Blog

Welcome to my very first blog post!

I started this blog because over the last few years I’ve been making some changes to my life to try and be more conscious about the environment. From reducing the use of single use plastic in our home, to buying food and products from more ethical sources.

 

It’s taken a while to get to this point and there is still a long way to go. However, in sharing some of these changes and ideas on social media, I have noticed that others have been interested in what we’ve been doing, hence the blog.

 

The Attenborough effect

My love for nature has always been there, but I do feel like my passion has grown in the last few years, maybe because the whole ‘climate crisis’ thing has become very real and the effect of Blue Planet 2, and the legend that is Sir David Attenborough, has hit home for a lot of people.

 

Maybe also because it has become easier to make eco changes to our lifestyles. 10 years ago, I’m not sure how many of us knew just how devastating plastic pollution was going to be, yet now, alternatives are much easier to find. I think we all just got so use to this easy throw-away lifestyle, that we didn’t think about the effect on the environment. I know I didn’t.

 

Fast-paced lifestyles

It’s incredible to think about how life has changed since the 1950s, the decade that plastic was introduced. Technology has enabled us to advance to a point where we can spend less time doing chores like cooking, cleaning and food shopping, leaving more time for leisure activities and allowing everyone in the home to work.

 

The problem is, corporations make money from what we buy and they sell us products that fit with our busy lifestyles. Wipes being a prime example. I used wipes for everything; to remove make up, to clean the kitchen, sometimes as toilet paper, as a make-shift bath option at festivals (I actually use to hide my baby wipes at the bottom of my sleeping bag, as I heard rumours of people stealing wipes!!). We buy these products because it’s easy. We have busy lives, who has the time to do whatever it is we did before wipes?! Yet – we now know that wipes are not biodegradable and contain plastic.

 

Of course, there are many advantages to the progress society has made, however, as with any society before us, there are always going to be things that future generations can learn from. One of those things, I think, must be how we treat our home, our planet. This single-use society that we live in is a new thing, and now we know that it’s not sustainable and we need to learn from that.

 

What’s the point, things will never change

I hate it when people say this. I am not the apathetic kind of person and I will always stand up for what I believe in. I strongly believe that if you want to change something then you can. I may only be changing things in my home and my lifestyle, but that is one more than before.

 

That is one less person using 30 plus baby wipes a month, one less person buying 20 takeaway coffees a month in a disposable cup, one less person buying products with palm oil in (and that’s a lot of McVitie’s biscuits), one less person buying battery farmed meats in meals 5 times week, one less person using make-up that’s been tested on animals, and one more person trying to make a difference.

 

If I can write this blog and it can give someone else an idea about how they can switch out face wipes for reusable sustainable make-up wipes, or how to up-cycle their jeans into a new bag, or how to make their own body scrub from coffee grounds, then that is one more person making a difference – imagine if everyone changed just one thing a month?

 

We are all responsible for how we leave this planet for our children and our grandchildren.

 

Making the change

It doesn’t happen overnight!

To be honest, I don’t exactly remember what we started with or how it started. I feel like it was boycotting palm oil, but I think there were probably other things we were already doing. Anyway, that was a good few years ago now.

 

Since then it has been constant small changes, including:

• Investing in re-usable coffee and water cups
• Eating less meat
• Switching face wipes for reusable make-up wipes
• Changing shower gel, shampoo and conditioners to bars
• Switching to cruelty free
• Using Splosh cleaning products
• Making exfoliating body scrub from pre-used coffee grounds
• Always carrying a reusable shopping bag.

 

It’s not as scary as it seems!

It can be quite daunting knowing exactly where to start but don’t feel intimidated. Just pick one thing at a time to change and do it bit by bit. Some things are easy to change, others seem a bit harder. I found it difficult to move to shampoo and conditioner bars as I was so scared about my hair drying out, but I did it, and so far so good! I also thought it would take ages to make my own exfoliating body scrub, but it is one of the fastest things you can make, plus you get to drink coffee!

 

Making the time

I also felt like I couldn’t do some of the things I’ve done because I just wouldn’t have the time, as I work in London and commute for 2 hours every day. However, some of these things require very little time, some save time and the ones that do take a bit of time, I have actually found quite relaxing, like sewing.

 

Finally…

There is still a long way to go, but I will write articles on all of the things we’ve already done and once I have caught up with myself, I can start exploring what’s next. I am in no way an expert at this, but hope that it helps you and if you have your own suggestions please let me know, as one thing I have learnt is that none of my ideas are new, they come from everyone sharing their ideas.