Suggestions for my ‘sustainable living’ list

[Twoweekcruise]

Like everyone, I want my family to do our bit towards living more sustainably.
I am on a tight budget so my list will need to be ticked off over the next few years, bit by bit.
I want to cover everything from reusable make up removers, sanitary products etc through to things like reusable sandwich wrappers for lunch boxes to eventually more expensive products like changing my water filter jug for something more long term and replacing our log burner to something less damaging (we are hoping to replace that next year).
Any suggestions would be great to add to our families list, ideally items which are within ‘normal’ household budgets (unfortunately as much as I would love an electric car, atm it’s not something I can afford but am working towards it).

Holiday locally
Don't fly anywhere
Buy local, sustainable food (meat is fine!)
Have a car that's only used for long journeys or journeys that don't have public transport
Walk wherever possible
Use refillable shops where you pay for the product not the packaging
Solar panels
Heat pump

Adopt a minimalism mindset to reduce consumption.

Avoid excessive packaging.

Use recyclable wrapping paper (like kraft)

Bake your own cakes and biscuits

For sandwiches, i just put them in a small tuperware that then goes in lunchbag. No need for wrapping them

Same with homemade cakes and biscuits. My boys take them in small tuperware boxes for after school snacks. No clingfilm needed

Don't buy any tat
Don't buy "fast" fashion
Only buy what you need
Reuse before recycling

Shampoo bars and bar soap instead of bottles.

Companies like Splosh do refills of other products like washing up liquid, they are slightly more expensive but not blow the budget expensive.

Couple of meat-free days per week food-wise.

Apps like Too Good To Go or Olio - great value and will help reduce food waste.

Charity shops and second hand. I was volunteering yesterday and put out loads of Christmas decorations, new gift sets, jigsaws, games.

I haven’t flown for 25 years and usually holiday in the U.K. as we have a caravan.
I am working towards a plant based diet so have already reduced meat consumption.
Adding all the other suggestions to my list, thanks.

Eat less animal products. Have a couple of vegetarian/vegan meals every week. And don’t just switch to the expensive meat free convenience foods, use beans, lentils etc as protein, in combination with whole grain rice, bread, pasta, etc.

Organic foods if you can afford them. Because organic farming helps biodiversity on the farmland & also in the ocean, due to reduced fertiliser runoff.

Use your car less if possible.

Mend your clothes, and buy clothes with a view to them lasting longer.

Ideally, buy clothes made of natural fibres that won’t release micro plastics into the ocean.

I buy a huge percentage of my clothes off Ebay and Vinted too.
Trying hard not to buy ‘fast’ fashion but it’s so hard with a 13 year old dd but I do try and buy some of her stuff off ebay as much as she hates it lol!

My list:
Solar panels
Grow more of my own organic food (simple stuff like salads and herbs but also planting apple trees etc)
Buy local in season food
Buy secondhand/antique rather than new if possible
Fly only if esssential/no other suitable options (I do have family overseas otherwise I wouldn't fly at all)
Keep car until it needs to be scrapped (hopefully another 10 years +) and then don't buy new
Holiday in UK
Soap bars for everything (shampoo, dish soap, etc) not bottles
Avoid plastic (especially Xmas tat etc)
Bake rather than buy
Cook from scratch
Put a jumper on/use a hot water bottle rather than turn up the heating
Don't use the tumble drier - hang washing out on line or inside

Probably lots more so will add them later if I think of anything else

The reusable make up remover cloths tend to be microfibre, they are very effective and do last but are obviously more polluting because they are made of microfibre. My best suggestion is to stop wearing make up but you may not be ready to make that sacrifice.

Berkey water filters have very long lasting BPA free filters, the water tank is stainless steel but they start at about £300. They will be more sustainable and cost effective in the long term but there is the large initial outlay. Is a water filter essential for you?

There are lots of reusable food bag options out there now. I've had a set for 18 months which are still going strong. To wash them I put a squirt of washing up liquid in the bag, add a little hot water, seal, shake and squish it about, empty, rinse and air dry upside down.

I'm trying to move to natural fibre clothes and buy far fewer of them. I can use a sewing machine so am able to repair and recycle clothes.

I think one of the most important things is to be less wasteful, what do you throw away and can any of it still be useful.

I'm researching trade refills on products that don't go off.

(I was idly toying with the idea that a social media campaign would be good - but I have no clout whatsoever. Buy I would happily switch to whatever hair product started being sold by the gallon.)

I’ve hugely reduced my cleaning products and chemicals after buying Nancy Birtwhistle’s book Clean and Green. She makes all her own cleaning products and they do actually work, in some cases much better than the shop bought stuff, they don’t make my nose burn and generally cheaper too!

I came across a woman on Instagram who went 6 months without putting her main wheely bin out which I thought was amazing and it really made me think about how we send to landfill each week - so I’m trying to reduce it and my aim is to get down to one bin (we have two), then hopefully eventually not have to put it out every time the bin men come
I’ve found this has filtered down into my life in ways I wasn’t expecting
I’m enjoying the challenge though

Please keep them coming. My list is getting longer and I am determined to tick off as much as I can.
Does anyone have a sustainable way to dry clothes in the winter? I don’t have the heating on during the day and obviously they stink if I put them on the clothes dryer without a source of heat. Obviously they go on the line if the weather is dry and sunny but what about when the weather is bad. I do try to spin dry them as dry as possible. What does everyone else do? I only want to use the tumble dryer if at all necessary.

Reuse plastic takeaway containers/ice cream tubs etc - I use them for packed lunches or storing leftovers in the fridge. My children sometimes use them for storing toys (homemade slime or Pokémon cards).

Buy more multipurpose products - I use stardrops for cleaning. A bottle lasts months and can be used to clean kitchens and bathrooms etc.

I'm going to grow more flowers in my garden in the spring to attract more wildlife in my garden. I have a bird feeder which I keep filled with seed.

We dry clothes in winter by doing maximum spin on the washing machine. Then onto airers. When the heating is on clothes are rotated on the heaters for a final dry. Can only do this when in house and don't leave them on heaters if out or while we sleep.
Things like towels and bedding get done less often than summer and on days when they can be hung out. We have plenty of old towels and bedding that only get used in winter so the washing basket does tend to be fuller as it's hard to catch up...

Eat (and buy) no more than you need caloriewise and make sure the environmental impact is low. Eat what actually grows / lives in the area around you. Restricting food choices without need is a luxury.
Don't buy stuff you only want and do not need.
Use the stuff you have until it needs to be replaced.
Replace cleaning chemicals (bleach etc.) with the least damaging substitute and actual scrubbing.
Don't travel unneccessarily.
etc.
Which of course - if everybody does this - needs a restructuring of our economy because it will put lots of people out of work.

In my neighbourhood there are BUy Nothing groups on FB where people give away stuff they dont need anymore. All sorts come up: puzzles, bikes, face creams, walkie talkies, ski gear, you name it. Freecycle is there too. A good way to get rid of, and get, stuff without contributing more to landfill.

I saw a graphic on FB that showed the area where you can make the biggest difference is food waste. Buy and eat what you need and compost what you can.

Don't wash clothes unnecessarily. If it looks clean and doesn't smell, it doesn't need washing. They seem to keep fresher if you hang them up after use, and before putting away.

Do you really need a water filter? We drink tap water and it's absolutely fine.

Ask yourself if you really need something before you buy it.

Composting. Growing some of your own fruit/vegetables. (These are things I'm planning to start next year).

Reusable gift bags (cloth ones that are plastic free and can be washed and passed on), and those refillable cleaning products are good, they often work out a bit cheaper overall.

Delete all unnecessary emails and files. The energy used to send and stock emails is huge

"A typical office worker sends and receives around140 emails per day, which, over the course of a year, creates as much CO2 as flying from London to Bruges"

Green electricity provider
Green bank or building society
Green pension
Avoid giving any of your hand earned cash to fat cats who are fueling the destruction of the planet to line their own pockets.

Make the lifespan of a product part of your purchasing decision. So often it's the case that if you buy cheap, you'll buy twice. It may be better (if possible) to pay a bit more for better quality goods if they'll last longer.