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).

Just a small thing but wrap presents in brown paper and tie with string. Make pretty tags out of old cards. The brown paper goes on the compost heap, the string can be reused. Unless you 'have' to put pictures on Facebook or Instagram there is no need for coloured paper. Avoid glitter like the plague.

What's going well - never bought cling film anyway but taking food out and drinks when we do activities or days out. We have sho flasks that are getting loads of use and a plethora ot plastic tubs at home and at the caravan - we seem to have cracked that.

Recently found a dyson repair device that fixes whilst you wait - saved me hundreds and saved the dyson from landfill. Really inspired to research other repair services locally.

What's going so so - bulk buying - you can't bulk buy soft cheese - loads of plastic involved. Ideas welcome.
I am reducing shipping trips right down to once a month dry goods and one or two o fresh food top ups.

Buying local everything is so so - stock is so bad here. Reverted to Amazon for rabbit food and feel v guilty.

What's going terribly - trying not to run the washing machine daily and failing.

Place marking

For drying clothes ceiling maidens are brilliant. I have mine top of the stairs. its out of the way and benefits from heat rising. Clothes dry really fast and you arent falling over an airer all the time

@Twoweekcruise

DelphiniumBlue yep they absolutely stink. I always take them straight out of the machine but if the don’t go on the line or there is a near by source of heat near the air dryer they will smell very fusty. My friends have the same issue too!

They really do. Though I wonder if it's an odour that some people are more sensitive too because it drives me insane with how disgusting it is but dm thinks I imagine it.

@TiddleTaddleTat

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.

Where did you get the vinegar from please it's very hard to find!

All these things are great, but have minimal impact compared to the changes that should be made at governmental/ national levels. So, email your MP regularly- about everything. Get involved in activism and campaigns. Yes- check what your pension fund invests in- and your bank, too.

Buy palm oil free products. It’s in 50% or more pre made foods ie chocolate, sweets, cakes, pizzas etc.
It’s also in shampoo shower gel etc.
Deforestation to grow palm plants is causing a huge eco issue for animals, insects, plants. Etc

Mooncup - I must have had mine nearly 29 years. Works as well today as it did on day one

Use your local Repair Cafe
Freecycle
Use trains for long journeys
Look into national/local grants for heat pumps etc
Check tyres on the car and drive economically

Main principles are ‘use less in the first place’ and buy better when you spend. Literally every pound spent makes an impact in terms of the company who benefits from that custom and their practices.

Move to 100% renewables (may not be so easy at the moment, but only two UK providers are fully renewable, the rest only achieve this through trading credits)
Move banking (even if ‘only’ a current account) to Triodos or co-op
Move pensions - this is huge

Little point in keeping a car for only occasional journeys - that then becomes a grossly under-used asset that ‘costs’ more per journey due to the embodied carbon involved in its production. Better off selling it so it is used and another one not bought instead. Hire when needed. OR put your car on Karshare (like Airbnb for cars) for others to use. So that the asset is used as much as possible.

@stopblowingyournose I bought mine from a big Turkish supermarket chain here. But I've also bought smaller 1l glass bottles from home bargains in the past.

Are you any good at sewing?
I saw some reuseable kitchen roll at an eco store the other day. Too pricey for me but I thought I could make some, it's just Terry towelling on one side and pretty fabric on the other, with a few poppers to link the pieces together. I'm sure I have some old towels somewhere I could repurpose .

Made some beeswax wraps at the weekend as I had some wax for sewing lying about. So easy if you have scraps of pretty fabric. Use pinking shears on the edges, grate up the wax (or buy beads) and heat in the oven for about 5 mins. Replaces foil and cling film.

Drying washing: I hang as much as I can in hangers, hang them over the shower curtain rail, then open the bathroom window & close the door (to keep the cold out of the rest of the house) when I can't hang outside.

Even if you can only do all the "big" stuff that way, then do a single load of socks, knickers etc in the tumble dryer, it's still a reduction

Switch to Palm Oil-Free skincare.

Oh, that's a good idea about the bathroom @ChampagneCommunist, I'm going to try that.

In our old house we had space on the landing to hang a king size duvet cover or sheet over the bannister and it would dry in a couple of hours or so.

Our new house has a different layout with a much smaller landing so we can't do that any more and I really miss this when it's too wet to hang out. I don't like using the dryer because it gets all screwed up in a ball and the outside is scorching and the inside is still wet.

I have no idea how people who mostly tumble dry manage because it seems like a complete pain in the arse way to turn everything into a tatty crumpled shrunken mess plus there's the cost and environmental impact too.

Defrost items in the fridge Meg overnight - helps keep the fridge cool and uses less energy
Only wash clothes if they actually need it - many can be reworn
Can you keep chickens??
The main thing is to reduce reduce reduce. Really think about if you need something.

Pre pandemic I tried to bring in lots of plastic free alternatives. But I just found it way too expensive to keep up and then as I had to order it online and get it delivered I didn’t know if the pollution from all the separate deliveries were worse than the large refill I bought from the supermarkets.

I still get milk delivered and they use electric delivery vans.
I thought ocean saver cleaning products were quite good as they are little pods you mix in with water to make a surface cleaner and they are packaged in cardboard but again they are soo pricey and need delivery.
I would use a refill shop if one was close by but there are none in my area.
I wish there were more plastic free alternatives in supermarkets. I did see one brand of toilet paper the other day wrapped in paper not plastic in the supermarket but its still so rare the government really needs to legislate so these products are available in supermarkets so we don’t have to get everything delivered separately.

@BarbaraofSeville that's an issue with your dryer - the only one I had that did that was the washer dryer. All the freestanding ones I've had the clothes come out dry and flat!

@TiddleTaddleTat

Are you any good at sewing? I saw some reuseable kitchen roll at an eco store the other day. Too pricey for me but I thought I could make some, it's just Terry towelling on one side and pretty fabric on the other, with a few poppers to link the pieces together. I'm sure I have some old towels somewhere I could repurpose .

Made some beeswax wraps at the weekend as I had some wax for sewing lying about. So easy if you have scraps of pretty fabric. Use pinking shears on the edges, grate up the wax (or buy beads) and heat in the oven for about 5 mins. Replaces foil and cling film.

I’ve inherited my mil’s sewing machine. I am useless at seeing but should start practicing and really should put it to good use and try making some reusable stuff.

@crackofdoom

All these things are great, but have minimal impact compared to the changes that should be made at governmental/ national levels. So, email your MP regularly- about everything. Get involved in activism and campaigns. Yes- check what your pension fund invests in- and your bank, too.

I totally agree and am concerned that everything we do is just a teeny drop in the ocean but I suppose we have to do what we can, it seems wrong not to.

It can be very tempting to go out and buy shedloads of new and exciting "plastic free" or sustainable items eg new food containers, flasks etc. But use what you have first and then mindfully replace.

Definitely agree re: green investing (for savings and investment accounts) if you can.

Think about electronics - there are more eco-friendly options out there (eg for electric toothbrushes) and consider buying refurbished mobile phones etc rather than brand new.

I agree with the excellent advice of a PP about getting a dehumidifier, unless you already have a condenser tumble drier.

Both retain the heat inside the house (with the water going into a tank or down the drain) rather than venting hot damp air to the outside. As long as the drier or dehumidifier is in a room that you'd be heating anyway, this byproduct heat means you don't have to use so much other room-heating.

I find a dehumidifier drying a decent load of laundry heats a small bedroom to quite toasty.

It can be very tempting to go out and buy shedloads of new and exciting "plastic free" or sustainable items eg new food containers, flasks etc. But use what you have first and then mindfully replace.

Yy. If you have a vented tumble-drier, wait till it gets to the end of it's life to replace it with a condenser one.

The energy embodied in manufacturing and getting a large appliance to you is so great it's almost always better to get as many years out of it as possible.

Most importantly -

1. Make sure you're banking with a 'green' bank (like Triados)
2. Your pension is in a green scheme.

Secondly -
I like doing challenges as it helps me change my mindset in a manageable way...

1. One month plastic-free food shop
2. One month only eating UK grown foods
3. One month vegan

Etc.