I already -
- Don't fly (this is mostly through fear, but I haven't flown since 2015. We had planned to start introducing short flights again next year, but I don't think we will. For the moment we will get about by boat and rail, and maybe fly once every 5 years or so)
- Eat vegan (most people know that cutting down on meat and dairy products is environmentally friendly, but completely cutting out may cut your carbon footprint by as much as 20%, and it's one of the most significant lifestyle changes you can make from an environmental point of view. Obviously this does come with its' own set of issues which I will talk about further down)
- Use cloth nappies and wipes (a disposable nappy is mostly made of plastic, and every single nappy ever used is still on this planet. Even biodegradable nappies are completely pointless, as they're generally within a nappy bag, and even if they're not, landfill doesn't allow them the conditions they need to break down.)
- Use cloth pads or a cup (period talk. Again, most sanitary towels are made from plastic. See above.)
- Use reuseable rounds instead of cotton pads (for makeup removal, nail varnish etc)
- Use reusable bottles and flasks (I need to try to remember my flask every time I go out, for impromptu coffee)
- Use food wraps and bags instead of single use products like cling film/tin foil (You could even make your own to be super eco. My mum made a food bag from that shiny tablecloth fabric. Got an old tablecloth hanging around? Hey presto. Reuse!)
- Don't wash clothes until they're ACTUALLY dirty (I wear the same outfit for about three days and then wash it. I need to work on my husband though, who chucks his shirt in the wash after one wear)
- Use a bar of soap (I'm still using up odds and ends of shampoo, shower gel and liquid soap, but we have bar soap at most of the sinks now and I do have a shampoo bar. Any recommendations for one that lathers well? I'm using too much water as it takes so long! I've recently seen these cubes which look like they could be better, but I'm open to suggestions.)
- Compost (I have a fussy toddler so unfortunately we do produce more food waste than I'd like but we have quite a large compost bin so it will eventually fertilise more food, which is pretty cool)
- Collect rainwater for the garden (there's a couple of water butts here at my parents' house, and apart from paddling pool times it means we never have to use the hose)
- Don't use the tumble dryer (I reckon I could count on one hand the amount of times I've used a tumble dryer, and I use cloth nappies for two kids! We hang washing out all year round, and if it's not completely dry when it comes in it goes in the airing cupboard, on radiators and on airers.)
- Switch to paperless bills (I barely ever get a bill or statement through the post anymore, and it means I can access things wherever I am via the amazing power of the interwebz)
This week we got a railcard, went looking for refillable/bulk buy options (local people - Alder Carr Farm have refillable oil, vinegar, eco washing up liquid, shampoo etc and you can buy loose olives, banana chips, sultanas, apple rings, frozen peas, frozen broad beans, frozen mixed veg, hash browns, pain au chocolat etc) and we also made a LOAD of snacks for the freezer as we were getting annoyed with the non-recycleable packaging on things like biscuits and bread.
*Money saving tip* -
We decided to get a Friends and Family railcard, to cut down on the amount of car journeys we make. (We are probably going to go down to one car but we haven't completely decided yet.)
We could have opted for the Two Together card as both the boys are under 5 but it would mean I wouldn't get any benefit from travelling by myself with the kids. If I travelled with the kids from Stowmarket to Ipswich for example, without a railcard it would cost me £5.30 for an adult ticket as the kids go free. But using the railcard and paying for a child ticket for one of the boys would cost me £4.50 for the same journey. Not a huge saving admittedly but it's a short journey, and it will all add up.
We went for the 3 year card for £70, which is a £20 saving. Also, by using Top Cashback we got 10% cash back, meaning it only cost us £63 for 3 years. We can also use Top Cashback to buy our train tickets; at the moment there's 3.15% cash back on all purchases via Trainline.com (and Greater Anglia website, if you're local)
We are also going to -
- Reduce car use (using trains as above, and if a journey would take me less than 30 minutes to walk, then I'm going to use my legs - cheaper weight loss than the gym as well!)
- Drive efficiently (more mindful driving can cut your carbon footprint and save you money - slow acceleration and braking, reduce speed, no more racing people at traffic lights!)
- Use things to end of their life and buy second hand (I mostly do this anyway but I'm putting it in this section as I do like to buy new things, and I can cut down. The energy it takes to create something new is incredible, so if we were to all buy things second hand we are *at least* halving the impact of its original production. I'm currently doing a three month challenge with my cousin to not buy any new clothes...)
- Eat locally and grow your own (here's the rest of the vegan bit. I have recently become more aware of the air miles and environmental cost of some of my favourite food - avocados and almond milk for example. We are lucky in that we have a bit of land at my parents' house where we can grow a little amount of our own food, and we have also ordered a veg box. Local people, here's the deets, it's all food produced within about 30 or 40 miles of Claydon and is a Social Enterprise, so an all round good idea!)
- Write to your MP (I'm going to send an email asking what our MP and her government plan to do to bring about the changes needed, as the biggest changes will probably only come about when pushed by government initiatives)
- Make more reuseable items (I've got some old towels that I am going to cut up to use as kitchen roll and family cloth, and I'm going to look out for old sheets in the charity shops etc to cut up for handkerchiefs and produce bags)
- Make use of the library (Even though we go to the library more often than we used to, I still order new books on Amazon instead of reserving at the library, so I need to make more use of my library card)
- Use a bamboo toothbrush (I really don't like the feel of it in my mouth but I think I'm just going to have to get over it to be honest!)
- Avoid unsustainable palm oil (This is another issue where I've been aware of it in the background but never really done my research on it, and I need to!)
- Avoid unnecessary plastic packaging (We went 'conscious' food shopping today and the amount of plastic packaging on all sorts of products is ridiculous. Morrisons do paper bags for loose produce, which is a start)
- Preserve food (We make a lot of use of the freezer anyway, but I'd like to start making jams and chutneys with seasonal food to use all year round)
- Turn down the heating (Normally we are pretty good with this one, but this weather is baffling me and we can't seem to get it right! Start off the day cold, and with the heating on, but could end up in shorts by the afternoon.)
- Make own cosmetics and cleaning products (There's a few different things I'm going to look into, but hopefully by buying ingredients in bulk it will cut down on the plastic used, even if I can't completely cut it out this way)
- Use grey water in the garden (I read something about putting a bucket in the shower with you to collect the water for use in the garden, which seems so simple)
- Regrow kitchen scraps (I know we can regrow celery but there must be loads more we could grow! If anyone knows of any more, let me know)
- Use rechargeable batteries (I'm sure there's some around here somewhere...)
- Don't use wrapping paper (We could use newspaper, paper from deliveries or second hand fabric)
- Make homemade gifts (There's absolutely loads of ideas on Pinterest; it cuts down on production of things, saves you money and you could reuse things from around the house)
- Say "no" to receipts and free promotional items (Did you know that you shouldn't recycle receipts? If you don't need it in case of returning something or for a big purchase, refuse it altogether. Also, do you really need a flyer for a 90s dance rave or another pen?!)
- Swap to loose leaf tea (Another revelation - you can't really compost teabags as many contain a small amount of plastic!)
There's probably absolutely loads more things we could do but this is what we're focusing on for now! I hope it has given you some ideas and if you have any suggestions of what else I could do, please leave me a comment.
