One thing I want to do this year is be a little better on the environment as well as save myself some money in the process. These 2 things can definitely go hand in hand so is beneficial to both me and the environment. When I look back to last year and take a look around the house I realise just how wasteful I can be and how simple habits can change this for the better. So here is what I want to do...
Recycle more
I actually started this towards last year but seem to have stopped again. It isn't hard and it is just a routine I need to slip back into. Over 50% of the things we use in our house could easily be recycled but I either can't be bothered reading the product to make sure it can be recycled or I don't want things cluttering up the sideboard (where we keep it piling up until instead of just taking it straight outside). So to combat this I am going to look into getting a small storage box / bin where we can keep it in the kitchen and put everything that can be recycled in there, once the box is full we just pick it up and take it to the recycle bin ... nice and easy for us and has a better impact on the environment.
Take a water bottle out with me
The amount of plastic bottles I pick up are ridiculous, every time I go to the football I get a bottle of water, if I am out shopping I will buy a bottle and once I have finished the drink I will either just throw the bottle away or it will go home with me be reused a few times and then thrown. I need to get back into the habit of taking my water bottle out with me, I have so many at home there really is no excuse for buying a bottle every time I go out.
Take a coffee cup out with me
Similarly to taking a water bottle out with me, if I fancy a coffee I should take a coffee cup with me instead of having the possibility of getting a takeaway cup. If I was getting a coffee from the coffee shop I could just ask them to put it in my cup instead of a takeaway one. Not only does taking my own cup help the environment but it will also help my bank account. I can just make a quick coffee or Nespresso before I head out and save me paying to get one whilst out as some places are ridiculously expensive.
Take my own bags out when shopping
This is something we do every week when we go do our food shop but I want to implement this for when I go shopping all the time. Do I need to buy bags from each store I head to? Nope not when we have a basket full of reusable tote bags at the bottom of the stairs. If I have them already I may as well start using them. Plus it isn't like they would be a bother to take out. I could just pop them in my back pack and grab them when needed.
Go to sustainable stores and buy plastic free
I didn't realise that in the Piece Hall in Halifax are 2 great stores where I can pick up healthier food and plastic free items. In the next few months hopefully I will be visiting these stores to see what they do and if we can make any changes to our lifestyle by visiting them. Would you like to see posts about these stores on the blog?
Use metals straws
We purchased some metal straws but I am actually still to use them, currently I have a stash of plastic straws I keep in Liam's car for when we go to McDonalds as I hate those paper straws, but once they are gone I will be using my metal straws every chance I get. Plus they came in a nice little carry bag so I can always keep these in my back pack too for when I am out and about.
Eat food before it goes off
We are terrible at buying too much food. There is just the 2 of us in the house but majority of the time we will go overboard and items have to be thrown away or we forget that we have had specific items in the house. The big thing at the moment that I always forget about is fruit, we buy so much and it ends up going off. Next time I buy those grapes I am determined to eat the lot, as at the moment I am literally throwing my money in the bin.
So there you have it those are the changes I am hoping to make over the course of the year to be better to the environment as well as my bank, I want to see those savings accounts going up this year not down.
See you soon
Lucy
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