Sometimes we can change the sustainability aspects of our daily activities just by scheduling when they occur.  Some examples:

• If you have a standard hot water heater and if two or more members of a household will be using the same shower facility during the day, plan to take the showers one right after the other.  Water and energy are needlessly used while the hot water flows through the pipes to reach the shower head, so if this happens only once a day instead of two or three times a day, less water and energy are used. 
• Schedule lengthy indoor cooking activities for times when the air conditioner is not operating. 
• If you have flexibility in your schedule, plan appointments for mid-day when traffic is lighter.
• If you have the flexibility to change your commute time, experiment with routes and start times.  I found that by leaving 15 minutes earlier in the morning, I could reduce my total morning commute time by nearly 20 minutes, which reduced the amount of gas I wasted crawling through heavy traffic. 
• Instead of making several trips to run errands, see if you can group your errands so that you drive to a geographic area only once for multiple errands.   
• Water outdoor plants (including lawns) at night or very early morning when the water is less likely to evaporate before it soaks into the ground.
• Where I live, we have a lot of poor air quality due to air pollution.  During hot, sunny weather, signs on the highway advise us to schedule fueling our vehicles, mowing our lawns, and driving for times other than mid-day.  Ground-level ozone formation (which is different from the high-altitude ozone layer) increases during warm sunny weather depending on the level of ‘precursor pollutants’ present.  While the high-altitude ozone layer is very important for protecting life on earth, ground-level ozone air pollution has significant negative health effects.  

​I was reading an article the other day about organizations that are putting satellites into orbit with sensors that can locate large sources of methane leaking into the atmosphere.  The organizations hope to use this research to identify large sources of methane pollution that can be eliminated.  This is important because methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas (about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide) that contributes significantly to global warming and climate change.  One type of large methane source is leakage from ordinary municipal landfills – the places we send our garbage.  Methane is created inside of a landfill when organic matter decomposes in an oxygen-free environment.  Organic matter is anything that used to be alive – food, paper, cardboard, wood, lawn clippings, and cotton and linen fabric.  Some large, new landfills have methane collection systems that move the methane to a power-producing plant, but most landfills still vent the methane to the atmosphere.  If we reduce the amount of organic matter going to the landfill, we can reduce the amount of methane produced by the landfill.  Here are a few alternatives to sending organic matter to the landfill:

• If you have recycling options available, recycle your paper and cardboard.
• Find alternatives to paper towels and other paper disposables.
• Manage the food you buy so you don’t have to throw it away.
• Don’t collect your lawn cuttings in plastic bags and send them to the landfill.  Most lawns will remain healthy if you leave the cuttings on the lawn (as long as they are spread out). 
• If you live in an appropriate situation, investigate composting.  If composting is done properly, far less methane is produced when the organic matter decomposes.  If you plan to try it, do some research on techniques and you’ll be more successful.  One of the key factors in home composting is air flow; if the organic matter decomposes in the presence of air, far less methane is produced.  The decomposition process still produces carbon dioxide, but it is a less powerful greenhouse gas.  

Many people spend a lot of time, money, and water maintaining their lawn.  Some of this lawn care uses more resources (water, fertilizer, power for the lawnmower, weedkilling chemicals) than are necessary.  Many lawns are over-watered, with the excess water running into the storm gutters.  In arid or semi-arid areas, water is precious and should be conserved whenever possible.  In addition, energy is required to transport and treat the water, so reducing water use also reduces energy use.  In areas with plenty of rainfall, is still important to manage your lawn care to minimize use of resources.  The article at the link below discusses some lawncare myths and more-sustainable ways to care for your lawn. 

​Some additional ideas:

• Try a non-chemical way to deal with weeds and pests (birds eat a lot of insects).  If you need to use chemicals, follow application instructions and use them only in the areas that require chemical assistance.   
• Water at night to reduce evaporation.
• Check your sprinklers to ensure you are not watering sidewalks, driveways, or other non-vegetated areas. 
• If water is running off the lawn rather than soaking in, you are using too much water.  Try watering for a shorter period of time.  Also, as the article below describes, you can probably water less frequently. 
• If you have the opportunity, select a low-water grass variety when you plant your lawn.  Some very nice lawn grasses require up to 50% less water than the standard bluegrass lawn so popular in the US.
• Mow the lawn based on the length of the grass, not what day of the week it is.  Your lawn may not require weekly mowing, especially in hot weather.
• I am not a fan of covering large areas with rock so that nothing will grow, but there are many other xeriscaping options to consider. 

https://earth911.com/home-garden/lawncare-myths