Want to know all about living sustainably? Luckily, there are more than a few good books out there to help you get started. In this guide, I’ll take you through some of the best books available to help you make greener, more sustainable changes in your everyday life.
Read Your Way to a Sustainable Life
If you are completely new to the concept of greener living, it’s always worth having a handbook at your side. If you want to start living more sustainably, there are worse things you can do than a bit of relevant homework.
In fact, I’ve made some of the best eco-friendly changes to my daily life through some truly brilliant reads. The following books I’ve listed here come personally recommended – and these are just the beginning!
My Top 10 Best Books on Sustainable Living
I’ve read from a wide range of sources recently, and generally, looking for broader reading makes more sense than sticking to one or two books or authors.
You don’t have to stick to online guides and YouTube videos! Set aside some study time for the following tomes.
The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide by Jen Gale
This is the book that started everything off for me! In fact, I’m still poring through it. Jen Gale offers fun insights into what you can actually do to make a difference to your money as well as to the environment. The author’s focus is on making small changes for big differences. It’s a great starting point and a really simple ideology I think you’ll love.
Live Green: 52 steps for a more sustainable life by Jen Chillingsworth
Jen Chillingsworth’s alternative guide to breaking down your daily habits and routines is equal parts illuminating and useful. If you’re a fan of step by step guides, and prefer taking big life changes one small move at a time, this is a great little book to dip in and out of. Chillingsworth focuses on simple home life adjustments which affect the whole family – making it ideal for parents.
101 Ways To Go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg
Kathryn Kellogg’s popular book is a dynamite read if you are keen to cut down on waste as well as up your home efficiency. What’s really interesting about this book is that the author strives not to focus on ‘perfection’. With sustainable living, one goal is clear, initially – to reduce how much waste you are leaking into the real world. Kellogg’s book covers everything from home and travel tips to beauty hacks. It’s full of tons of usable tips and tricks.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver’s book offers less of a how-to than the above guides, but offers a really entertaining insight into how one family made the effort to only live from local produce. As you can imagine, when it comes to rearing meat and tending to finicky eaters, this might be a bit of a struggle! However, the author sells her ideas and story in a friendly, almost electric manner. It’s really hard not to get behind her!
Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson
Bea Johnson’s guide is one of the best books on sustainable living aimed at seasoned waste-reducers – mainly because it really does go very deep! Some of the suggestions in here may not appeal to those just starting to think sustainably, but what the book does offer is fantastic insight on how to reduce your dependency on corporate consumer expectations. Make sure to read some of the above books first, but definitely invest in Johnson’s book once you’re well on your way.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Marie Kondo has really had a moment or two in the past couple of years. Not only has her Netflix series ‘Tidying Up’ helped to transform the way people organise their homes, the ‘spark joy’ meme hung around online for longer than many would have expected. Kondo’s book on tidying up touches on sustainability, and it’s a great reference to have alongside other in-depth waste reduction guides.
The Sustainable Fashion Handbook by Sandy Black
Again, less of a how-to guide and more of an overview, Black’s book on eco-friendly fashion is likely to be hugely beneficial to those who want to look good, but feel good at the same time. This book is bursting with essays, thoughts and revelations from some leaders in the industry. Looking for inspiration on who to buy from in the age of sustainable living? This book is a great start.
Plastic Purge by Michael Sanclements
Plastic, as you will likely already know, is the ultimate scourge of the environment. It’s choking our rivers and oceans, and killing life all around us. Therefore, Michael Sanclements takes a strong view, but one which is easy to aspire to. Instead of focusing on big, sweeping ways for you to rid your whole life from plastic, Sanclements looks carefully at simple reduction. Again, this is something I always like to focus on – simple reductions, rather than aggressively changing your life!
Wellth by Jason Wachob
Jason Wachob’s interesting slant on living a healthier, more fulfilling life focuses on this idea of paying into your own wellness bank. Instead of focusing on career progression and growing revenue, Wachob challenges you to pay close attention to the little things you can do to keep your wellness account, or wellth, topped up. There are plenty of great little ideas for eco-friendly living in here.
Simple Matters by Erin Boyle
Last but not least is green living put to us by Erin Boyle, who believes strongly in the adage that less is more. In fact, Boyle outright suggests that it’s possible to live with few commodities and consumer dependencies, and to end up getting more out of life. It’s one of the best books on sustainable living simply because it’ll help you realize what you could make out of your life if you cut back even a little! That goes for beauty products, everyday items and how much fossil fuel you’re burning up and wasting from day to day.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are plenty of great books to help you get started in the world of sustainable living. Some will help you make responsible choices for your diet, while others will simply help you tidy up your home!
It’s worth taking a good look through a few books to get a good feel for the topic. No two experiences with sustainability are ever likely to be the same. Therefore, take some time out and start reading through expert guidance and stories. I did, and I’ve never looked back.
Originally posted 2022-05-11 16:28:13.