Save the planet!!! What small steps have you taken today?

[Mrscog]

Following on from a thread where we were all discussing how we wanted to reduce our impact on the earth I thought I would start this thread for us to share ideas/motivation etc.

This is a non-judgmental thread and is about whatever steps you want to take to reduce consumption. None of us are perfect and we've all got to start somewhere.

My small steps today -

1. Morning school run incorporated as part of DH's commute.
2. Afternoon school run due to be done on foot.
3. Didn't bother going to Aldi as to be honest I have enough food in to cobble some stuff together.
4. Just used microfibre cloth with water to wipe down kitchen rather than dousing with chemicals (hadn't chopped any raw meat etc so no need to be too clean).

Yeah, they reuse the pots.

Went to the greengrocer yesterday and filled my own bag with a huge batch of dirty fruit and veg...not one bit of packaging so a wee win there. I made a pot of soup with it and it tasted amazing, you can really tell the difference from bland supermarket veg. I'm going to make this a weekly thing now, inspired by this thread.
We haven't sent a single Christmas card for years now...I make a donation to two charities each year instead, one human, one animal. Saves on every level 👍🏻
This year instead of wrapping paper I'm going to use my effing huge fabric stash to run up nice wee bags to wrap gifts that can be used again.

Sensory issues, natural fibres and wooden buttons I wonder, I know sometimes people find wool itchy but still.

Worried a bit about not turning the shower off while I soaped and scrubbed my hair, then I realised that now I don't use shampoo my shower is very short anyway.

I'm really on board with this "small steps" thing.

But me remembering my reusable coffee cup, walking to the shops instead of taking the car and buying recycled bags isn't going to make a blind bit of difference when half of Mumsnet are washing their bedding four times a week, buying mountains of Christmas tat and getting through two bottles of bleach a day.

It's all quite depressing.

@LunasSpectreSpecs But if you do those things, and a few more people see, and decide to do it too, then gradually it becomes "the norm". Even handing over a reuseable cup to get your coffee in, might inspire the person behind you in the queue who previously thought "no one does that".

And if we keep the thread active more and more people will see it and perhaps be inspired to do something. Even a tiny change makes a big difference if lots of people do it.

I know what you mean Luna, it's closer to h9me for me as my children DH are not interested. However, they are still seeing it and will be influenced eventually! They will also know I tried. And several of my friends are starting to worry about it, too, and some FB friends are buying bamboo toothbrushes and ethical loo roll after my sharing the posts.everyone who does it makes everyone else feel less weird...

Luna, I feel that way about overpopulation but I figure if one whale is spared dying of plastic in it's stomach, then it's a win all round.

I know luna. I have been genuinely appalled at the mentality on MN re bleach, wipes and stupid amounts of laundry. Hope MN HQ pick up this thread and highlight it. Got my reusable coffee cup today.
Does anyone have water coolers in work with those plastic cups which people jse once and throw away. I take my own mug or bottle to the cooler, but can we persuade cooler compa ies to switch to paper ones?

paper ones are better in some respects but still often can't be recycled since they have a plastic coating to prevent the water from seeping through.

I have no DC. No car.
I have an oven, a microwave and a washing machine as large appliances and nothing else.

I was getting stressed by the amount of washing we have been doing lately and that was only 3/4 loads a week. I've got a limited amount of feeding friendly tops and dresses so I have to wash them every few days when they inevitably get soaked with milk or vomit or wee.

But I decided that baby clothes don't necessarily need washed after every wear. Vests yes, and sleepsuits that have been on all night, but leggings, joggers, dungarees, tshirts that have been on for a few hours on top of a vest are going back in the drawers for a second wear at least.

Just got my fish and chips wrapped in paper, spurning the poly tray they were about to use.

Ooh, look! 50% off today only. just going to see.

www.ecoegg.com/

If anyone is interested, I have a spare (obviously brand new, sealed, boxed) Organicup (another brand of mooncup) as I was a plank and ordered 2 by accident. Happy to sell on for cheap as I don't need two!!

I also recently switched to 100% renewable energy with Tonik. They offer a £20 Amazon voucher to the new person and referrer if you switch via referral so if anyone would like to switch over then feel free to PM me for a referral code. They've been really easy to deal with so far.

I'm in the process of using up all my shampoos that I'd bought on offer, so I'll switch to bar shampoo next year. I've already switched to bar soap.

Great thread. I’m doing many of these , but was inspired to ask DH to get draft excluder from his workplace’s local shop. Our front door is ridiculously badly fitting,

Where do I get paper sandwich bags?

Ooh I am pleased to have found this thread. I'm trying to be more mindful of my impact on the world and source things that are more ethically and environmentally sound.

We've just sold our tumble dryer and gone for a heated airer instead. I know it's not great but it takes too long to get a load dry outdoors at this time of year - especially with a 2 and a 4 year old.

I joined an FB zero waste group but it is really full on and scared me. I love the approach of making small, sustainable changes when I can. So my next job is to switch to eco friendly nappies for the two year old. It seems futile to buy cloth when she's within shouting distance of potty training.

Tiny, but got the Christmas tree out earlier and a few branches were almost falling off - considered binning it and buying a new one but instead fixed it with some gaffa tape & put the slightly wonky side to the back

Make do & mend :)

Tiny steps today:

Have just done my nails for a party and didn't add the glitter coat. I think I will be mourning this one for a while.

Didn't go out and buy a new dress as I had intended to do. I'm sure nobody notices what I wear anyway.

Oh hang on I also found a draught excluder bar in the garage and got it out to be fixed onto the front door tomorrow.

Hmm last post sounds quite excuse-laden.

Must address behaviour rather than excusing it. We're using up toiletries then switching to bar soap. Already use method cleaning stuff (except laundry detergent due to £). I do get my food shopping delivered which isn't great - it definitely comes under the lifestyle choice category. We use Morrison's but their packaging is ridiculous on fresh groceries. However I do my top up shopping on foot, as I only use my car when absolutely necessary.

I have two buggies and I've been thinking of selling one, but ideally id like to donate it, along with old kids clothes that are still in good nick. I have so much stuff I want to pass on but I'm having trouble finding a suitable place as I don't want to charity shop stuff.

Was it a UK zero waste group on FB, Plonky? I've joined Journey to Zero Waste UK and have found it helpful, but apparently there's a bigger group that's a bit scary!

imposter I mentioned paper sandwich bags earlier in the thread, but I'm in Austria and buy them here. They're quite similar to (but a bit smaller than) these on Amazon, or you might be able to find some on eBay.

Anyone used beeswax wrap? I've bought some but haven't used it yet.

It's fabric infused with beeswax and you can use it instead of cling film (just not in the microwave).
It's so pretty too!