If you long to live a more sustainable life but think it is out of reach for you as an urban dweller, think again. There are many ways to live a simple green life in the city, and the suggestions below can help you get started.
Ditch Your Car
One of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases is personal vehicles, and living in a city, you’re perfectly poised to get rid of yours. Walking, cycling and public transit can probably replace most of your trips, and for those times when you just need a vehicle, ride sharing, car sharing or short-term rentals can do the job. If you truly can’t manage without your car, either because you need it for work or other reasons, try to minimize its use as much as possible.
Upgrade Your Home
If you’re a renter, you might not be able to make permanent changes although there are certainly temporary changes you can make so that your space is more eco-friendly, such as window coverings to keep the heat out in summer and the cold out in winter. You can install a glass balcony at your apartment. It could help in letting more light into the house, it could be easy to clean, and could provide a sense of safety for the kids. You can look for companies who can install glass balconies in the North East (if you live in the UK). In addition to that, you can also add low-flow toilets and showerheads, switching to solar or other more sustainable energy sources, and improving your insulation are all good ways to make your home more efficient. A personal loan from a private lender may be enough for you to afford the necessary improvements, and you can quickly find out if you are eligible. It’s likely that over time, you will save more money than you spend on these upgrades.
Be a City Farmer
Whether you have a backyard, a balcony or just enough space for a few window boxes, you can grow some of your own food. If you’ve got a whole yard of space, you’re limited only by the growing season where you live and the quality of the soil although the latter can be improved. A balcony is a fine space for a container garden of vegetables and herbs, but don’t think that if you lack any outdoor space and can only do window boxes that you’re limited to herbs.
The trick is to find plants with shallow roots that can thrive in this environment. That means that spinach, beets, arugula, carrots and beans are among just a few of the food items you can grow even in a small apartment. Whether you live in NYC co-ops or a small studio apartment, there’s no reason why you should limit your veggie growing capabilities! Check out your local farmer’s market for what you can’t grow. There’s a stereotype that farmer’s markets tend to have more expensive produce, but this isn’t always the case.
Connect With Others
Most communities have groups, organizations and classes that can teach you more about living a greener life. Connecting online is great, but there’s no substitute for getting to know people in your own community. Living greener is also about relying more on others and learning from one another. You can also work together to get greener policies passed in local government that are relevant to your neighborhood and city.