27 Easy Ways to Get Started with Sustainable Living

Ready to incorporate more sustainable living habits into your everyday life, but you aren’t sure where to start? Here are 27 easy ways to get started with sustainable living.

You’ve probably felt it lately — this low hum of uncertainty about what’s coming next. Prices keep rising. Institutions feel shakier than they used to. The news cycles faster than any of us can process.

Here’s what I want to say before we get into any list: sustainable living has always been about more than recycling correctly or buying the right water bottle. At its core, it’s about building a life that’s less dependent on fragile, distant systems — and more rooted in your community, your home, and your own sense of agency.

That turns out to be exactly what a lot of us are looking for right now.

These 25 habits aren’t a consolation prize for when the big systems fail you. They’re genuinely useful, often money-saving, and they compound over time into something that feels a lot like resilience. You don’t have to do all of them. You don’t have to do any of them perfectly. Pick one or two that feel accessible and start there.

Sustainable living is a mindset first

Before the list, two underlying principles that will make every item on it easier:

Consume Less. Buy less stuff. Use, reuse, and repurpose what you already have. Buy secondhand instead of new when you can. Borrow instead of buying things you use infrequently. Be patient before spending money, rather than falling prey to impulse purchases. This is also, not coincidentally, good for your budget — especially when prices feel like they’re climbing faster than your paycheck.

Think Circular. Circularity means using resources in a circular way (reuse, recycle, upcycle, compost) instead of a linear way (buy new → use briefly → throw away → stay in landfill basically forever). Resources flow in a circle to be used and reused, rather than in a linear path where they’re used once and discarded.

Because it’s a circle, you don’t have to start with consumption. You can start with how you get rid of things, or how you use what you already have. There’s no wrong entry point.

Individual action matters and compounds

I know it can feel futile, but individual action matters. It shapes you and your priorities. It influences the people around you. And collective individual action, enough people making enough small shifts, is the mechanism by which cultures, institutions, businesses, and governments change. The systems we have now were built through individual choices that accumulated over decades. They can be rebuilt the same way.

I’m not asking you to do everything at once. I’m asking you to do one thing, let it become a habit, and then do another. That’s the whole plan.

27 easy ways to get started with sustainable living

Building Community and Connection

1. Join a Buy Nothing group | Buy Nothing groups are hyperlocal gifting communities where neighbors share what they have and ask for what they need — for free. I’ve gotten toy cars my kids played with for months, borrowed tools I needed for one weekend, and given away things that would otherwise have gone to a landfill. I’ve also met neighbors I wouldn’t have met any other way. In a moment when knowing your neighbors matters more than it has in a long time, this is one of the highest-value things on this list. [→ Here’s my complete beginner’s guide to Buy Nothing groups.]

2. Sign up for a library card | Your library offers more than just books: audiobooks, streaming services, museum passes, tool lending programs, and free programming for kids and adults. Libraries are also one of the most important public institutions in your community, and they need your active engagement to stay funded and strong. [→ 5 ways to support your local library and why it matters now more than ever.]

3. Pick up litter | When you’re out for a walk or hike, pick up what you find. Even better: make it a social thing. You may even consider setting a litter-pickup date with friends for community-building and environmental stewardship at the same time [→ 7 tips for doing a litter pickup with friends.]

4. Eat more local foods (and a little less meat) | Shopping at your farmers market or joining a CSA isn’t just good for the planet — it’s good for your local economy and for the farmers who live near you. Local food typically has a smaller environmental footprint, and you’ll be investing directly in your food community at a moment when supply chains and food systems feel more fragile than they used to.

Here are a few related reads to dive deeper into eating local without a complete diet overhaul. Enough is Enough: Why Veganism Isn’t The Holy Grail of Eco-conscious Living… But Eat Less Meat and 14 Ways to Reduce Your Environmental Impact Without Giving Up Meat or Doing Meatless Monday  

5. Redirect one purchase a week to a local business | Before you open Amazon or head to a big-box store, ask whether a local shop carries what you need. Hardware stores, pharmacies, independent toy stores, and local nurseries carry more than you might expect, and the extra five minutes to find out is worth it. Every dollar you spend locally circulates through your community in ways that a dollar sent to a warehouse in another state simply doesn’t. This doesn’t require a dramatic lifestyle change. It just requires the pause. [→ 12 Amazon alternatives worth knowing about.]

Reducing What You Buy

6. Borrow before buying | Before ordering anything online or heading to a store, ask whether you can borrow it instead — from a neighbor, a Buy Nothing group, a friend, a library tool lending program. This is especially worth doing for large items you’ll use infrequently, such as luggage, power tools, and specialized kitchen gadgets. The sharing economy around you is more robust than you probably realize. You just have to ask.

7. Shop secondhand | Thrifting has lost most of its stigma, especially among younger shoppers, and the secondhand market has never been more robust. If thrift stores feel overwhelming, start with consignment boutiques, curated resale shops, or online platforms like thredUP. The deal you find and the landfill you spare are both real. [→ Tips for scoring sweet finds on thredUP.]

8. Shop less (for fun) | Skip shopping as a social activity. It sounds small, but it’s one of the most effective consumption habits you can change, because it removes the low-grade impulse buying that adds up in significant ways. [→ 12 sustainable alternative ways to hang out with friends that aren’t shopping.]

9. Use what you already have | Before buying fancy new “sustainable” items, look around and use what you already have. Clean and reuse glass jars instead of buying new mason jars for storage. Old yogurt or sour cream containers store leftovers as well as fancy silver tiffins. The most sustainable things you can use are the ones you already have.

10. Learn to repair and mend (clothes, tools, gadgets, etc…) | Whether you DIY or hire someone, repair what you own when it still has life. Our culture pushes quick replacement even when a simple fix would do. Mending clothes, repairing tools, and fixing gadgets are acts of economic and environmental sanity.

The Kitchen and Food

11. Use food leftovers consistently | Before you shop or plan meals, look at what’s already in the fridge and build from there. This saves money, reduces food waste, and cuts down on grocery trips. It’s one of those habits that pays off every single week.

12. (Pretty much) ignore “best by” dates | With very few exceptions, sell-by and best-by dates are inventory management tools for manufacturers and grocers — not safety indicators. Nearly all foods are safe and nutritious well past these dates. Use your judgment: if it looks and smells fine, it’s almost certainly still good. I volunteer at a food pantry, and we follow the Philabundance Food Donation Safety guidelines. The organization and its agency partners accept food well past the published “expiration dates” because the food is genuinely safe to eat. Save money and stop throwing away food your family can use. 

13. Grocery shop through a low-waste lens | You don’t have to overhaul your grocery list. Just notice: choose products with less packaging when there’s an option, skip the plastic produce bags (you really don’t need them), and reach for bulk when it’s available. Small shifts in your grocery habits compound significantly over the course of a year.

14. Start composting | I know. I know. I promise composting isn’t as gross as you might think. Consider a pickup service (like your trash but for food scraps) or the Reencle electric composter. Composting closes the food loop, keeps organic material out of landfills, and produces a material that helps gardens and soil genuinely thrive. [→ Several resources to help you get started with a compost pickup service.]

15. Grow something | It doesn’t have to be a garden. A pot of herbs on your windowsill or a single tomato plant in a container counts. Growing even a small amount of your own food builds a different relationship with where food comes from. As grocery prices climb and supply chains feel less certain than they used to, there’s something genuinely grounding about being able to walk outside and pick dinner. Start small. See what happens. [→ [link to your food growing content once you have it]]

The Home

16. Ditch paper towels (at least mostly) | Swap paper towels for reusable dishtowels, Swedish dishcloths, and cloth napkins. We have a basket in the laundry room to collect dirty ones and throw them in with regular laundry. We use maybe one roll of paper towels every month or two now. It’s one of those swaps that turns out to be easier than the old way.

17. BYO grocery bags | Don’t expect perfection. I’ve been doing this for years, and I still sometimes forget. Just do it when you remember. Reusable bags hold more, carry better, and are genuinely easier to use than plastic. They just make sense.

18. BYO water bottles | Please stop buying bottled water. Reusable bottles keep water colder longer, don’t sweat all over everything, and save you real money. The math here is not complicated.

19. Air dry your clothes | Dryers are typically the second-largest energy consumer in a home. I hang dry about three-quarters of our laundry most of the year. You don’t have to go all in. Start with a drying rack and try one load per laundry day. Even 50% air drying is a meaningful reduction.

While it might surprise you, I really like hanging our clothes outside most of the time. We have a rotary line dryer in our backyard. I hang-dry about 3/4 of our clothes most of the year (and use the dryer on really cold winter days or when it’s raining). There’s a peaceful cadence to hanging clothes in fresh air.

20. Swap out liquid laundry detergent | Liquid detergent is heavy (more energy to ship), bulky (more plastic packaging), and honestly, no better than powder. My favorite laundry powder comes in a cardboard container, works just as well, and I never have to carry a giant jug home from the store. [→ Eight more ways to make your laundry room more sustainable.]

21. Swap to zero-waste toilet paper | Who Gives a Crap ships a large box to our house once or twice a year, and I never have to think about or transport toilet paper again. That alone would be worth it. The environmental benefit is a bonus. There are other great brands in this category, too.

22. Responsibly recycle batteries | Batteries have toxic chemicals that shouldn’t go in the trash. Many Target stores have battery recycling, and some electronics stores have collection programs as well. You could also try battery recycling programs like this one. [→ More on what you can recycle at Target.]

23. Adjust your thermostat by one or two degrees | It might seem small, but one or two-degree adjustments on your thermostat can significantly reduce your energy usage to heat your home in the winter or cool your home in the summer. It’s better for the planet and your budget.

24. Opt for time-of-use energy rates | Time-of-use energy rates apply different rates to your electricity based on the time you use it. They can often reduce your energy bills. Find out whether your local utility offers time-of-use energy and whether it makes sense for you. [→ My deep dive on TOU energy rates and how they work].

25. Extend the life of your devices | Phones, laptops, and tablets have a significant carbon footprint in manufacturing, and most of us upgrade on a schedule set by manufacturers rather than actual need. Before replacing a device, ask whether it can be repaired, whether a battery replacement would give it another two years, or whether a refurbished device would meet your needs instead of a new one. Back Market is a good starting point for refurbished electronics with warranties. The most sustainable device is the one you already own.

Getting Outside

26. Spend more time outside | Getting outside regularly connects you to what you’re actually trying to protect, and it’s a lot harder to impulse-buy without wifi in the woods. It’s good for your mental health, good for your kids, and good for building the kind of sensory relationship with the natural world that motivates everything else on this list. I did a Hike40 Project a couple of years ago, and it changed how much time I spend outside. You can check out all the details and what prompted this personal project here.

27. Drive Less | Walk more, bike more, and use public transportation when you can. I know this is hard in car-centric America, and I’m not asking for an overnight transformation. Just keep it in mind as a genuine option and take it when it’s accessible. [→ Ways to use public transportation with kids.]

Bigger investments in sustainability at home

These are one-time investments with long-term payoffs — not quick swaps, but meaningful upgrades if they’re available to you:

Electrify your home. Heat pumps, induction stoves, electric vehicles, solar panels — these are the highest-impact changes most households can make. Rewiring America’s Electrify Everything guide is the best resource I know for figuring out where to start. We have a heat pump, two EVs, an induction stove, and rooftop solar, and it’s been wonderful to slowly transition over many years to electification as old appliances and systems need to be replaced.

Buy the right size home. The United States builds and buys homes much larger than necessary. A smaller home costs less to heat, cool, furnish, and maintain, and it often leaves more room for the kind of life you actually want.

Use native landscaping. When you’re adding or replacing plants in your yard, choose natives that support your local ecosystem. Homegrown National Park has wonderful resources for getting started.

Conserve resources throughout your home. Low-flow faucet attachments, LED bulbs, and tankless water heaters all reduce resource use without meaningfully changing your daily experience. Small and effective.

I shared more about how we’ve made some of these larger changes to our home over time in this post, 5 Home Ownership Decisions We Made To Save Water & Energy.

One more thing

This list will never be complete, and that’s fine. Sustainable living isn’t a checklist you finish. It’s a direction you keep moving in — imperfectly, incrementally, in community with other people doing the same.

What would you add? I’d genuinely love to know what’s worked for you, or what questions I can help you work through. Drop a comment or reply to a Sage Neighbor newsletter and let’s talk.