As much as everybody would like to donate money or volunteer for an eco organization, we don’t always have the time or the resources to.  So, let’s not forget how much we can help  the environment without leaving our own home.

Of course, the majority of eco pollution and eco damage are done by big organizations. And we can’t blindly hope that the things an individual does is going to singlehandedly fix all problems. But if everybody took responsibility and did their best, we can definitely stifle the process.

So here are some practical tips that will help us make the lives of our children and grandchildren a little bit better.

1. Water

-With changing the habit of sulking in the bathroom and standing under the shower for an hour, you can dramatically reduce water consumption (up to 100 liters per day). If you turn off the water while soaping your head, you save another 50 liters.

 -Use a dishwasher. Where the machine needs 6.5 liters of water, you use all 49 liters when you wash dishes by hand.

-Leaving the water turned on while brushing your teeth, you are wasting nearly 500 liters of water per month.  This also applies for those who like to shave under the “water accompaniment’’.

-The current tap can “cost” 20 liters of water per day, and poor tank insulation - up to 400 liters.

2. Energy resources

- Turn off the devices. TV, DVD player, computer, even in sleep mode, spend energy. Pedantic Germans calculated that in Germany alone, this way, in a week consumes the amount of energy corresponding to the production of two power plants for the same week.

- Pull the charger out of the socket. Most of the charge for phones, tablets, cameras, electronic toys consume energy, even when the device is not connected to them (an average of 5 watts per hour, that is, 40 kW per year).

- Dress home warmer. If you are cold, put on a sweater, and then think about whether to turn on the heater. Increasing the room temperature by just 1 ºC increases electricity consumption by up to 10%.

- Do not save on household appliances. The old refrigerator needs twice as much electricity as a modern, energy-efficient one. When buying household appliances, pay attention to the labeling: the inscription “A ++” indicates that the device consumes a minimum of electricity. Defrost the refrigerator regularly (the more ice, the more energy it needs).

- Make a big wash. The energy efficient washing machine saves both electricity and water. Do not run it for the sake of one pair of jeans (or at least wash them in the express-wash mode or with less water).

3. Forest                                                                                                            

- Paying bills online, you not only save time, but also save a tree. And if instead of paper receipts, extracts, printouts, you begin to use electronic ones, the number of trees saved will amount to thousands.

- Do not print letters. According to experts, in Europe, about 700 billion unnecessary pages are printed every year. Try to print only those documents that are really needed. And if possible, use both sides of the sheet.

- Plant a tree. Pretty self explanatory. I planted a lemon tree :)

4. Products

- Drink Arabica. According to research, about 150 species of birds live on the plantations of the growing in the shadow  of the Arabian coffee tree (arabica coffee). If coffee trees are grown in the bright sun, the number of its inhabitants is reduced to 20-50 species. Due to the demand for cheap coffee, many manufacturers have switched to growing "sunny" varieties, for which they use more pesticides and fertilizers. You can protect the birds as well as reduce the use of chemicals, preferring Arabica. It also just tastes good.

- Once a week be a vegetarian. In order to get 500 grams of meat, you need about 10,000 liters of water (20 times more than for the production of potatoes of the same weight). In addition, animals, such as cows, produce a huge amount of methane - gas number 2 in the list of those responsible for the greenhouse effect.

- Buy fish with the sign of MSC-certification. MSC certificates give benefits to fishermen who act legally. The certification program itself is aimed at recognizing environmentally sound fishing.

- Support domestic producer. Products from the supermarket have come a long way to get closer to you. To reduce carbon dioxide emissions by all the trucks, ships, and airplanes that brought the goods to your store, buy more local products. And at the same time help local farmers.

- Do not heat the oven. Cookbooks insist that the oven must be preheated. Often this requirement can be ignored. If you are not going to bake pies, turn on the oven when you put the dish in it.

- Discard plastic bags. The world uses from 500 million to 1 billion plastic bags annually. There is no reason not to believe the research, which claims that small particles of polyethylene that have fallen into the ocean are already beginning to destroy the food chain. Take a canvas bag with you when you go shopping.

5. Waste and garbage

- Do not dispose of used batteries. Batteries contain various metals, including mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel, copper, zinc, magnesium and lithium. If we throw them away with simple trash, it all falls into the soil. One battery pollutes 20 m² of land. Put a battery box at home, and when it is full, take them to a special organization that recycles batteries.

- Do not buy movies on DVD. Discs are made of plastic, which are poorly decomposed. But there is no need to refuse entartainment at all (you can legally see the movie in high quality on the Internet).

- Buy recycled products. It saves both raw materials and energy, and also reduces the amount of garbage on the planet. Look for the appropriate mark on the package.

- Teach the child to the pot. One baby takes five to eight thousand diapers, which corresponds to 3.5 tons of garbage, which is very poorly processed. Do not give up on them - just speed up the process of teaching the child to the pot.

6. Car

- Forget about the car for at least one day. In spring and summer, walking or cycling is especially pleasant and will benefit both ecology and you.

- Buy a hybrid car. Due to the combination of petrol and electric motor, up to a third of petrol is saved, which will also have a positive effect on the state of your wallet.