Life: 10 Sustainable Changes I’ve made
Since having Florence I have become far more conscious about the environment, sustainability and how we can make small (or big) changes to our lifestyle to help. I love how sustainability has become so much more prominent and that brands are being more conscious, as well as there being so many more sustainable options to choose from. Here are 10 sustainable changes that I’ve made over the past year or so in the hope that it may give you some inspiration.
1. Cutting out meat – from the reading I’ve done, this is a change that has one of the biggest impacts on the environment – if everyone did meat free Mondays it would make a huge difference. In January I decided to stop eating meat for the month, and 6 months later I am still doing it. I still eat fish but can’t say I’m missing meat.
2. Cheeky wipes – I ordered the all in one kit from Cheeky Wipes when Florence was around 15 months old and wish I’d done it earlier. I’m planning to write a whole post about them but essentially they are reusable wipes which I use to clean her bum! They work so much better than normal wipes (especially on poo) too. You can buy Cheeky Wipes here and get 15% off when you spend over £40 with this referral link*. On a similar vein, when we started weaning I cut up lots of old t-shirts into small squares which I simply wet and then use to clean Florence’s face before adding to the wash. This saves on using wipes (so is also cheaper) and is far more gentle on her skin.
3. Using an Ecoegg Laundry Egg – my lovely fellow Lincoln blogger friend Caitylis convinced me to buy this after saying how good it is. My Mum has also used one for a long time. It is a replacement for laundry detergent and fabric conditioner which uses two types of natural mineral pellets encased in a refillable egg. I don’t find it is as effective on stains so I sometimes alternate using this with a detergent but overall am impressed! You can buy one here and I’ve also seen them in Aldi recently.
4. Period pants – something I didn’t think I’d talk about on the internet but here we are! I’ve made the switch to the Modibodi period pants* and love them. They work so well, are so comfortable and will save me a lot of money in the long run.
5. Reusable make up pads and flannels – when I cleanse my face I massage in a cleanser and then use a hot flannel to get all of my makeup off and simply throw it in the wash – I use flannels to remove eye makeup too as my cleanser doesn’t agitate them at all. My Mum made me some reusable makeup pads (you can see how she made them here) and I have started using these for applying toner which works well.
8. Buying more intentional gifts – we have changed our approach to presents in our family a little. We like to buy each other gifts that they really want or need, or more of an experience present. For my birthday I had wanted the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser* for ages and so asked for this – my family clubbed together and it was great to just receive one gift that I really wanted.
9. Using the library – I used to love visiting the library when I was younger and would spend ages just browsing books but somehow forgot about it when the ease of Amazon and my Kindle came into my life. A few months ago I joined the library again and I love it. I don’t go and browse (Florence is a bit of a liability in the library!), but will instead reserve the books that are on my GoodReads list and then just go and collect them when they arrive in. It’s obviously closed at the moment and I’m really missing it, and have spent a lot more money on books!
10. Beeswax food wraps and reusable baking tray liners – my Mum made some Beeswax food wraps* for me and they’re great! A great alternative to using cling film and they look a lot prettier. I’ve also been using reusable baking tray liners* to save on buying greaseproof paper so much.
I hope you found this list useful – do let me know what sustainable swaps you have made as I love getting ideas!
*This post includes affiliate and referral links
