Is a question we get asked fairly frequently, so we thought it might be helpful to share six of our favourite easy tips to be more eco friendly within your home.
- One of the easiest things you can start out by doing is making sure to recycle whenever possible. Always try to buy products that have recycled, recyclable and eco friendly packaging, it’s helpful to try to remember what your local council can and cannot recycle before buying. Don’t be fooled by the ‘green dot’ symbol often shown on branded packaging (two interlocking green, or black and white, arrows). This logo does not mean that the product is recyclable! Check out this short clip from BBC Watchdog that highlights this issue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RuNS_Dc-Sg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR19uzI7gxcpmybedjqeRopAa_x-T6pu779QEjMyMKAy2PcPoAPgIICZWfo
- Another simple action is to be mindful of food waste. It’s is a huge problem in the UK, and you can do your bit to reduce it and save money in the process. A great way to create a more affordable eco friendly home is to meal plan! By planning your meals in advance, you can stop yourself from buying food you don’t need. You can also freeze any leftovers and eat them throughout the week, for an easy cost free instant-meal. Saving money, and the planet… win win!
- Cutting down on meat and dairy is another great way to be more sustainable at home. We know this might not be easy for some of us who have only ever had meat and dairy based meals. However, start small and build up, perhaps go vegetarian one day a week or test yourself by cooking a vegan meal once a month. smol things can make a big difference 😉
- Buy eco friendly cleaning products. Many cleaning products contain lots of unnecessary chemicals, packaging and animal products. Common animal derived ingredients to look out for are: caprylic acid, tallow, keratin, collagen, animal glycerol, animal lecithin, elastin, steric acid and oleyl alcohols. Unfortunately, it is also very common for cleaning products to be tested on animals. So when buying products, always make sure they are cruelty free by looking out for the leaping bunny logo. For a super easy cleaning swap, why not try smol. Eco friendly washing tablets, available in bio and non bio, and eco friendly dishwasher tablets both cruelty free, vegan and… you guessed it… delivered in eco friendly packaging for less than half of the price of the big brands. Tick, tick, tick, tick!!
- Another relatively simple way to be more sustainable at home is by trying to reduce your water use. It’s so easy to turn the tap off when not in use, and why not try installing a water butt in the garden? They’re pretty inexpensive, and they’ll fill up in no time!! Harvested rainwater can be used to water the garden in summer or clean the patio or garden furniture.
- Our final tip is a really, really easy one. Get a house plant! Plants such as bromeliads, dracaenas and spider plants work wonders to improve the air quality by absorbing nasty harmful chemicals. Make your house greener by adding green 😊
And there you have it, our six smol tips to building an affordable, sustainable home.
