Our Year Of Environmental Changes

At the beginning of this year, we made a commitment as a family to make at least one change a month to help the environment. We started by getting rid of our car, which was a big change to make and not one I am expecting you to do but I wanted to share the other things with you to inspire and help you to make some small changes in 2020.

Kitchen

Sodastream - I love sparking water and so does my little boy Max, particularly in the warmer months of the year. So, this year we invested in a Sodastream and dramatically reduced our consumption of plastic bottles.

A Milkman - we had a milkman a few years ago but something happened when we moved house and we couldn’t manage to move our account over to our new address. Thankfully Milk And More have created a great website and app, which makes having a milkman really easy. It is more expensive to have milk in glass bottles but as we consume so much milk we decided we should pay the price and stop using the plastic bottles. The children love the milk in the glass bottles too!

Oddbox - this is one of my favourite changes we have made this year. Each week we buy an Oddbox of fruit and vegetables, which would otherwise be wasted. The items are either too small or too big, the wrong colour or surplus. It feels so good to be really helping with food waste while also supporting farmers. Plus we get a a great variety of fruit and vegetables, which encourages us to be more adventurous in the kitchen.

Eco Cleaning Products - up until this year we were 50/50 with eco products for the house but this year we’ve gone 100% and it feels so good. A couple of times I’ve found old products as I’ve been clearing out cupboards, so I’ve used these up and I can really feel the difference in the air. This year I have been using Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, which I dilute to create different cleaning products and I add essential oils too. It really does go so far!

Refilling hand soap, laundry liquid, washing-up liquid - several local shops have started offering refills for hand soap, laundry liquid, washing-up liquid and shampoo and condition (see below for more bathroom changes!). This means a huge reduction in plastic bottles and it’s cheaper too. And it also means that we support local businesses rather than always going to the supermarket for these things.

Vegan meals - I was a vegetarian for over 20 years but started eating fish and meat again a few years ago for a variety of reasons. However, I’m now coming back to my vegetarian routes and at home we are eating more and more vegan meals. I have been so impressed with my husband for committing to this. Definitely not something he would have done when we first met but he knows how important it is for the planet. Plus the more vegan meals that we cook, the more he find the ones he enjoys and the easier it gets.

Bathroom

Shampoo bars / Refill shampoo and conditioner - we persevered with shampoo bars for a few months earlier in the year but just couldn’t find one that really worked, so when we discovered the local shampoo and conditioner refilling shops, we returned to liquid versions but without the plastic waste. My hair was delighted!

Bamboo cotton buds - a simple change that we can all make and one that is now really easy to access is changing to bamboo cotton buds.

Reusable cotton pads - another simple change and one that’s really easy to fit into daily life. Use and pop into the wash, and reuse. I bought white ones, which was silly as they are all stained with black mascara, so when we need new ones I’ll definitely choose black. But it’s all good. They do the job and save a lot of waste!

Bars of soap - we swapped shower gel for bars of soap and have saved so many plastic bottles and lots of money too.

Bamboo toothbrushes and recyclable toothbrush heads - no more plastic toothbrushes here. We’re now using bamboo ones and for our electric toothbrushes we’re using recyclable heads.

Clothing

This year we have started to be more conscious about the clothes we buy. Stef and I have reduced the number of items we buy and have instead invested in items from environmentally conscious shops like Finisterre.

I have also been buying more second hand clothes and intend to do a lot more of that in 2020.

I have also organised the first of many clothes swaps at our children’s primary school. The first one was about costumes and coats, and was really popular with the parents and children, as well as the teachers. It feels like such a great way to not only look after our environment but also to help us all to save money and to bring us together as a community.

I hope this list of ideas inspires you. If we all make small changes, together we can make a big difference.