How to be more sustainable every day

You don’t have to live in an eco village without TV and Internet to help the environment. Of course there is nothing wrong with that and people actually live happily in such communities. But I want to show you that whether you live in a countryside or big city, you can implement small changes to your life and be more sustainable.

I have been into low waste and healthy lifestyle long before I got interested in sustainable fashion. I grew up in a very small village and we didn’t have running water so my dad had to bring it from a nearby well once a week. Even as a child I learnt to respect and use wisely the things we get from nature. So every time now I see running water being wasted my heart literally hurts.

I would like to share with you things that I do every single day to be a better human. It doesn’t involve much effort and I don’t have to sacrifice my life in a big city but it gives me great satisfaction that I play my part.

Metal Water bottle

I’ve stopped buying plastic water bottles years ago and I couldn’t be happier. Tap water in England is drinkable so we can safely substitute it for shop bought. If you don’t like the taste of it you could buy water filters. I use black+blum active charcoal and water tastes delicious. I like to put them in a glass jug or carafe around the house. It looks cool and we always have clean water ready to drink.

Plastic bags and straws

You get a croissant at a supermarket and you put it in a plastic bag. Few minutes later you eat that croissant and the bag lands in a bin. This is a single use plastic and it can’t be recycled. You can eliminate it from your life. Bring your reusable totes and produce bags into the store. I know it may be challenging to remember to take them with you. Even if you take your bags 2 out of 5 times that’s so much plastic saved. Whatever you buy, always choose packaging that can be recycled and is biodegradable like paper, metal or glass. When buying fruit and vegetable look for loose produce that’s not wrapped in plastic. Straws - do we really need them? I never use straws in a restaurant or cafe and at home we have our metal straws that are amazing and make your drink taste better.

Recycle 

It’s so important to recycle as much as we can, so useful materials can be repurposed and therefore reduce our consumption of raw materials. Any metal tin, glass bottle and jar, paper packaging, they all can be recycled. Just remember to wash them first. Find your local recycling bank. They have very easy to follow system and it’s fun for children to explore what happens with our waste. Don’t throw your old clothes in normal bin. Natural textiles can be used for mattress production, furniture padding or car insulation.

Eat less meat and more veggies

Not only it’s better for your body but it will reduce your carbon footprint. Production of beef has far more impact on the environment than pork or chicken. Try to eliminate at least one meat meal from your weekly menu. Maybe vegetable chickpeas curry or halloumi wrap with greens and houmous will change your mind. It’s so yummy and very healthy. Try this amazing Irish twin YouTube channel “happy pear”. They helped me be more creative with vegetable dishes and have such a positive energy it’s fun to watch.

Buy organic whenever possible.

I know this can be a bit daunting and if you tried to buy everything organic in specific shops, you would break the bank. I think the best approach to that is looking at dirty dozen and clean 15 list. These are basically products from most to least contaminated so you can prioritise next time you go shopping.

Use biodegradable toiletries and recycled toilet roll

In our family the revolution started with swapping plastic toothbrushes and ear buds to bamboo alternative. Just look around your bathroom and think what plastic items could be replaced with natural material (e.g. nail brush or bath sponge). I personally think there is something really cool about wood and bamboo. They give your bathroom more earthy and natural feel turning it into your little home spa.
Recycled toilet roll is such an easy swap because you can find it in your local supermarkets (in UK try Waitrose, Sainsbury’s or Ocado).

Save water

As I mentioned before, this is a very important topic for me. It doesn’t cost you anything, you just need to remind yourself every time you use water at home. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or reduce the stream while washing the dishes. Shower is more sustainable than bath but only if you don’t take 30 minutes to wash. Run your washing machine only when it’s full or on half load setting.

Reusable cotton/silk mask.

We all have to wear masks in public now, which means we use them every day. Single use masks are made from plastic and will end up in a landfill or oceans. We can find so many nice designs and colours that can be part of our outfit. That’s how you can introduce print and colour to your wardrobe. Yeeeey!

Second largest polluter in the world - our beloved fashion

This is a very complex subject and worth investigating in a separate post. The main problem with fashion industry is that we consume too much and that widely accessible clothes are of very low quality. There are few rules we should all follow: buy less, buy good quality natural materials, buy second hand clothes and wear what you have in your wardrobe. When you need to buy something new think if you will wear it 30 times or more.

Educate your children, friends and family

We need to share our knowledge with others so we can change things together. I teach my daughters about sustainability every single day. They don’t understand everything but they know vegetables are healthier than meat, why we recycle things at home and that their toothbrushes are made from bamboo because it’s better for our planet.

These are the things that are very important to me and I have control over. I’m not perfect and will have an ocasional coffee in a paper cup (yes, there is plastic in your coffee cup!) or buy some groceries in plastic because there are no alternatives. But I don’t beat myself up. We will never live zero waste but we can reduce our impact. It’s better that we all try to change small things than just one person trying to be perfect for everyone.