We’ve all heard the basics of green living: “remember to recycle,” “turn off the lights when you leave a room,” “take shorter showers,” and the many, many more tidbits of advice that have followed us since elementary school. But, what practices are actually the most effective and the most do-able in living a sustainable life?

For starters, it’s worth noting that 55% of Americans pretend to care about the environment more than they actually do. This alarming statistic suggests that many people are unwilling to make lifestyle changes to accommodate environmentalism. Here are two eco-friendly tips that are easy to implement, and may even persuade the 55% of faux-environmentalists to take action. 

Ditch the grocery bags for storage bins.

Many grocery stores have reusable canvas bags for sale to use in place of plastic bags. But, these canvas bags must be used over 100 times in order for them to become environmentally friendly! We suggest using storage bins that you have lying around your house instead. Just load one of these multi-purpose bins into your trunk, ask the cashier to skip bagging, and load your cart into the bin once you’re back at your car. This practice is easy, environmentally friendly, and it saves you the hassle of making multiple trips to bring the groceries inside. An all-around win-win situation!

Clean with rags or old t-shirts instead of paper towels.

We all know how many paper towels it takes to wipe a counter clean. Rather than wasting money on paper towels that don’t last, opt for rags or old t-shirts to get the cleaning done. Rags and shirts are more absorbent than paper towels, and they just need a quick wash to be reused again and again. Opting for cloth instead of paper towels helps save the earth– while also saving you money.