More and more people are looking to make a shift towards a more sustainable way of life. And that's a good thing. Really good, in fact. Because it doesn't take much looking to find ways in which the world is struggling and how more now than ever it needs our help to keep turning.  

We're all constantly reminded about the environment, about the weather and global warming. We're told the polar bears are in danger of losing their ice because the earth's temperature is slowly rising, along with the temperature of our oceans and the sea. This in turn doesn't do any good for coral reefs, sea life in general and causes erratic weather patterns that we’re all starting to notice. Along with the general state of affairs across the world of politics – which this is not the time, nor place to discuss – it makes it quite hard to watch any of the news channels on TV. Which is why I don’t anymore. 

It’s my guess though, that most people who’re reading this blog will be the sort of people who want to make a difference. Who want to see change and be part of the solution, and not the problem. But how? With all the information out there, of all the paths we might take to live more sustainably, how do we do it? How do I do it?

What people as a whole need to learn when it comes to living sustainably and when figuring out how to work with the world rather than against it, is actually very simple. It’s not all about making fresh sourdough every morning and drinking the rainwater collected in your gutters (gross...). The answer is given as a clue in the name... living sustainably.  

What it means to live sustainably

"Sustainably"

adverb 

• in a way that can be maintained at a certain rate or level. 

Sustainably means to be able to make a choice and then stick with it over the long term. The important thing to remember here is the ‘choice’ and the ‘long term’ bit. That’s because many choices we make are easy to implement and live with for a short space of time but over the long term would become hard work, or even impossible. Take dieting for a wedding or your summer holiday, for example. It’s easy to force yourself to eat less calories in the lead up to an important event that you might want to look your best for. The reason is because there’s a defined end to the challenge. Now, tell yourself you must keep that up indefinitely and it would be an almost impossible task. In other words, it’s not sustainable. 


The answer then, is clear. Rather than huge changes that won't last, the key is to make small changes that you know you can keep up for a long period of time, or indefinitely. There’s no need to throw all your clothes away, run into the garden and make a jumper and trousers from leaves and twigs. Not only because it’d be quite scratchy and you’d get lots of funny looks, but because it wouldn’t be sustainable.

Don’t get me wrong, large gestures of commitment to environmental work are super important and make a huge difference, but these ways of ‘doing your bit’ are often made by people who dedicate their lives to these sorts of causes and are far beyond the abilities of most of us. We all have commitments whether they’re to our jobs, our families and our loved ones or to other factors beyond our control like where we live in the world or our health and financial situations. The key then, is to make small changes that when made collectively as a population, all add up.

Enough of the chit chat... What can I do right now?

Here's a few things that you can do to try and make some small movements in the direction of living more sustainably:


Food – Grow your own or buy local. Fresher is always better. If you need to keep something for a long time, try prepping it for the freezer. Organic is great but isn’t always necessary (if you can grow your own) and here’s why. The word ‘Organic’ is a protected term in the UK and can only be used by producers if they’ve grown their produce in accordance with rules as laid out by one of the organic control bodies such as the ‘Soil Association’ or the ‘Organic Food Federation’. It doesn’t mean that the food hasn’t travelled hundreds or even thousands of miles by truck, boat or plane to get to your plate. You could buy a packet of tomato seeds for what it costs you for a single punnet in Asda or Tesco – try ‘Alicante’ for a cordon variety or ‘Tumbling Tom’ for some sweet, juicy hanging basket type tomatoes. You could grow them in some standard multi-purpose compost (peat free, if you can) or a tomato grow bag and the resulting fruit would be tastier than any tomato you’ve had from anywhere, ever. It might not be certified ‘organic’ by the food police, but you can't get fresher, healthier or better for the environment than food straight off the vine. 

Reduce plastic waste – We all know plastic is bad. But lots of people don’t take time just to think about how bad plastic really is for the planet. Not only does it look quite literally rubbish when we find it in places where it’s not supposed to be, but it’s equally damaging to the environment and the local communities when it finds its final resting place at landfill. In the UK, lots of our plastics – somewhere between 40-50% are burnt for energy recovery, around 25% sent to landfill, only approximately 12% is sent for recycling and much of the rest is sent abroad. It’s obvious then that plastic waste is good for no one. 

Here are 5 easy tips to reduce your plastic waste (plus a bonus) that almost anyone can incorporate into their everyday life and start to reduce their use of single-use plastics: 

1. When the person behind the till asks if you’d like a carrier bag, say no - You can manage this nearly every time if you simply remember to take a bag with you to the shop. Put one in your back pocket or in the door pocket of your car so you don’t forget it. Or, if you’re only grabbing a couple of items, just carry them! 
   
   
   
2. Get yourself a reusable water bottle - Single-use plastic bottles can take 400 years or more to decompose so these aren’t any good, even for our grandchildren’s grandchildren. They’ll still be there. Switch to a reusable water bottle instead.  
   
   
   
3. If you chew gum, stop - Believe it or not, gum contains one of the key ingredients that’s used to make plastic based products and adhesives.... gross.
   
   
   
4. Be vigilant when shopping - Many plastics, when it comes to food packaging, are single use. Next time you’re shopping, just try checking the labels on the food that you’re buying and if you can, choose the option that offers a fully recyclable wrapper, or better still, when it comes to fruit and veg, buy singularly to get rid of the wrapper all together. 
   
   
   
5. Recycle, reuse and repurpose – Ok, so this one’s not really a tip on how to reduce single-use plastics per se, but a recycled or reused plastic is better than a discarded one! Also, if you do come across waste plastics, have a think about how you can stop them ending up in landfill or the ocean. For example, cut empty water bottles in half and use the bottom as a plant pot and the top to cover small seedlings as they grow.  

The Bonus Round (as promised) - Get rid of glitter. Glitter is really bad for the environment. It can make what was once a recyclable card into a non-recyclable card. It blows around in the wind and inevitably ends up in our waterways and rivers and causes an ecological nightmare. It’s a microplastic we can do without. If you must use glitter (and I’ll admit that I'm partial to a little sparkle now and then) use a bio-degradable, plant-based glitter such as a cellulose glitter. 

Reuse over re-buy

We're a big believer that when you can, you should plan to buy once and hang onto whatever it is for as long as you can. In the long run, it’s better for your wallet and for the environment. You will have heard the “buy cheap, buy twice” saying, I’m sure.  

In our personal lives, we’ve learned to love hand-me-downs, pre-loved and upcycled things. Fast fashion is all good for nobody and making use of something more than once is a more environmentally friendly way to live.  

If you look closely, you’ll often find that the oldest things you’ll see are the things that were well designed, made use of good materials and weren’t based on fast fashion or being produced to extract maximum profit. The things that last – an old oak writing desk or a handcrafted heirloom doll were designed with the purpose of being enduring. It’s this idea of making something that’s designed not to go out of fashion which is so appealing to us and makes us happy in doing what we do.