Would like to chat about Less

[WhitegreeNcandle]

So, I’ve just read Patrick Grants book Less and found it really thought provoking. I’ve never bought from places like SHEIN but I had been trundling along thinking I was doing ok. Since reading it I’ve realised how much tat we are surrounded by and I don’t want to be a part of it any more. I hadn’t realised how insidious it’s become really. It’s not just the quality of stuff it’s about how the economy could work on a quality scale.

Would love to just chat about easy swaps to make. Preferably cheap ones and it is a more expensive lifestyle I think. I went into our local refill shop yesterday and found there is a local company who do cleaning refills. Manufactured within 20 miles of where I live, reusable glass bottles etc.

@WhitegreeNcandle When my mum was dying she said she didn't want flowers because of imports.

I found a native flower organisation that used only blooms grown in the UK. I also spoke to a local florist who offered to make an arrangement using only flowers picked locally - she relished the challenge. It was early June, though.

There are a lot of people who are engaged in local and seasonal. Far more than you'd think.

Hi OP,

I've just found your thread & have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I've been meaning to read the book for ages, so will in 2026.

I try & already:

Have milk delivered
Use Smol products
Buy Scottish/British where I can- quite a lot of decent choices near me & our Aldi uses local milk/ eggs too.

Bread wise try Jason's Sourdough - no dodgy ingredients & comes in paper.

Using Vinted as much as I can.
Aiming to have a clear out & give to our local Refugee charity.

Bought an annual cinema pass for DS2 for Christmas.

Bought Solovair boots for DS1 - small, British company & a 2nd hand turntable.

I'm going to try & do more in 2026!

@PastaAllaNorma sounds like a good florist. Before reading the book I think I’d have just chucked in whatever flower I liked to the trolley. But when you think about it it cannot be good for the planet to fly (I’m assuming they’re flown!) flowers to the UK for them to last five minutes.

@Puffalicious sounds like you are very mindful already. Thank you so much for the solovair idea - we live very close to there and I had no idea of it!

so, I’ve started a new Bible reading plan for the year and today’s reading was Psalm 8 all about how God put man as ruler over the works of his hands. It had me thinking about our responsibility to look after our world and families and what small ways I can contribute to that this year.

I'm so envious that you live nearby Solovair as I hear that they have an on-site sale shop which is excellent value. They are the original makers of Doc Martin's, but they out sourced to China years ago. It's DS1's 1st pair & hope they last many years. As a youngster he wanted DMs (didn't research enough where they were made), they were expensive & despite caring for them they only lasted 3 years of VERY light wear before splitting right across the crease of the foot (weird place to split). He's very eco-aware & will look after these Solovairs, so hopefully years of use.

I'm not religious in any shape or form, but will try & check in to get new ideas.

@Puffalicious how old is your DS? Mine is 12 and growing like a weed so I’m nervous of spending a lot on his shoes. He does however play rugby in Wollaston so we will definitely be taking a look at their shop!!

Vegetarian shoes(company in Brighton) has UK made. Also Freerangers vegan shoes etc are made in County Durham.
I love my Freeranger shoes. Very well made.

That's tricky. DS is 21 (Others 19 & 14) so feet won't grow. He only got DMs when 17ish, again as growing feet!

But the onsite shop may have bargains that would certainly sell well on Vinted afterwards.

My 2 eldest have been rugby daft all their lives. I won't go into the injuries... 🙈😂.

I'm not sure how much this counts towards Patrick's Less, but we have milk and butter delivered from a local farm on its 4th generation of farmers. We grow much of our salad vegetables and flowers for the house through the summer and keep poultry for eggs. The bird dropping go in the large compost bins are fertiliser for the vegetable beds and poly tunnel. We also grow a lot to make pickles and frozen veg to last us through the winter. I'm still picking cavolo nero, sprouts, celeriac and winter lettuce at the moment.

DD gets most of her clothes from charity shops and alters them to suit - she sews costumes for her Drama degree as well. This impresses the hell out of me.

We used to travel on the train for longer journeys and only fly one year in three, but the train use has dropped off recently as the fares went up so much we usedthe car more. That's very frustrating.

Our electricity is 100% renewables, although it does cost more than way. But I think that's one of life's non-negotiables.

We only buy new clothes, tech and equipment when the existing one breaks beyond our ability to repair them. (I have occasionally wondered if DH sabotages the TV when he fancies a new one.)

We have a thriving barter network with neighbours for fresh eggs in return for school football boots (back in the day) etc, and we set up an unofficial lending library between 5 families for tools, equipment, video games and board games. It's been great.

No time to read Less today as we were de-Christmassing the house. We all have stinking colds so it was a lengthy process! The tree went in the chicken run for them to play on.

Can I also recommend "how bad are bananas". It's a really good book which I saw recommended on MN some years ago. It shows you the carbon cost of loads and loads of things and explains why they are good/bad. Bananas actually aren't that bad compared to other fruit in terms of carbon footprint (obviously an apple from your own garden is better).

This is a great thread. My family always 'recycled' clothes and furniture in the '60s/'70's because we were poor - it was great to get 'new' clothes from older, trendier cousins. As a new homeowner with 16% mortgage rate, I didn't actually buy any new furniture until I was in my 40's as I was given furniture by relatives - I didn't always like it but I used throws, cheap cushion covers etc. My relative was a cleaning supervisor and was appalled at the number of expensive cleaning products available - we always learned that a basin of water with Fairy Liquid cleaned most things effectively, trying walnuts for scratches where possible, good furniture polish, ironing towels to bring them up, cutting up old towels for cleaning cloths, invisible repairs etc.

I am older and have more money now and I still see no reason to not practice this - I use older veg to make pasta sauces and I like to batch cook and freeze, I always wash out and retain old jars. I loathe Amazon re their attitude to tax and staff. I really like Pinterest for clothes and home ideas because I often have the items and hadn't thought of using them that way so I am more able to shop from my wardrobe. I also donate my old stuff to charity shops in poorer areas as I loved finding good stuff there when I was younger and poorer. I may have a look at refurbished tech though.....

Quick update on Lanx boots @WhitegreeNcandle .

TL:DR Lanx seem to be a good company with good products that will last. Most of their stuff is UK made and they aim to make that 100% going forward.

I went to their main store today and had a really good experience. I explained my feet had shrunk so I wasn't sure on sizing, and that I wanted to treat myself, probably to Chelsea boots, but would like to have a look at what was on offer generally.
The assistant (Josie) who served me couldn't have been more helpful. We spent 2 hours (!!!) trying on various styles and colours. The style I was most interested in was out of stock in the colour I liked, but she didn't try and talk me into anything else and actually said 'it doesn't matter if you don't buy anything today, getting your sizing sorted out is more important, then you'll be more confident ordering online once we're stocked up again'.
Have to say I did find some others I really liked (2 pairs in fact 😊😬) so I did come away with new boots. One pair was an end of line so reduced by £50 and then I got 10% off both pairs as a first time customer (so they were a bargain really...).
They seem really well made and sturdy. They need to be 'worn in' - they're not uncomfortable but they're quite stiff.
She did tell me that not all their boots / shoes are UK made (one pair I bought is, the other isn't). They want to do everything in the UK, but there are only 3 footwear manufacturers in the UK, so currently they use them for 90% of their products and the other 10% comes from abroad because the UK manufacturers can't meet the demand. The plan is to set up their own UK factory in the (nearish) future.
I had thought that they already manufactured their own product, but currently I think they do the design and they also do repairs / resoling etc., they have a cobbler on site - so you can rejuvenate rather than replace.
Phew! that turned into a bit of an essay!!

We also have lost the skills to repair clothing. I said to my DD I could fix a hole on her sock and she was aghast!

@igivein thanks for the update that sounds like a really good shopping experience! I don’t mind paying more when you get service like that. Interesting that we only have three factories that make shoes - I know you can go without them but I’m not sure I’d want to! Let us know how you get on breaking them in

Made homemade pizza tonight instead of buying a freezer one. Less plastic and packaging and used up the Christmas cheese - Stilton pizza anyone?! Also made butternut squash soup for lunch. Didn’t have onions but instead of going to buy them used a leek instead. Didn’t taste quite as nice but did the job.

have been sorting a few drawers. Sold a bit of DS’s Lego and a few pairs of white stuff tights. All stuff I’d probably have chucked in the past. Bought a pack of three coloured tights and only wore one colour. Not really doing it for the money, just the idea that someone else gets to use them and enjoy them rather than straight to landfill

Norman Walsh trainers some not all are made in UK. The website shows where made. I bought a bargain in the new year sales.
I will be checking out Vinted for some of the other suggestions.
I love Vinted, never sell anything expensive or buy expensive. We are keeping my DM in books now, as she is late 80’s and use to visit charity shops every week . Buy then sell and buy more.

So my belated Christmas present to DH has arrived. He has scrambled eggs for breakfast every day and the non stick coating has worn away. I spent quite a while researching and bought this

https://www.netherton-foundry.co.uk/20-cm-frying-pan?search=20cm%20spun%20iron%20frying%20pan

Made in the Uk with UK materials. Should last a lifetime, they sell spare parts and will repair it if required.

just hope it can scramble an egg now!

That's a serious pan @WhitegreeNcandle ! They've got some lovely things on their website. I especially liked the copper utensils and the tagines, but at c£350 I think I'll just have to keep dreaming. Also, I don't actually need any pans / utensils and I make tagines in the slow cooker...

It is isn’t it. Today’s job is to oil it for the first time so we can use it tomorrow!

I’ve just found this thread and am really enjoying it as ‘buy less-buy better’ is my mantra for 2026.

Thanks for the frying pan link @WhitegreeNcandle . I’ve just sent it to my DH as he was after a new pan, as frying pans don’t seem to last in this household (probably because I bung them in the dishwasher 🙄). Quite an investment, but hopefully worth it.

Im just about to start PG’s book. I did purchase a couple of items from community clothing last year. 10/10 for the lambswool jumper, undecided about the jeans. They are very good quality, but not particularly flattering.

Love your username @MorphingintoMargo! Glad you like the thread. Totally agree about the CC jeans - I ordered a few pairs and all of them just looked frumpy. I don’t mind safe, boring, practical but they just didn’t fit right. Wish there was a shop where you could try on loads of different pairs to see which is best.

Pan update - ita had its first linseed oiling today so will be using it tomorrow!

That is a gorgeous pan!

I want a Netherton pan now!!
I have bought a uk made stainless steel Samuel Grove frying pan. But haven’t used yet!
I have been watching The doctors kitchen about heating pan then sprinkling water, but I’m nervous 😬!!
I’m starting my second year of eco living/no buying.
I really want to retire slightly earlier. So trying to buy less or buy better!

Anyone else going to sign up for ‘The Big Plastic count’ ?
I am but feel a little guilty because I know from saving our soft plastic for supermarket, it bad. Even though we go to a refill shop for a lot of items.

I've not heard about this, tell me more...

https://thebigplasticcount.com/. Hope that link is allowed!

https://greenpeaceshop.co.uk/the-big-plastic-count/