10 sustainable things to do during COVID-19 quarantine

2022 Update

I made this list of 10 sustainable things to do during pandemic when it just began. But reflecting back at it, I have to say, you don’t have to wait for a a worldwide event to happen to have more environmental-friendly habit. You can start now. We are still technically in the pandemic but why wait for things to get tougher when we clearly can begin now?

10 sustainable things to do during quarantine

I promised myself not to focus on the negative aspects of the coronavirus. We are all involved and we are impacted tremendously by the COVID-19 outbreak. We have to react in the best way for us and the people around us. The only thing I am struggling with is staying positive, however, I am trying and want to spread “good vibes“, you know.. Anyway, I decided to share some sustainable things you can do and tips & tricks that you can use while staying at home (as much as possible and if you can of course).

10 sustainable things you can do now

Just remember I am a baby in the eco-friendly lifestyle and still have some ups and downs, but I hope this will help, so here we go:

1. MEAL-PREP. It’s time to learn about meal-prep! To avoid food waste, especially during this time, it is important to use your resources wisely. So look at what you have, try to eat fresh veggies and fruits first so that they don’t go bad and you don’t have to throw them away. I usually know in advance what I am going to eat and I choose food that will go bad over the ingredients that can stay in the fridge for a few more days/weeks. As a reminder, 1/3 of food is wasted and one in nine people still suffer from hunger according to the World Food Programme.
2. REPLACE PAPER TOWELS. While we are talking about your resources, replace paper towels, you use for cleaning/wiping surfaces, with the kitchen towels and/or some cloths. You can use old clothes and of course you can wash it and re-use it over and over again. Keep paper towels for other situations.
3. VEGGIE STOCK. Keep the veggie scraps to prepare veggie stock and use it later to make a soup. I promise you, if you do it the right way – keep as many onions, celery, carrot, potatoes, cabbage, mushroom, herbs scraps as you can – then you will get the most amazing veggie stock! There are plenty of videos on how to do it, I recommend the one from Tasty
4. REGROW.. veggies and herbs from scraps, such as onions, garlic, lettuce, celery, basil, potatoes (if you have soil, a big bucket, and some space). It is not only a fun activity but also will give you extra food. Read more about what you can grow here.
5. AND PLANT. If you have some seeds, soil, and pots, try to plant those seeds. It is a very nice and down to earth, literally, activity! It is a plus if you have any herbs, berries or veggies. Imagine having home-grown food? This is the best!
6. SUSTAINABLE MAKEUP REMOVER PADS. If you have some fabric scraps, you can make makeup remover pads. You can keep re-using them and there will be no need to spend money on this anymore. Check YouTube for tutorials.
7. SPRING CLEANING. Since it is a spring cleaning time, check your wardrobe and your house. Clean it BUT do not throw away things you don’t need, put them in a bag/box and try to donate after the quarantine is over.
8. MEND and REPAIR. If you have anything in your wardrobe that you can mend and repair, it is the perfect time to do so. We don’t need more clothes ending up in the landfill. Check out mindfull_mending for some inspo.
9. E-BOOKS. I know how some of us LOVE buying new books and sometimes we don’t even read them, so they collect dust and nothing happens. Now, with the stores and libraries being closed, it is a good opportunity to look into e-books and audio-books. You don’t have to buy them since some libraries offer e-versions of the books and you can find a lot of the audio-books on YouTube. But if you want to spend some coins, check Audible (I am not a fan but a lot of people love it) and audiobooks for, you guessed it, audio-books and Kindle for e-books. In Belgium, bol.com sells a lot of popular books in EPUB format.
10. ART JOURNALING. This one is for art journaling lovers: go through the old books and magazines that you are planning to throw away and find pictures, pages, letters that you can use for art journaling. Also, you can use a book to create an altered book art journal or mixed media journal. I like this tutorial

I hope it was helpful and that it will keep you busy. If you have more advices, let me know!

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