Sustainable Living: 3 Ways To Get The Whole Family Involved

This post is sponsored by Georgia-Pacific; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

At the beginning of this year, my family and I set out to live a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure that we’d actually maintain our new lifestyle for more than a few weeks, but to my surprise, we’ve been going strong for over 6 months now.

Don’t get me wrong, it has definitely been a learning curve, but the more we become aware of how our lifestyle choices impact the environment, the easier it has become to make more conscious decisions. That said, what started out as me somewhat ‘leading the charge’ to a more sustainable lifestyle has turned into a family affair!

So if you and your family are ready to begin your sustainable living journey and aren’t sure where to start, here are three easy ways that you can adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and get the whole family involved.

Make Smart Purchases

The first step to beginning your sustainability journey as a family is to make smart purchases. It’s crucial that you do your research to know where a company stands regarding sustainability. 

While it’s easy to buy alternatives for different plastic products such as plastic bags, single-use bottles, and produce bags, finding alternatives for paper products is a completely different story.

So when it comes to buying sustainable paper products, my family and I swear by Georgia-Pacific. Popular brands like Angel Soft®, Brawny®, and Vanity Fair® are all GP brands. 

If you use any of these products on a regular basis, you can rest assured that your GP products are a sustainable choice for your home and that you are on the right path towards sustainable living.

Georgia-Pacific contributes to our environment in more ways than one. GP actively helps maintain healthy forests and for every tree they use, at least one tree is planted here in the US.

They have also increased their ability to process mixed paper in consumer products by more than 50%. I got to learn a lot more about their efficiency practices when I had the opportunity to tour the Alabama River Cellulose Facility. You can check out that post here.

Teach Sustainability Early

Once you have ensured that you are buying sustainable products from brands like Georgia-Pacific, the next step in your sustainability journey is to teach your new found habits to your children at an early age.

Both of my toddlers are very involved in our sustainability practices and over time have started to take even more initiative. This is ultimately a result of them watching their dad and I. The small strides that my husband and I have made to become more eco-friendly is slowly becoming the norm for our boys.

That said, whenever we do find ourselves using plastic bottles or cans, they know that once we’re done, instead of tossing it in the trash, we put it in the recycling bin.

A great way that we were able to teach them about the impact of recycling was by getting them to understand that many of their favorite toys are made with recycled materials. There are also a lot of popular children’s shows that cover the topic of recycling.

Speaking of recycling, GP Recycling, a Georgia-Pacific company, is one of the largest sellers and buyers of recycled fiber in the world – trading in excess of 100,000 tons a week!

Make Sustainability Fun

Last but not least, one of the best ways that we have been able to maintain our sustainable lifestyle as a family has been to make it fun!

As a mom with two small children, and with recent events having us stuck in the house a lot more, we’ve been doing a lot of fun crafts with all of our recyclables.

Each craft that we have done has been able to double as a mini-lesson about sustainability and taking care of our environment. The more that we become aware of new ways that we can live a more eco-friendly life, the more fun projects that we have been doing as a family.

One of our favorite crafts recently has been creating seedling starters. The boys love playing in the dirt and watching the plants grow over the weeks.

There you have it!

Three easy ways that you can adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and get the whole family involved.

By making the conscious choice to buy sustainable products from environmentally conscious companies like Georgia-Pacific, getting your little ones involved early, and making sustainability fun, you can help your entire family get on board with your new sustainability journey.

Adopting a more sustainable lifestyle has made such an amazing impact on my family and it feels good to know that we are making a positive impact on the environment as well.

Kermilia