How to live more eco-consciously

Ever since a school trip to the recycling centre in primary school, I have always been very eco-conscious, but up until recently, I had only ever considered recycling as something I could do to help save the planet in my own little way.

Then I met Steven, and the boy is even more green than I am. He is the one asking where the recycling bin is at a party, and I love him for it. We have gradually been making a few changing to help ourselves live more sustainably over the past few years and I wanted to share them here with you. Not everyone can do everything and no one can live a perfect life, but some of these changes are small and easy but can make a big difference.

Check yo’ cleaning supplies

After a Pinterest sesh, Steven wanted to make his own cleaning products from vinegar, and I won’t lie, they stank. I think if you add essential oils they would be better, but I couldn’t get over the stench of vinegar. I found the Method brand and although they are a little pricier than we were used to, we decided to make the switch. We are lucky to be able to afford these cleaning products, and it’s a small price to pay to know we are using eco-friendly, and cruelty free products. Also, they are great! I love that the washing up liquid comes in a pump bottle for easy washing up (also, you can get massive refills from Amazon and use the same plastic bottle for double green points!), and the laundry detergent is really good too. We also have the bathroom spray (it smells minty and I love it!) as well as an all-purpose anti-bacterial spray. They seem to last forever too. We also use eCover for some products if Method doesn’t have them, or if one is on offer and that’s great too.

Look how cute the packaging is!

Ditch the bags

We try and make a conscious effort not to use carried bags if possible – although we try not to beat ourselves up too much if we are caught short. When we know we’re going shopping we will either take our old carriers, or some tote bags. When we do an Ocado online shop, we give them back the bags we have in our drawer as they recycle them (and you get some pennies back too!). When picking up things like loose bananas in the supermarket, after you weigh them, just put the sticker on the bananas themselves rather than packing them in a pointless little plastic bag.

Eat less meat

I’m not going to tell you to become a vegetarian, but if you are able, cutting out meat even just one day a week can make a huge difference to the planet. The amount of land that we use to feed the animals that we bread for eating only is colossal and the meat industry creates a whole load of greenhouse gasses (watch Cowspiracy if you want more information on this!). In fact, Steven’s main reason for going veggie is the impact that eating meat has on the environment. Try having meat-free Mondays every week – you don’t have to go full-on Quorn meals, there are so many pizza and pasta dishes that don’t require meat.

Switch energy providers

This is the change I was most excited about this year as it saved us money as well as being green! We moved to Bulb for our gas and electricity this year as they offer fully renewable electricity and 10% renewable gas! Our bills are way lower and the company are so chill – we’ve not had any problems at all! I was worried that a switching would be a drama, but actually, it wasn’t at all, it took about 5 minutes and we did it all online. They offer just one tariff and it’s lower than nPower, EDF, British Gas etc. We have referral link which gets both you and us £50 which is pretty cool – that’s not the reason I’ve included them here, but it does help!

So these are just a few of the things we do to be a little more green. There are some more obvious  things such as using reusable water bottles and recycling, but these ideas should help boost your eco-friendliness this year!

Let me know in the comments what you do to be greener!