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The world is still trying to fully recover from its economic crisis. While country leaders are trying to find ways to implement sustainable solutions, climate change is an aspect of considerable importance and people must start taking measures now with respect to this particular global issue.

The golden rule on living frugal and green is to understand the difference between needs and wants. We should always ask ourselves before buying an item whether we really need it or just want it. We must also be challenged to entail changes in areas like food consumption, use of natural home products, recycling, energy and water conservation and organic gardening.

Food consumption

People today eat more than what their bodies need and use. You can prove this just by looking around you. This habit causes many degenerative diseases like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer and polluting the planet through the generations of huge amounts of waste at the same time.

We should know that high consumption of meat forces us to breed more livestock, which in turn consume large amounts of food and pass various harmful gases into the atmosphere. Thus, if meat consumption can be considerably reduced, we will save money, have a healthier diet and contribute to a better environment. We can also still spend less and still eat healthily by carefully planning meals in advance with a list to stick to when shopping.

Cleaning agents

The toxic, non-biodegradable chemicals we use to keep ourselves, our clothes and our homes clean and safe from pests produce toxic waste that seeps into our soil and pollutes it.

According to geoscientists, soil pollution can lead to water pollution if toxic chemicals leak into groundwater, or if contaminated overspill reaches streams and lakes. In turn, polluted soil naturally contributes to air pollution by releasing volatile compounds into the atmosphere. The chemicals and other waste products of our consumption dumped on or buried in the ground are not all biodegradable and do create harmful fluids and gases, which leak into the air, water and soil.

Heavy metals and other potentially toxic elements are the most serious soil pollutants in sewage. If absorbed continuously or in large amounts, the affected soil becomes unable to support even plant life. From human waste, to solid waste, to atmospheric waste, to nuclear waste, human activity has created a negative chain by which neither humans nor animals can live in certain parts of the world today.

Alternatives

Despite the harmful nature of such products, people spend too much money on these products even when they can use common, environmentally-friendly household products to maintain their homes just as well or better.

1. Use environmentally-friendly household products

Water, salt, vinegar and baking soda are good examples of the safest items one can use for effective housekeeping. They work extremely well and leave us with a happier wallet. You can find thousands of tips on their uses from the internet as well as from friends.

2. Plant trees

Plants and trees purify the air we breathe and the water we drink by absorbing the mass amounts of CO2 that humans produce while expelling oxygen. Without them this planet would not be fit to live in; but people are killing trees at an alarming rate.

The wood end-product we are probably most exposed to in daily use is paper. It is likely that no matter how much we re-plant trees, the mount of toxic gases not absorbed by photosynthesis will still outweigh the effort as long as humanity continues its insatiable paper consumption, say geoscientists.

3. Recycle

On the other hand, using recycled paper is safe and practical alternative. Fewer trees are cut down, less pollution is generated and more money is saved. Consider these ways to be thrifty by recycling paper: use empty cereal boxes as filing boxes; use the blank side of junk mail to make lists or use them as scratch paper; use discarded cardboards for composting. There are so many more ways that can be discovered as one goes along.

Instead of throwing things to the garbage can, we can recycle them. Plastics, bottles or cans can be useful when we can think of many creative ways on how they can be very beneficial to us and to our environment.

Making changes to live more economically does not mean we have to become miserable. Green living is a lifestyle intended to ensure that one’s impact on the environment is as negatively minimal and as positively beneficial as possible. The object of green and frugal living is simplicity, or purchasing and acquiring only things that are necessary while conserving the Earth’s resources by reducing needless consumption.

It’s virtually effortless to add frugal and green habits into our lifestyles no matter what our income levels are. There is so much we can do at home in small ways that will help the environment – and most of them, it can be wagered, a frugal person is already doing.