Wednesday, 4 November 2020

Making our home sustainable

I mentioned in my last post that I have recently moved out of my family home, and moved in with a friend in Manchester. We both have a passion for being sustainable and so we have made a conscious effort to choose sustainable options and make our home a very green place. These are some small changes which make our home a much greener place which are super easy and simple to do. 

Meat consumption

I am a vegetarian and my housemate is vegan so we are a completely meat-free home! I also love to use dairy-free milks so there is only a little amount of dairy being consumed in the house too. Meat consumption has such a huge impact on the environment and so I think that being meat-free is probably the best thing we can do to stay sustainable. I would highly recommend watching Extinction on BBC iplayer if you want a simple understanding of the impact of meat on the environment. 

Composting and recycling

Manchester have a great recycling system in place and actually promote composting by providing compost bins and allowing compost to be put directly into the bins. Different areas have different rules on recycling and what they allow but it is definitely worth working out what is allowed and how you can recycle easily.  

Recycling and composting means that a much smaller amount of waste ends up in landfill which ultimately has a huge effect on the environment. We bought these storage bins from ikea to separate our cardboard and plastic and it makes it so easy to organise and empty. Now we just have to remember to put the bins out on the right days! 

Growing our own herbs

This is something we are planning on doing but haven't got round to yet! I have ordered some seeds so we are hoping they will grow even through the winter. Fresh herbs generally come wrapped in plastic and we love filling the house with plants so growing our own is something we would probably be doing anyway, we might as well do it with something we can cook with! Another tip is saving old cartons from non-dairy milks, cut these in half and they make the perfect starting planters! This saves money on buying plastic tubs and also leads to less waste in the long run. 

Shopping at zero-waste shops

There are so many zero-waste shops and I have been really surprised with how great they are and how close they are too. Zero-waste shops generally have a great selection of fruit and veg which doesn't come wrapped in plastic like the supermarkets, which already reduces the amount of plastic we are using and throwing away. 

A lot of zero-waste shops also have refill stations, where you can take glass jars or other containers and fill them with dry goods - things like pasta, rice, nuts and seeds which typically do come in plastic packaging. We have a big range of glass jars which are so useful and its so easy to do, I also think it looks really great in our kitchen. 

Beauty refills

I have also started using Faith in Nature products which are stocked in many zero-waste shops with refill options. I reviewed Faith in Nature hair products and absolutely loved them. I love that they have a huge range of scents and options and each time I go to refill the products they change, which means I get to try lots of different scents and it never gets boring. Other products you can refill are shower gels, laundry detergent and washing up liquid which is great to limit how many plastic bottles we use. I would really like to invest in a nice glass bottle to use for washing up liquid to replace the ugly plastic bottle we are currently using and refilling. 

We have also started using Who gives a crap toilet paper. They deliver toilet paper made from completely recycled materials to you directly, with no plastic and it comes wrapped in very fun recyclable paper which is so handy and looks great. This is so easy, especially considering toilet paper is often sold out in supermarkets at the moment, the box is huge and will definitely last a long time so its so handy and much better for the environment as it has no plastic and is made from recycled paper. 

Comment below if you have any other suggestions for sustainable living, I would love to hear your ideas! 

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  1. That's amazing that you're both so passionate about living a more sustainable lifestyle! I can imagine it's much easier living with someone with the same values as you. These are all amazing small changes! x

    1. Yeah its definitely easier when we are on the same page! Thanks so much! x

  2. I’m so jealous that your city has such a great waste system! We can only divide glass, paper and ‘rest’. No compost or plastic at all and it’s so annoying! Same with beauty refills by the way. The Netherlands have a long way to go in this regard.

    1. Thats really annoying! It definitely surprised me how good it was in Manchester - it makes it much easier to be sustainable! Hopefully more cities will follow their example.

  3. This is such a great post! I love the toilet paper I had no idea that this was even available I will definitely be checking them out

    1. I know its such a handy idea to have it sent to your home, and if you think about it the plastic on toilet roll is completely unnecessary! You also get loads which is perfect for the current UK lockdown aha!

  4. You're doing such an amazing job at living more sustainably. I've been trying to use more sustainable toiletries such as tooth tabs because that is where I notice I use a lot of plastic.

    1. Thats so great! I think starting with a beauty routine is a really great way to be more sustainable!