everywhere
18. Repurpose glass jars (these are great for storage and drinking out of!)
19. Read your favorite magazines or publications online instead of receiving the printed versions
20. Use cleanable bamboo or metal straws instead of plastic ones
21. Make your own at-home natural cleansers instead of buying chemical ones from the market
22. Spend more time outside instead of being inside all the time (it’s exercise, and you’ll use less waste in the home, in addition to brightening your own mood being in nature)
23. Clothing swap with a friend of similar size, or resell your clothing items online instead of buying brand new ones
24. Share this blog post with your friends, spreading the knowledge of sustainable living!

This list of 25 tips to live more sustainably is just a short list of ideas to get you started on a more conscious lifestyle to reduce your waste and consumption. There are countless other creative and inspiring ways out there that you can benefit yourself and the planet by just thinking a little outside of our habit zones. The most important part is to just start with one, and gradually add new habits to them, making a more sustainable lifestyle, well, sustainable and long-term!