Sustainable Living in an Apartment
Updated: Nov 28, 2022
We all need to learn more about living sustainably in cities now than ever. There are many methods to live sustainably, whether you have a large house or an apartment. In this post I'll explain how easy it is to have sustainable living in apartment, demonstrating some of my practices.
Kitchen Sustainability
You can find things quickly and shop more frugally by organising your kitchen to reduce food waste. Try to identify everything you can for storage for easy access, especially the stuff you put in fridges and containers. Putting related products in groups will also aid your organisation. Use masking tape to add the use-by date for easy access and especially leftover food so you can utilise it before it spoils.
To avoid having two of something you need at once, purchase them when you are almost out. Additionally, you will avoid throwing out out-of-date things and save money in the long term by doing this. On the back of the pantry door, you could also keep a list of the items that will soon need to be replaced.
Recycling food scraps and rubbish
Food waste can be recycled and used to feed plants through composting. I compost food leftovers using a Bokashi system, which gives me continuous garden fertiliser. I also bury fish bones and skin straight into my portable garden beds.
There is no need to buy plastic rubbish bags. Rather than throw out small bags such as bread, and other plastic bags used for packaging, recycle them and use as rubbish bags. These little bags can be tied up placed straight into your bin without a bin liner. My bin is never dirty using this method.
Balcony
You should think about growing your food if you have a balcony. I have set up tubs to grow vegetables on the three terraces that my flat has, two of which are sizable. My olive tree is also growing. I'm now cultivating bok choy, lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, chillies, salad marigolds, apple cucumber, thyme, spring onions, and coloured chard.
I've written more about urban farmer here
Spring onions that you produce yourself
I used store-bought food, cutting the white section with roots, and putting them in the ground to grow my spring onions (scallions). Doing this may raise your scallions for nothing and save food waste! As I require them, I gather the leaves. Additionally, my first bunch has produced seeds, so I'm collecting them to plant later.
Bathroom sustainability
The green solution here is water conservation! Limit your showers, always turn off the water when brushing your teeth, and flush the toilet only halfway when necessary. Additionally, you can freshen the space by adding a few drops of your favourite essential oil to a vinegar and bicarbonate cleaning solution before using it to clean the bathroom.
To clean the grout, mix baking soda and water into a paste, spray with vinegar, and then scrub. If you have a battery-powered drill, it requires a little bit of work, but investing in some power drill cleaning brushes makes it much more straightforward.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes in the bedroom can be annoying, especially at night. They still manage to end up inside despite fly screens. Instead of using harmful insecticides, purchasing mosquito netting is the most environmentally friendly option to keep them at bay.
Fly repellent
Although fly repellent is quite adequate, who knows what harm those chemicals are doing to our bodies over the long term?
The good news is that by combining cloves with a half-lemon! A natural fly repellent can be made. Lemons should be cut in half and should contain entire cloves.
Cleaning
For a safer and greener household, use natural cleaning supplies. There are several ways to create non-toxic cleaning products that are probably more affordable in the long run.
Base cleaner made at home.
Oil of cloves, 40 drops
35 drops of essential lemon oil
20 drops of essential oil of cinnamon bark
Eucalyptus essential oil, 15 drops
10 drops of essential rosemary oil
Add them to a witch hazel spray bottle. The cleaner our homes are, the better for nature's gifts like frogs, insects, and waterways—the less harmful.
Oven Cleaner Without Toxins
The best natural oven cleaner recipe with no harmful odours!
Ingredients
Dish soap, baking soda, coarse salt, and 2-3 drops of citrus essential oil are all used in equal proportions.
Salt, baking soda, and soap should be combined to form a paste. If necessary, add a little water.
Allow the oven's interior to sit for many hours, ideally overnight. Use a sponge or scrub brush immersed in warm water to clean the interior. The interior should be sprayed with distilled white vinegar to eliminate any remaining paste.
Dishwasher Tablets
2 cups of laundry soda (Sodium Carbonate)
1 cup bleach with oxygen
50 ml of citric acid
A 40–60 drop essential oil mixture (not necessary but a nice touch)
All the ingredients should be combined in a sizable mixing dish. For ideal effects, mix in a food processor.
Put the powder in ice cube trays and pack it down firmly.
Give yourself a hardening period of 24-72 hours. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and use it as dishwasher powder rather than tablets because if the humidity is low, the moulds might not solidify. The dishwasher pills should be kept in an airtight container away from heat and sunlight.
These are tiny improvements, but the impact will be immense if we all do our part to protect our beautiful plane