Anyone taking any more eco friendly steps in 2022?

[PurpleHydrangea1]

We do quite a bit already within our circumstances. But a few steps I'm trying next year:

Composting
Having a more bee/butterfly friendly garden (made a small start this year)
No balloons - find alternative decorations for DC's birthdays.
I've found a zero waste/plastic free shop for oats/pasta/rice so going to try it out soon
Trying another fruit and vegetable shop which sells locally grown produce (last one hiked their prices up too much)
Going back to tooth tabs instead of toothpaste (just fell out of habit)
New charity shop has opened up in nearby town centre which looks promising so hoping to get second hand clothes for kids, especially for park/garden (also a charity which supports disabled children so it's close to my heart)
Darning holes in clothes/socks
Using Amazon less
Attempting my hand at homemade cleaning products (one at a time!) And some beauty products
Being more mindful of reduce/reuse
My mum will constantly spend on the kids, even for things not needed so I'm trying to curb this a lot (e.g. they don't need new coats every year when they still fit and immaculate, buying loads of presents for the sheer sake of it, constant flow of clothes, etc)

We have one SEN child and I'm under investigation for health condition so all of these are dependent on that, but I'm all for trying small steps where possible!

Any thing you're trying for next year?

Oh yes we also have an EV fund (can’t afford it yet) and I’m a lifelong vegetarian. During lockdown we converted our front garden to a bee garden 🪴

Ooh I should mention that I’ve recently discovered you CAN hang washing out in January (I’m in the SE so maybe you can’t up north!) and it does dry about 80% which is a lot better than nothing

Trying, tho I tried homemade dishwasher tablets an extra disaster, so use either Ecover tablets or bio d powder.
Buying less clothes, more veggie food, and less waste

@toolazytothinkofausername I think it’s so important for people who are not perfect ie Emma Watson to still be able to say they care about the planet and to do what they can/ are willing to do. The media coverage of XR was so focussed on hypocrisy and it is so important we don’t fall into the trap of feeling any steps we or anyone else do make are worthless just because we don’t get everything right

I love in scotland and hang washing out all year round my mum did as well. And whilst it may not be bone dry when it I bring it in the house during winter months it certainly smells fresher and feels lovely and soft . I use a eco egg and white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner

I’m doing well this week, I made the family a quorn mince shepherds pie and only announced at the end what “meat” they are. Dp has agreed to 2 vegetarian meals a week so that’s the aim.
I take my soft plastics to Tesco but I’d love to reduce them, particularly the crisp packets.

For any significant purchases I will do my best to find and read environmental product declarations or reports and take into account the lifestyle analysis of the product.

I think we're going to get an electric car. I have switched to bamboo eco nappies recently and already use washable sanpro. Interested in heat pumps to replace gas central heating but I'm not sure how good they are for older houses.

Lifecycle not lifestyle

@UnbeatenMum we have an Edwardian house and have been advised a heat pump isn’t going to be effective. We are working on insulation instead but that’s a confusing subject too. There was a good thread on it a while ago I’ll try and find it

@MrsGaskthrill ours is 1970s but has a strange roof that's about 50% impossible to insulate. It's double glazed but has a suspended floor downstairs which isn't insulated. It's also relatively large and I don't want to make an expensive mistake.

@sleepismyhobby I hung my washing out yesterday and after 5 hours it was slightly damper! I think it was just a very humid day. It smelled fresh though!

@UnbeatenMum insulation is such a tricky subject. I’ve been reading up on it for ages now and I’m thinking we need external wall insulation on one end of the house.

Here’s the thread about insulation

Not use helium anymore
Started using milkman so less plastic and milk is from local farm
Buy less childrens clothes
Use roll on deodorant
Resell old clothes on ebay...offer things on Facebook so they are not thrown out

I want to start a bird feeder amd get some butterflies in the spring

@popcorndiva I’ve tried a lot of eco deodorant and the one I really like is this

Dh reckons we can’t afford/ justify milk from the milkman but that’s a good one to look into again thanks for reminding me.

I’ve recently figured out how much energy a 60 wash uses and I’m going to try washing on lower temps when I can. I tend to do certain things on 60 and the rest on 40 but could probably do 30 for most things

I’m definitely going to try to get more planet friendly this year.
Lots of good ideas here, thanks.
What do people use to wash clothes in the machine? Has anyone found a good alternative?

Oh I also bought before Christmas tumble drier eggs. They were in Tkmaxx so not full price. Have noticed it cuts down a drying session by half an hour but does make it noisy so have to remember to keep the utility door closed.

We are focusing on cutting our energy consumption this year, for both environmental and cost reasons. So, we have topped up the loft insulation on the part of the loft which is not boarded - not sure yet what to do about the boarded bit. We have also replaced a couple of florescent light fittings with LED lights, and are planning to replace halogen bulbs with LED bulbs.
I'm also going to use a lower temperature for the washing machine.

We use shower/bath water to flush the toilet and rainwater for plants.
Also get stuff out of skips to use or sell. There's so much wood wasted, which of course means more trees felled so we collect scrap wood whenever we see it. It's surprising what you can fit in a hatchback

We are trying to buy more second hand clothing, making sure we recycle everything that can be recycled and opting for loose fruits and vegetables in the supermarket which we are packaging in paper bags that we reuse

Last night I ordered 5L containers of hand soap and laundry liquid to cut down on plastic. I’ll use them to refill existing bottles and you can return the big containers for reuse. We had been using bar soap for hands (will still be using it for bodies) but the hand soap dish keeps getting covered in black mould for some reason.

Unfortunately had to give up my allotment this year due to lack of time but I’m planning on sorting out the garden, it’s currently a rectangle of patio with a flower bed on each of the long sides and a tree at the bottom so I want to take up some of the patio in favour of grass/plants and also try growing some food in containers as I still have so many seeds from my allotment stash.

I have been looking at getting solar or a heat pump with one of the schemes but the former isn’t cost effective as our roof is east/west and we don’t have enough space or insulation possibilities for the latter We are in a Victorian mid terrace with primarily solid walls and we’d have to move 2 radiators, the boiler, the fuse board and the energy meters and remove 2 cupboards to get internal wall insulation. Still looking at cavity wall insulation and floor insulation for the 80s(?) extension where our kitchen and bathroom are as it’s bloody freezing in there so is a quality of life thing as much as anything else!