Green/sustainable living ideas that also save money...

[Startingagainandagain]

I finally managed to buy a small own house with a garden & I am trying to both save money, be as sustainable as I can and make the best use of the space I have.

So far I:

• started a vegetable and fruits garden to grow my own food
• started an herb garden
• collect rain water to use in the garden
• furnished the house with second furniture I up-cycled and my own art & craft
• joined my local 'freegle' group to keep an eye on free stuff that is offered
• am saving to buy a bike so I don't have to rely on public transport as much
• dry clothing outside as much as possible too
• thinking of selling stuff I don't need (clothes) on Facebook Marketplace.

Are there any other tricks I am missing that you could suggest?

I don't have the money to do big things like install solar panels but I am looking for ideas that I might have overlooked :)

[UnaOfStormhold]

Buying second hand clothes, and mending/upgrading existing clothes can make a big difference.

It's worth joining some of the apps (olio, toogoodtogo) where people post stuff that might go to waste.

Gardening can be expensive so choose wisely - berries are low effort but amazing value for money, potatoes are hard work, don't taste much better and you can very easily spend far more on growing them than buying them. Other gardening tips are to make your own compost, save yoghurt pots and food trays for planting in, save your own seed where possible, try planting carrot tops to see if they will grow, look out for local seed shops.

Insulating your house can make a big difference to your bills and there are grants available on low incomes.

[Claudereigns]

Watch your waste! Keep finding ways to reduce it. Treat it as a game. See how close you can get to zero waste, through composting, buying less, reusing bottles through refill schemes, growing your own food etc. Use the seeds from the food you buy to grow on. Strawberries and tomatoes are good for this.

[LeavesOnTrees]

Yes to compost.
Also it doesn't really save money, but encouraging wildlife in your garden.

A pond for frogs and for birds to drink and wash.
A wild grass patch. Plants for bees - they love lavender for instance.

Swapping your fruit and veg with neighbours if you have excess.

[SomersetTart]

Use a hot water bottle and a cosy blanket to snuggle up and keep warm in the evenings rather than have the heating on.

Make a menu for the next few days and a shopping list before you go shopping and only buy exactly what and how much you need.

About your bike - there are charities who take in old bikes and restore them. The charity near me that does this trains people who have left prison to repair bikes. Once the bikes are repaired they sell them on really cheaply. I got a fab bike for £35 - would have cost ten times that new.

If stuff breaks take it to a local repair cafe. We have one in our church hall once a month. Lots of people (mostly retire folk who know how to repair stuff because of their hobbies or the job they did before) gather together to repair stuff. Clocks, kettles, vacuums, clothes etc. It's a really cheap way of saving money and stopping stuff going to landfill.

We also have a 'lending shop'. You can borrow useful things like wallpaper strippers, ladders, tents etc. Much better than buying things you might only need once or once in a while.

Sounds like you're having fun doing green things on a shoe string. I love that! I do it too and I can live really happily and well on very little.

[Namechangeforadhd]

Make sure you have lined curtains that you close at dusk to keep the warmth in!

[Startingagainandagain]

Thank you everyone for all the ideas.

• I already have lined curtains and close them at dusk. Indeed a nice way to conserve heat in my old house
• I planted lavender as well, love the smell and I was thinking of using cuts to use as scent in the house/drawer sachet
• I also buy only second hand clothes from charity shops (we are lucky to have a few really good one in town).
• It would be amazing if I could find one of these charities that repair and sell bikes! the bikes shops in our small town are really pricey.

I like the idea of making my own compost so will do that.

I have to look into what having a small pond would entail. I think it would be worth just to see the cats' reaction to that new addition to the garden.

[AsTheyPulledYouOutOfTheOxygenTent]

Substitute lentils or beans for meat mince.

Eating cheap in-season veg like cabbage, swede, onions and carrots saves a bomb even if you don't grow your own (as pp said it's more efficient to use your garden to grow expensive things like berries and bok choi)- buy spices in bulk from the world food aisle and learn to use them to ring the changes. The Guardian website has got a load of great cheap and creative vegetarian recipes in their back catalogue - we've learned a handful of way to cook cabbage which are genuinely delicious.

[FinallyFeb]

Solar panel
Turn heating down
Walk or use public transport
Don’t go on aeroplanes
Stop buying stuff.

[user746016]

Use bar soap instead of shower gel and handwash. It’s so much cheaper and cuts down on plastic waste.

take your own bags to the supermarket every single time.

make things like bolognese or lasagne or cottage pie with soya mince rather than beef. Beef is incredibly damaging to the environment.

make draught excluders with old duvet covers stuffed with rags and get door curtains on portiere rods.

turn off overhead light fittings which often have multiple bulbs and instead use a lamp.

make leaf mound. It’s incredibly beneficial for your soil and all you do is collect the leaves and put them somewhere to rot down.

plant perennial (and expensive) vegetables like asparagus and rhubarb

[JosieRay]

If you get a couple of strawberry plants this year, they will send out loads of runners at the end of the summer which will give you loads of new baby strawberry plants for the year after. They are tough plants and need the cold of the winter. The first year they will give you lots of fruit and will save you loads of money.

[terrywynne]

Visible mending can be fun and save money - clothes, soft furnishings, bags etc are probably the easiest to start with but people do all sorts with headphones, shoes, toys, pottery and stuff. You can use items to mend other items, and if you are already up cycling and doing crafts you probably have the skills. Have a look at sashiko and kintsugi for inspiration (there is also a reddit group called visible mending where people share photos and ask advice).

[Sleepmoreplease]

Instead of saving to buy a bike get one dirt cheap from the tip shop. At my local tip there are dozens of decent quality bikes selling for a pittance.

In fact, as a general rule, visit the tip shop. You can even intercept people as they throw their stuff in the tip. I got my best mixing bowl and an ironing board straight out of someone's hands at the tip! And my bike of course though from the shop.

[Ciri]

Most environmental measures save money due to the whole concept of using and reusing old stuff rather than buying new.

[Sgtmajormummy]

Nancy Birtwhistle has some really inspiring videos and tips (promoting her books) which appear on my Facebook.
She does cheap eco-friendly detergents (like 4p a bottle, or washing on cold with ivy leaves) and no-waste cooking and preserving.

[Doingmybest12]

Interestingly , according to radio 4 , growing your own is not as sustainable as people think due to low yields in relation to resources used. Gardening also is a multi million business creating all sorts of products and is another way to consume. I guess it depends on how you go about it.

[user746016]

I’m sure that if you take the view that you have to add in the cost of greenhouses, specialist pest control, fertilisers and bought in compost it isn’t quite as green as it initially sounds but if you are using window sills and old clear plastic tub like a fruit punnet, no pest control, natural fertilisers like comfrey and making your own compost I don’t see how that can possibly be the case.

The food industry lobbying machine is very powerful. They don’t want a reduction in their business and are very keen for us to continue flying strawberries in from Spain and morocco.

[JennyForeigner]

@Sgtmajormummy

Nancy Birtwhistle has some really inspiring videos and tips (promoting her books) which appear on my Facebook.
She does cheap eco-friendly detergents (like 4p a bottle, or washing on cold with ivy leaves) and no-waste cooking and preserving.

Just to add that I get NB's books through my library app - another brilliantly sustainable option that makes life better every day. Love Nancy (and libraries).

[Bumble84]

It’s a tiny thing but re-useable kitchen roll. The proper stuff is quite pricey but I started off using old face clothes or cut up towels.

[GnomeDePlume]

@Doingmybest12

Interestingly , according to radio 4 , growing your own is not as sustainable as people think due to low yields in relation to resources used. Gardening also is a multi million business creating all sorts of products and is another way to consume. I guess it depends on how you go about it.

I would say this is true. We have a sizeable allotment and see the 'growing our own' as an inexpensive hobby rather than as a cost saver.

However it has pushed us to be much more seasonal in our consumption. Certain things are now exclusively home grown/made:

• jellies and jams
• strawberries
• blackberries
• cut flowers for our home

We are getting close to being self sufficient for:

• onions & shallots
• cider (we have an orchard)
• tomatoes

Some of it is simply making the decision that you grow something so you won't buy it anymore. Once you run out or the season is ended you wait for next year.

Ponds are good - frogs eat slugs. Anything which eats slugs is good in my book! Since we established the ponds on our allotment, slugs have been much less of a problem.

[Lifebeganat50]

stop using cling film…I managed to convert dh to taking his lunch in a box a couple of years ago and I’ve not bought cling film since…to cover food in the fridge/microwave, just use an upturned plate on top

doing laundry at a lower temperature, better for the clothes (pre soak and treat any stains), the environment and your purse.Ive been washing at 20° for a couple of months and no one, including a heavy gym user, has noticed). As you’ve already said, line drying laundry as much as possibly-if the ground’s dry the washing will come in dryer than it went out

Like a pp said, look up Nancy Birtwhistle, I’ve been using a lot of her recipes for cleaning products and so far so good, and definitely pocket friendly. You’ll find the recipes if you google, you don’t even need to get the books from the library!

Im not on a green crusade, but making small sustainable habit changes so they stick

[Startingagainandagain]

Thank you everyone for all the additional tips!

I am vegetarian so most of my diet is fruits and vegs so I see having my own little garden as a fun thing to do but also something that will hopefully give me some decent quality products. Should be more sustainable as well if I make my own compost.

I am already doing the washing at colder temperature too :).

I am going to see if I can get a second hand bike and sewing machine. I don't know much about bikes so was just a bit worried about getting something that might not be safe to ride if I get a 2nd hand one.

[AdoraBell]

For growing potatoes I use any potatoes I haven’t eaten. Never had a problem, leave them to sprout and plant them like bulbs.

Keep seeds, tomato plants for example- I always keep a few seeds from each tomato I eat. It can be a bit hot and miss but it’s always worked for me.

Use egg shells as compost and snail /slug deterrent. Rinse them and leave to dry then crumble and spread around the vegetables.

I’ve cut down on things like laundry detergent, none for dark clothes and towels.

Hand soap, bar of soap last longer than liquid soap.


Cleaning, a lot of things just need wiping with a damp cloth. Use old cloth, either clothes/towels/bedding cut up to make cleaning clothes.

[MobMoll]

I bought a pack of washable microfiber cloths from Amazon and use them instead of paper towels. I spent the same on one pack as what I spent of paper towels per week.

[Namehascahnged]

Grow food that is costly innthe shops but not what is cheap !
collect blackberries from the hedgerows for free later in year .

[SoapCollector]

Take a reusable water bottle out with you to save buying drinks in disposable plastic bottles. Take sandwiches for lunch out if I'm feeling really organized!

Take reusable bags when going food shopping.

I use shampoo and conditioner bars they last so much longer than bottled shampoo and conditioner. Bar soap to replace shower gel and liquid hand soap.

Laundry powder in cardboard boxes rather than laundry liquid in plastic bottles.

Using oils like coconut or almond oil for skin and hair care.

Walk instead of driving if possible.