With governments locking down cities throughout the world and urging all citizens to avoid unnecessary contact others, many of us have found ourselves at home – with a lot of extra time on our hands.

While this may seem dull, we can definitely use this time to be productive at home.

So here are five eco-friendly things to do while you are staying safe and social distancing:

1. Start sorting out your trash and organising a system within your household
   Make sure to clean your used materials before sorting them into the following bags: cardboard, paper, tins and glass can all be sorted together.  Your local zabaleen will thank you for this as they will be able to or you can call Go Clean to pick up your recyclables for you.
2. Reuse glass bottles
   Keep some glass bottles and their caps to reuse them at home.  Store your dried foods or fill one with water to use it as a vase to keep your fresh herbs or flowers fresh.
3. Make your own non-toxic surface cleaner
   All you need to do is put 2-3 cups of white vinegar and orange peels from 2 -3 oranges into a jar, keep it stores for 3 weeks. Remove the peels, pour out the solution into a spray bottle and dilute it with water using a 1:1 ratio, then spray away.
   (Disclaimer: Please do not use any types of citrus vinegar cleaners on granite, marble, stone floors, hardwood surfaces, stainless steel or painted surfaces because of the acidity.)
4. Start an indoor herb garden 
   Think parsley, basil, thyme or mint.  Get some herbs already potted, simply keep them in the sunlight, with a temperature between 18C – 24C, water thoroughly and make sure the water can be drained out. Snip away the leaves as you need or you can buy some seeds and grow your own. Old plastic bottles make good herb pots as long as holes are made.
5. Switch to an environmentally friendly search engine: Ecosia
   They donate 80% of their surplus income to non-profits that focus on planting trees and conservation.  This is good news for the planet because trees sequester carbon – removes carbon in the air – help filter our water and provide habitat for many animals (amongst many other benefits). The best part is that while you surf the internet you can see the count of trees planted increasing.