Earth Day 2020 is right around the corner! But with the world staying home due to the disastrous effects of COVID-19, it can be disheartening and overwhelming to know what you can do to show some love towards the planet this year. Maybe your Earth Day project got cancelled, or the event you were planning on attending is postponed indefinitely. Perhaps you wanted to support a local, sustainable business but can no longer do that under new community regulations. Or maybe you’re just trying to know what small habits you can start incorporating in your life in general.

You may be asking yourself, “What can I do to make a difference?” The good news is that even though everything seems to be cancelled, there are still plenty of little things you can do to improve the planet and have an impact. Here are five things you can start doing right now to show some love to the planet:

1. Use a Reusable Cup

If you haven’t cut the habit of using disposable water bottles, cups and coffee mugs, it’s not too late. Using reusable bottles and cups saves you a ton of money over time, and it also cuts down on waste around the world.

To put this into perspective, if you drink the recommended amount of water per day by purchasing disposable water bottles (about $2 each for the average 16 oz bottle), you would be saving yourself approximately $3,000 per year. Not only that, but you’d be saving the earth from 1,460 plastic bottles per year. That’s a lot of plastic.

Nu Skin is making a difference by working to divert 90% or more of its non-hazardous waste from the landfills. Ritch Wood, CEO said, “We’ve already made progress by removing single-use cups from our corporate campus, and we’re continuing to increase our efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle where possible, as well as tracking our progress closely.”

For a global company, these are small changes that are making a BIG difference.

2. Replace all your lightbulbs with eco-friendly light bulbs

Good news! This one saves you money in the long run too. LED lights are powerful, energy-efficient, durable and long-lasting. They have an exceptionally longer lifespan than traditional lighting, but also have much lower energy consumption. This makes LED lights 90% more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, which will save you cash on your power bill and help improve the environment. (And don’t forget to turn them off when you leave the room, too!)

3. Invest in reusable bags and start a habit of using them

Only 1% of plastic bags are turned in for recycling, and most of the billions of bags used per year go to landfills, where they will stick around for centuries or longer. Haven’t gotten on the reusable shopping bag train, yet? We get it, it can be tough to remember to bring your reusable bags with you to the store. But here’s a pro tip: try and leave your reusable bags in the trunk of your car, or somewhere near your front door. This makes it easier to remember to bring them with you on your trips, and you can leave the grocery store with a smile on your face knowing that you did a little thing to help the planet.

Keep in mind that many stores aren't allowing you to bring in reusable bags at the moment because of health concerns regarding COVID-19. But this is still a great habit to adopt and can really make an impact in the long run.

4. Become an informed recycler

According to a survey by Covanta, 62 percent of American respondents worry that a lack of knowledge about recycling is causing them to recycle incorrectly. Additionally, 22 percent report not having enough information regarding recycling, and 18 percent admit they don’t understand what can and cannot be recycled. Becoming a more informed recycler is one less barrier to living a more eco-friendly life.

It can be a bit challenging to know what is and isn’t recyclable. But apps like Recycle Coach can immediately answer those questions for you! This app, and countless others, make it easy for you to know more about recycling and can ease this small (but big!) transition.

5. Make it a habit to turn off the water while you brush your teeth

It’s as easy as it sounds. The hardest part is breaking the habit itself. But just remembering to turn off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and at night can save you four gallons a minute, which can add up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four!

These are just a few of the small steps you can take to build new habits and help you become more environmentally friendly. Even with all the uncertainty in the world, one thing we know for sure is that little things really can make a difference.

“Caring about the planet shouldn't just occur once a year on earth day. If we all commit to doing little things every day to be greener and more eco-friendly, we can have a considerable impact. We need to look outside ourselves and take individual action for the good of the planet.” -Ritch Wood, CEO

Share with us some of the ways you’re being eco-friendly by using the hashtag #NuSkinSusty.