Eco living - what's worked and what hasn't

[Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain]

What have you done lately for eco living? What's worked or not?

For me:-

• shampoo bars Garnier, tried some others which I wasn't keen on but saw Garnier did them, tried one and liked it.
• Soap - can't recall brand but it's a cardboard one, lemon scent, Tescos. I try to use soaps more now.
• Reusable and compostable coloured sort of J clothes (not J) - in pastel colours.
• E-cloth
• Reusable makeup remover pads
• I did use recycled tin foil but its expensive
• Tescos paper sandwich bags (you can recycle)
• Heating engineer for maintenance of boiler was impressed that I don't have hot water/heating whacked up (I do for baths!) but otherwise not.
• Recycled tooth harps for flossing teeth
• May be more but can't think?
• Use water butt in garden
• Use compostable food bin
• Wash and recycle what council takes away and take bags which can be recycled at large supermarkets there plus pill packets in Superdrug
• Flask to keep hot water in
• Grow more of my own fruit and veg where I can

Any others?

Shampoo bars I find variable. The soap based ones, no. The type made from the same things as shampoo but without the water, yes.

Solar panels - big yes. Although we should have got a bigger battery. If I were doing it again, knowing what I know now, I'd have gone for 10kW instead of 5.

Heavily insulated tumbling composter - brilliant. Has kept composting going right through the winter.

Compostable kitchen sponge cloths (will try to find the brand) - surprisingly good. I thought they'd do a few uses and disintegrate, but they can go through the washing machine several times and come out as good as new.

Great thread OP 😀

Shampoo and conditioner bars work better for my curly hair than bottled shampoo and conditioner, less frizz and more slip/ detangling

Soap bars work well for me (see my username!) Would never go back to shower gel now.

Buying 5 litre washing up liquid to store at home and refill the same kitchen sink bottle.

Eco friendly cardboard tube deodorant or homemade deodorant - bit hit and miss works some days better than others, may depend on time of year and maybe what I've eaten and how active my day has been.

Coconut oil as hair oil, face cleanser, face and body moisturizer.

Tupperware tubs for sandwiches

Reusable water bottles.

Reusable,/ washable knitted type washing up cloths.

Reusable shopping bags, the big cloth type bags from Aldi have lasted years.

I still struggle with low waste packaging with the food shopping as most supermarkets sell grapes, blueberries, tomatoes, potatoes etc in plastic containers and bags. Luckily most of this can be recycled.

Laundry powder in cardboard boxes instead of liquid in bottles.

Op @Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain which reusable makeup remover pads do you use? Most I've tried are quite rough on my skin.

Make my own cleaning things a la Nancy Birtwhistle and it's great. Really easy and my oak worktops appreciate it.

Not tried the laundry liquid but going to give it a try and see if it works.

Wild deodorant does me most of the year but I do revert to the hard stuff in the summer

Small swaps and using recycling and food waste more.

Tbh the best way to have a smaller greener footprint is to be poorer. Back when we were skint we were assessed and had a relatively tiny carbon footprint.

We're richer now, so...

Eating less meat. Dp is pescatarian and it's actually quite a while now since I ate meat. I'm now shrinking the amount of fish we eat. I dont even miss it. But I leave the door open to eating meat if I want to.

Growing more food. I've always grown herbs and some soft fruit, planting more this spring.

We're tackling the insulation everywhere we can think of in the house. We're doing some much bigger projects (solar panels and battery, electric cars) but those do need a lot of money.

@Bovrilla you just reminded me about cleaning. I use vinegar and washing up liquid for most things. Did you get your cleaning recipes from a Nancy Birtwhistle book? I've not tried Wild deodorant, do the refills last a while?

I’ve tried loads and I think the best were an Amazon buy, but I can’t recall the company. I did buy some from cult beauty, medik8 which are soft and a friend uses the Face Halo ones which are soft.

It’s tricky though as I’d like to reused old towels eg as flannels but don’t think they’d be as soft.

Thank you I'll have a look at the brands you have listed.

I get these shampoo bars - my hair loves them. https://www.wild-sage.co.uk/skincare/rosemary-lavender-shampoo-bar

I keep a collapsible cup & a couple of folded shopping bags in my bag, so I don’t need to remember to take them with me.

I initially liked wild deodorant but it has left all my clothes with a horrible smell after washing so I have stopped.

Eco razors have worked well.
Soap bags for bars so they last longer.
Wax wraps.
Choosing veg based on air miles in the supermarket.
Cheeky wipes kept dry in the kitchen and wet for use, clean kids, tables, spills etc. Only use throwaway kitchen roll for fatty spills now.

I tried washing balls about three times but never managed to get them to actually clean clothes.

We fill jugs with water from the tap so that it will come to room temperature (or even warmer if left in the sun) by the time it goes into the kettle. I'm not convinced it makes much difference, but it keeps H happy.

While the bathroom sink tap was dying and dripping constantly, we left a bowl in the sink and used the leaked water to flush the loo. I still feel a bit odd now that I'm not doing it any more

I love shampoo bars too, I've tried a lot but have settled on a couple of lush ones. Conditioners I found much tricker with my ridiculously thick hair but I now use Friendly ones which you can melt into hot water, bottle and use like normal conditioner.
Other wins for us have been non-bleached toilet roll. My DH still hates it but the rest of us use Naked Sprout and we used reusable nappies and wipes when the kids were tiny. They do need more organisation but the sight of plastic nappies piled up in a bin makes me so sad.
Second-hand clothes is also really good for the world and pockets! Gotta love a vinted search! And a trawl through local charity shops usually brings in some gems. Kids clothes are harder though, I think they must trash them more often, I know mine do.

temp of the fridge raised to 6 degrees
laundry at the eco cycle (mostly)
being flexitarian, only eating meat/fish once a werk
rarely use plastic bags and foil, use reusable containers instead. an upturned plate or bowl to over food to keep warm
cycle & walk (we don't have a car)
holidays by train rather than car or plane

Using paper bags for sandwiches isn’t eco I’m afraid OP. Could you switch to a reusable plastic box? The paper is very heavy to transport snd paper bags result in deforestation and if it’s been on food it often can’t be recycled.

disposable cloths/sponges likewise even if they are compostable. Use old t shirts cut up or look at the sock sponges which use old holey socks and are fab.

can I recommend you read “how bad are bananas” by Mike Berners Lee if your trying to make green choices. It really helps

Eating vegan.

Thanks for the thread, this is something I've been giving serious thought to. Already do a lot of this, but some good ideas to try.

I'm interested in the shampoo bars, which one star best for dry frizzy hair? My hair does not like coconut. Do they do conditioner bars too?

Shampoo bars
Soap bars
Smol cleaning products
Wooden tooth brushes
Reusable nappies and wipes
Flannels and washable dish cloths
Natural loofah as a kitchen sponge
Buying second hand items where appropriate
Using the library rather than buying new books for my son
Drying clothes outside in the spring/summer
Making clothes where appropriate

Love soap, haven't got on with bar shampoo.

Tupperware, insulated cups and water bottles for packed lunches.

Shopping bags. I've actually reached the stage where I remember to take them!

Make up pads, face pads, cheeky wipes for toddler hands and faces, moon cup.

Cardboard natural deodorant.

I've also brought an electric razor for the first time recently.

Vinted and charity shops for books and clothes.

I went the no shampoo route - your hair adjusts - still wash with warm water but no soap or conditioner. It works fine, a blast of cold makes it shinier and mostly I put my hair up anyway.
Don’t shave my legs in winter, in summer I use DH’s electric shaver.
Toothpaste tablets - surprisingly nice! And wooden toothbrushes. No mouthwash or anything, most of that stuff is bad for you anyway.
No hairdryer. I don’t wear much make up, just lippy, occasional mascara & nail varnish.
Kitchen - we use Ecover for everything. We have coconut scourers, they’re really good, they are bristly and last for ages, and reusable washable cloths.
Heating is set to 18 but we’ve struggled this year it has been cold and damp. Will go 19 next winter.
Garden - no pesticides or slug killers etc, ever. No peat compost. I throw coffee and tea leavings under the roses..
Transport - we have one electric car and one diesel van (for bikes and paddle boards). We will use the van until it croaks and then we’re hoping EV vans will have come on a bit more than the current VW which is very expensive and too small.
Energy - we’re with Ecotricity on a green tariff and we have solar panels and a battery. Like a pp we would have got a bigger battery with hindsight. It only really helps in the summer but there have been months where our bills are standing charges only. In the winter though they’re horrendous as it’s a Victorian house and hard to heat.
Also mostly vegetarian, and buy organic. Plastic in the supermarkets drives me nuts.

@Toomuchgoingon79 guruum sensitive bars work for my hair that has a tendency for frizz.

I never buy new carrier bags, use reusable face pads, take plastic to the supermarket, use smol washing up liquid, dw tabs, cleaning sprays, hybrid car. We’re quite frugal so don’t buy much new clothing and household stuff.

I had to stop using the refill shop in my town as it is so much more expensive and my food bill is huge as it is.

I’d say now that I wfh it has reduced my carbon footprint more than all the other efforts combined.

Cycle everywhere as much as possible. We’re already vegetarian.

Reusable pads - they are amazing.
Teens are using period pants - not for the whole time but towards the middle/end.
I found a company that sell British pulses.
Electric car - but also a big jump in my public transport use.
Shampoo bars.
Im not buying clothes.

We've restricted ourselves to 1 flight per year (we moved abroad so this is a bigger deal than it sounds!) It actually works surprisingly well and makes holiday planning much easier because it reduces the options down to what's at the end of international train routes. We see our families less frequently but for longer. Not sure if this a good thing, but weekend trips were always stressful anyway and now too hard with kids.

Easy win: frozen chopped veg. Less packaging, lower carbon, fresher, so convenient, much less waste.

@daffodilandtulip Please can I ask which cardboard tube deodorant do you use? And do you find it works well all year round?

@SoapCollector pit putty ... works well all year round but it can be hard to apply in the winter if you've left it somewhere cold!

Thanks very much. I've not tried pit putty, I'll have a look online at that one. The homemade deodorant I made set like a rock in cold winter weather too!