Living sustainably is becoming more and more popular every day.

While some people do it different than others, generally speaking, a sustainable lifestyle aims to be environmentally conscious and choose natural and renewable resources when possible.

While I have always had an eco-friendly and natural mindset, living in Alaska has given my whole family a new desire to live sustainably and protect the environment we live in. Every weekend during the summer we were out exploring, hiking and camping. We saw so many beautiful places that can only be discovered by spending time in nature. It gave my husband and stepson a new perspective on nature and preserving its beauty. This is especially important as garbage is a big problem in Alaska. Many rural communities are far from landfills and don’t have many options for disposing of their trash. On our adventures, we have seen so many garbage piles in yards, parks and trails. It’s given us all more motivation to reduce our personal waste.

As you may have heard, the cost of living is higher in Alaska than in the lower 48. This has been another incentive to become more sustainable and reuse and repurpose what we can. Living sustainably helps our family save money every month. Rather than buying things like paper towels or shopping bags at the store (which is becoming more and more popular), we use cloth rags for all our messes and bring reusable bags or laundry baskets shopping. You would be surprised how fast the cost disposable items adds up! Shopping secondhand has also helped save us money, especially on items we didn’t bring with us when we moved.

A big reason my husband and I wanted to move to Alaska was for the lifestyle we would be able to have and raise our children in. We wanted a simpler life that allowed us to provide for ourselves and become more connected to the earth. While we aren’t to that point yet, we fully hope to be in the near future. In the meantime, we take do what we can even though we are far from perfect.