Seeing as it’s taking us a while to come up with general waste-management and recycling solutions, it’s up to all of us to chip in and help keep the earth beautiful. Being more environmentally-friendly is a great new year’s resolution. The following are some changes you can incorporate into your life.

Make a Shopping List
Making a shopping list instead of guessing what you need before heading to a store will prevent you from buying things you don’t need or already have. This will, in turn, curb food waste.

Store Your Food Properly
You can help your food stay fresh for longer by storing it in airtight containers. Also, make sure you are storing the food in the correct location in the fridge to keep it preserved.

Make a Compost
If you have leftover food, you can compost it. This is way better than throwing everything away and is relatively easy to do. You can even buy a small countertop compost pail.

Create Your DIY Cleaning Spray
Use scraps and leftovers from citrus fruit skins and herbs to create your own cleaning spray. The easiest way to do this is to soak them in white vinegar for about two weeks, and then you can use the liquid and dilute it with one to one ratio with distilled water.

Bring A Water Bottle
The easiest way to avoid purchasing single-use water bottles is to bring your water bottle with you. At home, invest in a tap filter to filter water directly from your faucet.

Shop at a Local Market
By shopping for fruit and vegetables at the local market, you can eat locally and more seasonally and buy your products without unnecessary packaging.

Start a Small Garden
Look at things you regularly use in your cooking and see if any of them are easy to grow. You can use eggshells to sprout some herbs. Take the eggshells of your used eggs, clean them off the membrane, and poke a hole through the bottom. That way, you can use them as a dish for sprouting your seeds.

Regrow Food From Scraps
You can use the leftovers from certain vegetables to regrow them. Some of the easiest ones to regrow are celery and spring onion.

Avoid Using Paper Towels
Instead of using paper towels, look for dishcloths and recycle fabrics you can wash and reuse.