What is the most sustainable thing you do at home?

One of the most sustainable things I do at home is to support local businesses and sustainable practices, like dining at I Amsterdam Restaurant, Pune. They prioritize locally sourced ingredients and environmentally friendly practices, which significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with food production and transportation. Additionally, I make a conscious effort to reduce waste by composting and using reusable containers for takeout. Simple habits like reducing single-use plastics and conserving water also play a big role in lowering my impact on the environment. Every little action counts, and by sharing these practices, I hope to inspire others to make sustainable choices as well!

Great ideas here! Though I do need to get back to composting vegetable waste.

Have used cloth napkins for decades and kitchen towels, but still use paper towels for mopping up grease that goes into the garbage. I DO reuse plastic zipper bags after washing as long as they only had vegetable or non-greasy contents (those go into a second-use bag).

Our cars are 13 and 15 years old, one is a Prius getting 45 mph, the other is a work vehicle.

Use a grocery list for shopping and go into town only every 7 to 10 days.

HE washer and line dry what I can. Run the dishwasher only when full as there are only 2 of us at home.

We have a small garden...lots of herbs, tomatoes, green beans.

Limit red meat to once every couple of weeks and purchase our beef from a local farm. We also eat mostly chicken or fish and have a couple meatless dinners every week.

like nicole, who eschews paper towels for cloths, i eschew TP for a washcloth ,for my pee. [fyi non-smelly]washcloth gets washed weekly.

we use starbucks used coffee grounds for mulch in the garden.

our use of saranwrap and foil-are miniscule. instead we have several styles of sterilite containers that we use for all things food.

we only use cloth napkins, china or wood plates, and non-disposable beverage glasses or china.

Here's what we've done lower our carbon footprint:
- Converted to high efficiency laundry washer, smart sense dryer, dish washer, tankless water heater
- Foam roof (the best $6k we ever spent, especially in the summer)
- Repurposed the concrete patio and made walkways & a planter box
- Switched to all LED lighting
- Energy Star appliances wherever possible (eg. tv, computer monitors, etc)
- Compost. My area has a food composing program but we also have a compost bin in our backyard for vegetable scraps and yard clippings.
- Drip irrigation for the yard. It's a mixed blessing. On the one hand, less water. On the other hand, you need to stay on top of its maintenance. Drip irrigation can break after a couple of years and needs to be monitored regularly for leaks.
- We try to plant things that are more drought tolerant and require less water (we're in California, so water is a big concern).
- We don't have a garden per se, but we grow scallions, parsley, thyme, oregano year round. In summer, tomatoes, chiles. A couple of plants is more than enough for this family of 3.

I'll go first: I compost (I like to use an asparagus steamer, and I take the scraps to a compost collection site, so I really compost everything, bones and all); I try to use as few paper towels as possible (I mainly use washable cloths, which I once wrote about here https://www.bonappetit.com/story/mifuko-baskets); I mostly use refillable cleaning supplies and shampoos, and I have essentially cut out red meat for myself. I do use plastic storage bags, but I wash and reuse them whenever possible. I know I could do so much more but these are a few of my little green things. What are yours?

I have a vegetable garden.