D-I-Y or "do it yourself" is a broad concept idea that makes anything more eco-friendly. Whether it's washing your car, eating dinner, decorating your home, getting from point A to B or disposing of trash, EnviroCitizen.org has found that if you do it yourself you'll be able to lead a more eco-friendly life and decrease your carbon footprint.
Many people do it themselves for the financial benefits. Doing something yourself is almost always more affordable than paying someone to do it. Rather than investing a large portion of money into fueling the project, you invest your time. If you've got more money than time, paying someone else to do it makes sense. But if you're like most the majority of us and can find more time than money, doing it yourself makes good financial sense.
There are more important reasons than money to consider doing things yourself, however. By removing the middle person or people out of the equation, you can have control over the process and what raw materials and practices go into the product. In doing so, you can ensure that the final result is as eco-friendly as possible! For example, think about the task of washing your car. If you go to a professional car wash, you're paying for the overhead costs, an excessive use of water and harsh chemical soaps. If you do it yourself, you'll use considerably less water, can choose what kind of non-toxic, eco-friendly soap you use and you won't pay out for overhead costs.
Making your own dinner has similar benefits. You can control the ingredients so that your meal can be derived from local, organic ingredients. By incorporating local, organic or even homegrown ingredients, you can reduce your carbon footprint by opting out of those food miles that you'll be responsible for if you buy ingredients from the grocery store.
Decorating your home instead of having someone else do it for you has similar results. Even if you consult an interior designer for the design itself, you still have a lot of control over what products you choose to incorporate into your home. You can choose to buy sustainably made furniture, such as bamboo furniture that is finished without the use of harsh chemicals. You can use organic linens, local art and even add a few energy efficient bulbs to make your home more eco-friendly.
EnviroCitizen.org suggests that if you have the opportunity to do something yourself, you should take advantage of it! By doing something yourself, you are able to control how things are done and what materials are used. You can make simple choices, like choosing a local, organic peach over one flown in from Chile or choosing paint with no volatile organic compounds (VOC) to redecorate a room. These small choices not only reduce your carbon footprint, but help you to live a more eco-friendly life! |
