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).

I started using re-usable face scrubbies that my friend makes instead of using make-up wipes or cotton pads.

For those buying cheeky wipes- little lamb bamboo wipes are a cheaper and equally fantastic alternative, I use them for everything, as baby wipes, hand wipes for the kids, make up remover pads etc

I was happy with my boubaloo tooth brush. I've got a new one now, different brand. Will see how it goes.

Ooh, what a great thread! Some good tips.

I recently dug out some old washable breast pads and I'm using them to remove make up instead of disposable wipes.

Hmm - some small wins
Vegan lunch and veggie dinner for us
Fb buy sell and swap group means most dc stuff is second hand.
Decluttering so 3 bin bags of baby stuff to local refugee aid group (and that also reflects decision to not try for dc3!)

But first period post partum today and using tampons. I did buy a mooncup years ago but it looked scarily big and is now lost somewhere. Anyone got any recommendations for alternatives?

Baby steps here: ordered shopping to be delivered without plastic bags.

Currently using up all liquid soaps, which will be replaced by bars of soap.

Will use up porridge oat sachets and replace with one bigger bag of oats.

Food waste can now be put in plastic bags here, so I am going to keep bread bags for that.

Currently using up straws, which will not be replaced.

Already switched to cotton ear buds with paper instead of plastic sticks.

I have realised that most of our family’s “green sins” are purely down to our laziness!

Tortycat I have a MeLuna Shorty, which isn't as rigid as the Mooncup and is also quite a bit smaller (although I think I bought the larger size of Mooncup). I gave up on the Mooncup after a few months as I just couldn't get on with it, but find the MeLuna much more comfortable.

Mrsfrumble that's a brilliant idea!

Cycled to work
Cycled dc2 to Beavers and back.
Cycled dc1 back from Cubs.
Used a mug in the coffee machine at work.
Put DC's sandwiches in a plastic box rather than a plastic bag.

Love this thread - so many great tips. Today I made meals entirely from store cupboard and veg box delivery. Tomorrow will walk 5 miles to refill jars/bags of oats, lentils, beans and nuts at the nearest grocer that sells by weight. Good job everyone!

Boobaloo toothbrushes ordered!

Oh, and I also took a (horrible) packed lunch to work and turned the heating down this evening - cats and a blanket worked really well instead.

Well done everyone! I ruthlessly switched stuff off tonight and had a vegan dinner.

My next big win needs to be potty training DS2. He’s not quite ready but I might give it a go in the Christmas holidays.

Linzer - thanks. Will check it out

I'm going to look into crocheting eye makeup remover pads instead of using cotton wool ones every day.

pigeonpost, you are going to need to boil your eye pads to sterilise them between uses. This little equation is not going to end up with an ecological gain.

When I had four packed lunches to make everyday, I used greaseproof paper to wrap the sandwiches. It works brilliantly and I would reuse it several times. Depend8ng what the fillings were...

why would you need to sterilise the make up remover pads? I use a couple of chopped up muslin cloth from the DSs baby days. They were quartered. I just chuck them in the wash along with everything else. They're very small so don't create an extra load.

Cycled to the market (in the rain, but at least there's no sign yet of the snow forecast) and bought tomatoes and lettuce loose, though forgot to check whether the lettuce is still homegrown.

It's getting harder to find local/regional fruit and veg now that winter is on its way; the only fruit I can get are apples and pears, and it looks like the pears are coming to an end.

And yy to not needing to sterilise make up remover pads; I've always just put mine in the washing machine and they're so small they're hardly noticeable - they certainly don't create any extra washing.

Not massive but my husband runs a bar and we're taking the straws off the bar and putting them on the back bar so people have to ask for them.
I saw another bar do this is it seriously reduced the straw consumption.
I read recently that straws are becoming a serious problem.

I don't sterilise my former-breast-now-make-up pads. They go in with the bedding and towels on a slightly hotter wash with some napisan, but no boil washing.

My goals are to cut out sandwich bags, cling film and take-out coffee cups. I have a couple of fab thermos travel cups which I remember to put in my bag about 50% of the time at the moment. Most coffee places give a discount for bringing your own cup which should inspire me to always remember, as I shouldn't really be frittering money away on fancy coffee in the first place!

@Mrsfrumble, you can get waxed cloths for wrapping sandwiches. I tend to use greaseproof paper.

Not overfilling the kettle.

And not gett8ng a Quooker instant water tap even though I want one. And not getting a capsule coffee machine... in fact, generally not getting.

I'm buying make up in wooden pencil form, not plastic. I've started using B.B. cream though, which is a plastic tube.

I am returning to work soon after being a SAHM. I dug my old work clothes out of the loft and have had them altered to fit rather than buying new.

I don't use my coffee cup much here as hardly ever get takeaway coffee, but do use it a lot when I come back to the UK - the 25p discount that a lot of the chains and other coffee shops give is an added bonus.

The only place I've had problems using it is on trains; about half the time, I've been told that it's not allowed (was told once that they need to keep track of the number of cups sold ) and that all they can do is pour the coffee from one of their cups into mine, which is missing the point a bit!

I've emailed a couple of train companies to complain; Cross Country replied to say that reusable coffee cups are allowed as long as the cup fits under the nozzle (large Costa cups don't, but mine would have done), but Arriva never got back to me.