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5 easy ways my family went green, saving both money and the environment

Our journey to a more eco-friendly lifestyle did not involve any drastic changes, just a series of small, feasible steps to make changes that not only have a positive impact on the environment but also lead to financial savings

Just a few months ago, my family embarked on a journey to become a more environmentally friendly household. As a society, we can no longer afford to ignore the ecological distress signals that our planet continues to emit. The good news is that transitioning to more sustainable practices is not only beneficial to the environment but also to your wallet. Today, I share our experience and offer actionable steps towards achieving the same in your own lives.

Our first step was to reduce plastic waste. Here are the ways which you can easily do to make a difference, starting today. We made the decision to abandon our water dispenser. Sounds strange? Hear me out. Our water dispenser required huge space-hogging plastic bottles, delivered twice weekly. The handling of these cumbersome bottles was a chore and the waste they generated was substantial… and then there’s the frustration we would feel when we ran out of water on occasions and had to scramble to contact the call centre to order an extra one, and same day delivery isn’t always guaranteed. Switching to a company like WaterClub, which provides a water line filter, allowed us to save money, cut plastic waste and say goodbye to heavy lifting. As a bonus, there's extra peace of mind knowing that we are directly contributing to the reduction of plastic waste in our world, as a family of four, like us, can prevent the use of over 1,500 plastic bottles a year.

But that’s just a starting point. We aimed to lessen our overall plastic consumption, aligning with the country's single-use plastic ban. The easiest way to do this is to swap plastic bags for reusable ones. A handy tip? Keep a stash of reusable bags in your car – they are a saviour during unexpected shopping trips. By using jute or recycled bags-for-life, we are not just complying with UAE's regulations but actively supporting the country's sustainability goals.

To address the remaining plastic waste in our household, we started using a company called RECAPP. They offer a pickup service for plastic waste and cans. Using RECAPP is pretty straightforward, you just book a collection via their app, and they pick up your recycling, free of charge. This service allowed us to recycle more effectively, helping us do our part for the environment while eliminating the hassle of managing recyclables ourselves.

Another easy and fun way to go green was to cultivate our own produce. There is a uniquely gratifying feeling of accomplishment in watching a plant you've nurtured bear its first fruit. We started with spring onions, basil, coriander, and tomatoes — proving that even in warmer climates, you can still manage a thriving kitchen garden. It reduces our dependency on the supermarket, effectively lowering our carbon footprint and saving on grocery bills. Planting has also proven to be a fulfilling and fun activity for our children, who love to plant seeds, water them daily, see them grow, and finally get to taste our own organic mini-farm produce!

Lastly, we replaced all our old conventional light bulbs with LED bulbs. They consume much less electricity and have a lifespan of a minimum of 50,000 hours (around 14 years) which in the long run saves us on both our energy bills and bulb replacement costs. This simple swap not only helps us reduce our energy consumption but also aligns with the larger mission of helping to preserve our planet's finite resources.

Our journey to a more eco-friendly lifestyle did not involve any drastic changes, just a series of small, feasible steps to make changes that not only have a positive impact on the environment but also lead to financial savings. Today, I invite you to join in this transformative journey and do your bit for the environment. Remember, every little step counts, and together, we really can make a world of difference.