We’re on a break from traveling for a while. But because of the that, all of the sudden there is plenty more time to evaluate what I buy, how I eat and do sports. It’s the perfect opportunity to pay attention to how sustainably I’m living my daily life. Here are my 5 ultimate tips to stay at home responsibly.

Give soap and shampoo bars a chance

Have you also noticed that your garbage bin fills up faster since you’re at home that much? Every little bit helps to keep your garbage bag and therefore the landfills as small as possible. Half a year ago I switched to organic soap and shampoo bars. The pieces I bought then are still not finished. Now that you stay at home much more, it’s your time to give them a shot. Nobody will even notice if your hair needs some time to adjust (especially during quarantine!). And before you know it, your hair and skin will look better than ever and you won’t need to replace the garbage bag that often.

My lockdown tip: Juuls shampoo bar for shiny hair that won’t get greasy that fast

Green vegetable smoothies from your local farmer

I admit it, I almost never reach my daily portion of fruit and vegetables at work and while traveling. Especially on the road I want to try everything I can’t get at home. But since I work from home every day and have extra time through the week and during the weekends, I take some extra care of myself. Nowadays, I start every day with a green smoothie full of Belgian leafy vegetables and some fruit to sweeten it. Our fruit bowl and refrigerator are loaded with apples, pears, spinach, salad, celery and so on. After sipping vitamins for 2 weeks, I already notice a huge difference in my energy levels and happiness. 

My lockdown tip: fresh fruits and vegetables from your local farmer through buurderij and recipes from ‘70 groene smoothies’ from Marjolijn Van Der Velde

Inline skating through the city during quarantine

For a second I didn’t know what to do when all of the sudden my weekly volleyball training and dance class got cancelled. What was I going to do now? Running hasn’t been on the agenda for a while because of inflammations and cycling has never been my thing after my parents took me on bike holidays for years in a row. Without really thinking it through I got myself a pair of inline skates. And after a week of bumping around through the neighborhood, I got the hang of it. Now I can’t do without the 20 km route I outlined around Antwerp via the Ring cycle path, the quays and Park Spoor Noord.

My lockdown tip: Inline skates/skeelers for beginners and the cycle path network from your province (Antwerp in my case)

Extra greens in your garden

Beautiful weather is on its way again. YES! So, perfect to do some gardening and to make sure that your garden, terrace, roof or facade brings some extra biodiversity to your street. And while you’re at it, break out some tiles to plant some extra flowers and ensure better water flow and cooling in the summer. The plants, bees and neighbors can only cheer at your initiative. What a good activity for quarantine!

My lockdown tip: plant a creeper like wisteria at your front or rear facade and enjoy a wonderful waterfall of flowers in a couple of years

Spring cleaning: a clean and sustainable home

Now that you’re more at home because of quarantine, you’ll probably notice that your house can use some extra cleaning here or there. But the cleaning supplies have gone a little bit scarce in the supermarkets. Nevertheless, it always pays off to get some ecological cleaning products. These days you can find a wide range of sustainable products at the biggest supermarket chains. If you double check the label, you can get supplies with vegetable ingredients that have not been tested on animals and that are packed in recycled materials. That’s a win-win-win!

My lockdown tip: Ecover all purpose cleaner lemongrass and ginger

Text by TravelRebel guest blogger Silke

Silke wants to give the poorly appreciated term YOLO a better meaning. She always tries to set off on long journeys in the summer and winter and uses every extended weekend to plan a trip. Nature and walking feature in all those journeys. That probably has to do with her dog, Nacho, who she regularly takes with her on adventures. Her boyfriend Bart regularly accompanies her to capture the best images with the camera and drone.

Read her travel stories of Tyrol, Canada, Terschelling or Val Di Fassa here.