There are so many ways that one can reduce their carbon footprint at home. Here is a list of ideas that I am willing to try out in my home, some of which I am already doing, to live more sustainably:

-Recycled plant containers: I have a lot of bath and shower products that have adorable packaging, so I was thinking that instead of tossing them, I could instead create little planters to grow herbs in for cooking. That way, we won't have to always purchase herbs from the grocery store that are prepackaged. Plus, we can be in control of their growing conditions and know that they are 100% organic. These homemade plant containers can also just be for decorative plants like cacti and succulents, which are really easy to grow and care for, as they require little water.
-Chickens and bees: I unfortunately do not have a backyard, so I cannot raise any animals, but I have many friends who have the space to keep chickens and bees, which provide their families with fresh eggs and honey, as well as some adorable companions. Just like with growing your own vegetables and herbs, you  don't have to waste packaging and trips to the store when you have your own eggs and honey, which are (at least for me) staples in the household and purchased on a regular basis. Also, you can feed your chickens leftover fruit and vegetable scraps from the meals you eat so that nothing goes to waste.
-Shower bucket: As California has been in an ongoing drought, I found myself using a shower bucket to collect excess water. This water was then used to water the plants and trees in my yard. Lately I have been bad about keeping this up, but I will try to be more diligent about this going forward. Also, when in the shower, it is best to conserve water by turning the water off whenever applying shampoo, soap, conditioner, etc, then turning it back on to rinse.

All of these things are just a few out of many ways to use less energy and less packaging so that you can live an eco friendly life.

I think these are really great ideas! I think it is very important to recycle and reuse the things we can. I really like your idea of using bath product wrappings to create planters. Another idea could be reusing chairs and instead of throwing it away, you could make boxes to plant vegetables in. Additionally, another idea could be picking up trash from beaches and making art with the trash that is collected. By taking something that is negatively affecting our earth like trash and creating something positive with it, you could bring more awareness to the issue of pollution and the overconsumption of products. Furthermore, your idea of keeping chickens and bees is a very cool and successful idea. At my house, I have twenty chickens and five bee boxes. The chickens are very nice because we are able to give our fruit and vegetable leftovers to them. While consuming our leftovers, the chickens also provide us with lots of eggs. The bees are also very great to have because they provide us with honey which has really helped many of my friends and family with their allergies.  I have also noticed that in the past three years that we have had bees, our fruit trees have been doing really well and our whole block seems to be blossoming with flowers in spring. Finally, your idea of having shower buckets is a really great idea. Another idea could be having big tanks collect rainwater. When it is the drought season and there is not a lot of water to collect, taking shorter showers may be a great solution.

These are some cool links I found:

5 reasons to raise chickens: http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellb … e-chickens

5 Reasons to keep 60 thousand stinging insects: http://dustinbajer.com/sweet-reasons-to-keep-honeybees/

Alternative water sources: https://www.buildinggreen.com/feature/a … -buildings

These are some really eco friendly and creative ideas, and I will definitely be trying some of them. For those who don't find these things easy to do or commit to though, there are some really simple steps that can reduce your carbon footprint like composting and using reusable bags when shopping. Once the first step is taken in these two ideas, it should be easy to continue the process. A plus if you are a garden enthusiast would be that with your beautiful compost you could use it in soil to grow your own produce. This would also decrease your amount of purchases in your carbon footprint. With healthy organic produce, less food purchased, and a way to reuse your natural waist, not only would your carbon footprint decrease, but also you yourself would be healthier.

Thank you, Clare, for your wonderful suggestions and additions! I didn't realize how helpful bees could be for people with allergies. I so wish I had the space at my house to get a hive, since my mom has horrible allergies during the spring and fall. It sounds like you and your family are doing a lot to be sustainable and eco-friendly in your household. Keep up the good work!

Also, thanks for the links! What great ideas!

Thank you for your reply, Anikka. I agree that even the more simple of things can have a huge impact, such as composting. I am lucky to live in an area where it's common to find compost bins in public spaces, but not everyone is exposed to this. I hope that other places in the world catch on and figure out good systems to deal with all of the waste we produce. Like you said, using your own compost at home is really healthy for plants, and, of course, for the planet.

I think that these are great ideas, some that I could defiantly give a try as well, since I do have a large backyard I have the space to keep some chickens and bees, one of which I already have. We are currently raising ducks and a chicken which you now raise the great point of how we can use them to decrease our carbon footprint with less trips to the grocery store for eggs and using green ways to compost in our backyard. The concept of bees is a good idea as well and something that we could try in the future to help our garden grow and create fresh honey, which also brings growing your own garden to attention, again addressing the usage of fossil fuels while importing goods.