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).

Following with interest.

Get a soap press that will let you turn the slithery scraps at the end of bars into new bars. Or if you can't find one, then a scrubby bag to put them in and use like a sponge.

Have fewer cleaning products, and swop to simpler ones
stacker.com/stories/3479/10-toxic-cleaning-products-and-their-natural-alternatives

Learn to sew, at least enough to mend and alter clothes

Only wash clothes when actually dirty (I'm always surprised at the number of MNetters who say they wash everything after a single wear), and never warmer than 30 (except towels and really heavy dirt). Avoid tumbling. And do full loads, not each person doing their own

Reject fast fashion - buy classic clothes in good fabrics (maybe second hand) and expect them to last for years.

Get DC's clothes secondhand (lots of good quality can be found in eBay) and sell/charity shop things when they are grown out of (or put out as rags for recycling)

Also google for tips articles like this one:

www.theguardian.com/environment/2002/aug/22/worldsummit2002.earth21

AuntieStella my Nan used to have a soap press, there soap was always a multitude of colours. I will seek out one of those.

@coronabeer

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).

This. Use and buy less. Instead of thinking 'I need to buy this and I'm going to get a sustainable version' think about how you can not buy anything at all.

Some people seem to use alarming amounts of cleaning products, toiletries and special wrappers for this, that and the other. I'm sure a lot of it isn't necessary at all or can be used at a lot lower rate.

Really interested in the storing emails stats - I'm going to delete a load of mine right now!

My tip is always look for the plastic-free alternative - sometimes they are a bit more expensive but the more we make these consumer choices the more mainstream retailers will start to get in on the act and prices will go down. For example, shampoo and soap bars, toilet and kitchen paper like Cheeky Panda which doesn't come wrapped in plastic (why??), I only now buy cosmetics that come in glass jars. Buy fruit and veg from markets where you can bring your own bag. Email or tweet the companies that use plastic telling them you're no longer buying their products and why. Remember recycling plastic is a red herring, plastics can only be recycled twice before having to be burned.

I am loving these suggestions, I do already do many of them but there are some great ideas that I hadn’t thought of.
Remembering back to my Nan using the soap press I realise just how much more sustainable people were just a few generations ago. Almost nothing in my grandparents house went to waste, clothes were mended and only purchased for special occasions, they had their sofa and armchairs all their married life, heating wasn’t on night and day. Water was collected in many water butts around the garden. Veg and fruit grown and any left overs were saved for other times and made into other things. My Nan even used a mangle when washing.
I have friends who won’t put out their washing even on a hot summers day and will use the tumble dryer throughout the whole year. People I know have their houses are like the tropics in the winter to the point they are all walking around in t shirts. They just won’t change their lifestyles.
It really does concern me that so many people aren’t prepared to change their way of lives?

I manage to dry my washing outside for most of the year. In fact when it's windy it dries far more quickly than when it's sunny.

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.

Not necessarily. I bought some for DD which are 100% cotton, they can be washed in the machine and she likes them much better than disposable as they feel softer.

I have friends who won’t put out their washing even on a hot summers day and will use the tumble dryer throughout the whole year. People I know have their houses are like the tropics in the winter to the point they are all walking around in t shirts

And these are often the same people who try to guilt people into cutting out flying and eating meat.

We can all do our bit, but many younger people who claim to be interested in saving the planet look incredibly wasteful to those of us who were brought up in times where people were much less consumerist and much less wasteful than people have been over the last couple of decades.

Watching with interest. I can't cut out meat/dairy etc because of allergies but I wish I could.

Batch cooking basic things (eg beans) and freezing then helps you save energy rather than cooking bit by bit

Use a thermos for tea rather than putting the kettle on every time, and only boil enough water that you need not the entire kettle

Don’t take two showers a day

Make your own jam, yoghurt, tomato puree etc. this saves tonnes of money too

Bake bread, cakes, biscuits at home

Use your freezer a lot more. Freeze vegetables, leftovers, etc

Don’t buy ready made food (pret etc)

Put plastic over your windows to save heating costs, esp if you live in an old house

Walk more

Use a bidet if you can

Invest in good thermals, fleece, etc and turn the hearing down. Insulate your house

Wear glasses more rather than contacts if possible

Do a ‘trash audit’ - make a note of everything that goes into your bin for a month and then take a look at the list at the end and see if you can come up with an alternative to avoid it.

If you have a garden or small outside space

Water butts
Compost bin
Grow a few herbs, salad & flowers

When adopting plant based alternatives, do a little research as to their production. Things like soy can be at least as bad for the environment, if not worse in some cases, than meat because of intensive farming and labour practises etc.

Buying locally wherever possible is great.

"Unpaper" ( ie cloth, washable) Kitchen roll and loo roll.

Dry things on airer/ pulley instead of tumble dryer ( I live in a very rainy part of the UK and do this due to not having a tumble dryer).

Buy gifts locally from shops that stock things made in local area, where possible.

Walk places if possible.

We do these - Milk from milkman in glass bottles. Make yogurt from that milk. Body Shop camomile cleanser in a tin, remove with a flannel. Vinegar in glass bottles for cleaning, with bicarbonate in cardboard boxes. Washing powder in cardboard boxes. Use fabric conditioner for wool only. Cloths and napkins instead of kitchen roll. Beeswax wrap, waxed paper or a lidded bowl instead of clingfilm. Washing dried outside, then finished inside overnight in the warmest (happens to be spare) bedroom. Buy stuff from refill shops if you can afford it. Generally buy quality household goods and clothes if you can afford it and keep for a long time.

@thecatsthecats

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.)

@thecatsthecats "Faith in nature" do all sorts of stuff (shampoo, hand wash, laundry liquid, body wash) in 5L and bigger containers you can decant into more usable sizes at home. I like their stuff, the don't have too many nasty ingredients etc. So that's one option!

Re drying clothes without tumble dryer:

• as others have said, outdoors on line if possible
• ceiling racks (heat rises - it's warmer up there) with pulleys, aka 'maids'
• an un-insulated basic garden shed or garage can get warm even in winter , especially if there's something like a freezer in there. If it's draughty that's even better; airflow increases evaporation. I have a drying rack in the shed where my freezer is - very good for drying heavy things like jeans
• light things - underwear, tights - on drying rack in bath
• almost-dry things on radiators or (if carefully attended) on a clothes horse next to a stove or fire
• clothes on a rack next to an open window (so long as you don't have the heating on)
• clothes hung up in the sunshine on a curtain rail (eg in a bedroom, during the day)
• a modern, efficient dehumidifier in a small room or in a big cupboard, with the door closed. Dehumidifiers use much, much less electricity than tumble-driers. This is an old article but gives a good explanation www.greenchoices.org/news/articles/humidity-in-the-home-controlling-condensation

one of those multi-model review sites:
www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-appliances/1405810/best-dehumidifiers

Switch from body wash to real soap - cleans you better, less packaging and lasts really long if treated correctly,
same for shampoo and conditioner - if you've got short-ish hair (long hair takes ages)

Make your own cleaning products . I've just bought a 5l bottle of spirit vinegar for £2.99 to make window cleaning spray, toilet cleaner, etc.

Buy yellow sticker food items towards the end of the day at the supermarket that would go to waste (and cost a lot less) and freeze if you can.

Generally buy as little new as possible and try and avoid single use plastic entirely.

Reusable kitchen roll rather than buying endless rolls of it (a pile of facecloths would do fine), eco toilet roll bought in bulk, compost everything - get a hotbin so you can compost food waste. I’ve stopped using bin bags because we now throw no food waste away and so don’t need them as all waste into the wheelie bin is dry. Tupperware rather than wrapping things. Bar shampoo, conditioner, shower wash, soap etc. Non plastic dishwash brush/pan scrubber and toilet brush. Grow your own as much as you can and buy local when you can’t. Buy in bulk or use a refill shop.

Cotton makeup remover pads work fine for me! I use them with body shop calmomile cleanser which lasts ages and is in a tin. I have some ones that are from cotton that would have otherwise gone to landfill. I put them in a normal wash with clothes in a lingerie bag and they turn out fine!

Recently got Gruum shampoo bar, the revitalising one. Best shampoo (bar or bottle) I've ever used. Got it free on an offer so worth looking up online! The conditioner bar is good but less so - I think I'm still on the hunt for my perfect one. Though it does a good job. (My hair is long and straight and quite thick if that helps to know).

We use bar soap instead of shower gel or pump hand soap. I have really enjoyed finding nice ones - currently on an amazing Lush one.

We have a weekly oddbox. So good for minimising plastic as 99% of things you get have no packaging. Now I cringe if I need to buy 'top up' fruit and veg from the supermarket and it's all in plastic!!

I would like to try the packaging free shop near me to get things like fabric softener.

For cleaning, we use ocean saver drops. They're really good, very cheap an you can bulk buy them to get free postage.

I will say, go gentle with yourself and don't put too much pressure on. I really enjoy the things I've mentioned here - I wouldn't last long if it felt like punishment or sacrifice. It's all been a gradual change and I've liked trying new things, researching etc.

Lots of fab ideas on this thread

Re alternatives to dairy milk - agree with PP to look into their environmental impact too. I didn't realise that almond and coconut are pretty disastrous for the environment and ethically. Soy is actually a much more eco alternative apparently.

Oh and definitely mooncup, period pants and reusable sanitary pads (I've just started using some on sale from honour your flow). I've probably spent about £60 on that lot and hopefully will keep me going for years.

If you can't do pulleymaid racks for drying things then there are lots of over bath / over stairs / over door airers that are much cheaper and just as effective.

Right - I'll shut up now!

The fact that you manage on a not-huge income is a massive first step that puts you way ahead of a lot of people. Seriously, it does. You probably don't have an excessively large house, or car, or use hot water extravagantly. Energy (the main greenhouse gas source alongside deforestation/meat production) costs money, so if you don't have so much money, it is harder to use more than your share of energy.

There are also some excellent suggestions on this thread.

Something that is also important is - and it can be tricky but we should all be doing it! - is infuencing other people to change thier mindset too. Generally this does not involve telling people what to do (unless they ask) - but it can involve just mentioning your 'green' reasons for doing things. Not making a big point of it, I think it's actually more effective just mentioning that you made such and such a choice 'because its more environmental' in the same tone of voice you might say 'because it's cheaper'. IE, its normal and obvious.