Becoming more environment friendly on a budget

[justaboutsurviving]

After reading the thread about the IPCC report and the harrowing truth that we are all facing I thought it would be good to start a thread about changes we can make to everyday living.

I live on an extremely tight budget (think £35 budget a week for food) and I lack skills such as gardening and sewing. I would love to learn to garden to produce my own food and become less reliant on supermarket foods.

I will be continuing buying from charity shops for clothes/ toys and books.

I will be cutting down our meat consumption to a minimum.

What ideas do you have? Where should I start with the gardening side of things? Where can I find someone to teach me to mend/ make clothes?

And another thing I will be doing is only buying what's in season and learning what I can forage around me to save on cost

I'm not sure if making your own clothes is cost-effective, and the environmental impact is in the fabric production and dyeing processes more than garment manufacturing, I imagine. But mending is good - do you have a sewing machine, or can you use someone else's occasionally? Even if not, sewing on buttons, replacing zips, putting up hems etc is fairly simple. You could look at videos on YouTube, or there might be a class in your area that's not expensive.

Growing food - you could start with some salad leaves and herbs, how much space do you have? Some local councils offer compost bins at a discount, so you can get the most from vegetable and fruit scraps. Maybe there's a community garden near you where you could learn a bit about it - there's nothing like practical experience and personal advice.

But really I think the best thing we can all do is buy less, avoid excess packaging as far as possible, especially plastics, don't buy bottled water, walk, cycle or use public transport rather than driving. I bet you do a lot of that already.

To be honest I probably couldn't afford the fabric to make new clothes but I'd love to jazz up old clothes.

I have a basic sewing kit and my dsis has a sewing machine that I'm sure she wouldn't mind lending out .

I have a decent small garden that is a blank canvas at the moment. I have some potted herbs on my kitchen windowsill. I know growing my own won't sustain the family but at least it would be less stuff bought in plastic

Buy less stuff/ Buy second hand.
Think about what single use disposables you can replace e.g. use fabric scraps instead of kitchen roll.
Library book/YouTube videos to learn mending skills.

WRT clothes it’s not environmentally or budget friendly to make your own from scratch but if you can alter things you’ve bought second hand that’s useful.

As far as clothes go I wear things (other than knickers) several times before washing. Hanging on a hanger from a curtain pole at an open window airs then out really well and can give you far more wears than if you just leave them on a chair.

I try to wash using as few products and lowest temperature as possible.

I don’t buy clothes at all unless it’s for something specific and I can’t borrow or put something together from my wardrobe. I’m lucky in that my sister gives me all her hand me downs, I’m a bit bigger than her but things like large knits and jogging bottoms are usually ok. If I need something like a coat or boots for winter I go to the charity shops. Same for my DCs, I shop there for their clothes when I’m bringing in the stuff they’ve outgrown.

My friends and I also offer things between each other and I’ve often arrived home to find a bundle on my doorstep. It’s not a bad idea to circulate the news that you’re trying to be more eco aware amongst your friends and at the same time offer up some outgrown stuff that could do another turn or two to anyone who can make use of them.

Buy as much locally sourced products as possible to cut down on carbon from food miles. Buy your veg and fruit in local green grocers and ask where they were grown.
Use the library for books, music etc. Look at Facebook/pinsnet for ideas on kitchen and shopping reusables such as making your own waxed fabric to use instead of cling film. Walk or cycle places more.

Two sides of the same coin. Very often the most environmentally friendly option is not to buy / have something at all, which saves money. Turn the heating down = save planet, save money. Don't get a plastic bag = save planet, save 5p.

I'm not sure making your own clothes is financially or environmentally savvy, in the era of Primark and other fast fashion. You simply can't get the economies of scale, waste is higher (eg offcuts) and all the raw materials still have to be made and then reach your house. You'd probably find it cheaper and more environmentally friendly to buy second hand - I get lots of nearly new / BNWT clothes off eBay at prices far cheaper than the high street.

Gardening - don't assume it will be any cheaper; factor in tools, seeds, and so on. I kept a few chickens years ago, and while the eggs were excellent and the welfare top notch, it was several times more expensive than buying 6 free range eggs at the local supermarket, when all costs were included. I think I heard about a scheme where you can rent out your garden as an allotment in return for a portion of the fruit and veg, a sort of private allotment - perhaps that would be an option if you're somewhere where not everyone has a garden.

Have you got a bike? Much cheaper than a car or bus and it's surprising how much you can carry on a bike eg supermarket shopping. Most local authorities offer free cycle training for adults.

PS I can think of only a couple of things where I spend slightly more for environmental or ethical reasons. One is biodegradable dog poo bags, another is organic milk / free range eggs (I don't eat meat). Basically, all things I can't / won't do without.

Have you switched your gas and electricity lately? Obviously go for a cheap deal, but there are now some providers that do 100% renewable energy.

Reuse those empty plastic containers and bottles, filling them with less harsh DIY fluids. Plastic sprays, pumps, and screw caps are not recycled in most places, so keep that in mind. I make my own light cleaning fluid in empty 500ml spray bottles with filtered water and 30mls orange essential oil. Clean tile floors with white vinegar. I do love Ecover products, which are plant-based and the bottles are supposedly kinder to the environment. Refill empty liquid hand soap pumps with grated then melted down soap bar remnants and top up with filtered water. It's not a clear uniform fluid, but who cares!

Sorry posted too soon. Ecover is expensive but if s Homebase is closing down near you, those products are dirt cheap!

I love the idea about hanging clothes by an open window. Thank you

We only use bar soap here so that's one good thing.

I don't really use many cleaning product just mostly washing up liquid, but I will try to find an environmentally friendly one if budget allows.

I live in a very rural place and there are always blackberries and apple trees around. Loads of local farms as well but they are quite commercial rather than small ones where the products are likely to be more sustainable but the carbon footprint of transport would be smaller so that's something.

It's very rare that the car is used more than just the work commute, I walk everywhere as we only have one car and dh uses it to go to work. He isn't able to walk or use public transport because of its location. We will look into possibly getting bikes though. Hopefully one will come up on free cycle.

Some things we eat a lot of here are easy and cheap to make from scratch eg peanut butter, hummus. And a bit more environmentally friendly as fewer jars/tubs bought.

OP if you’re not on Pinterest then get on it. It has a wealth of information on how to make your own eco friendly, well everything, basically. Cleaning products, washing powder, shampoo. Loads of tips.

Best bang for your buck to grow in terms of space to value ratio are strawberries and tomatoes. They are also usually packaged in plastic do a good place to start.