It's difficult to pick up a newspaper or turn the radio on lately without hearing about the climate crisis and the urgent need for us all to adopt a more eco-conscious lifestyle, so I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling the pull to educate myself more on exactly what changes my family and I can make in order to do our part.
I have to be honest and admit that I've always found it quite difficult to keep up with this sort of thing. I seem to find myself confronted with contradictory advice fairly often and usually end up feeling a bit stressed and bewildered by how to be more eco-friendly in the most effective ways as a busy and time-poor mom of 3. But I wanted to take the time to find a few small changes we can make as a family without adding stress to family life, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to share them with you today.
1. Switch Household Cleaning and Hygiene Products
This is a fairly simple switch that we'll barely notice but which can make quite a difference. A lot of the big mainstream cleaning product brands use chemicals that can be harmful to the biodiversity of our planet. By making a simple switch to greener cleaning products which are made from fewer synthetic ingredients, we can help to reduce this. It's also worth considering making the switch from standard toilet paper and plastic toothbrushes to more sustainable options such as bamboo.
2. Switch Up Your Packaging
If you're focusing your efforts on rehoming your unwanted clothes (a great way to help combat the impact of fast fashion), then it's worth being aware of more eco-friendly packaging choices rather than resorting to the use of plastics such as bubble wrap - there are companies offering bespoke packaging which is more sustainable, helping to reduce the plastic packaging impact on landfill and the oceans.
3. Introduce Meat-Free Mondays
I recently discovered that meat and dairy production are responsible for majority of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. Although some insist that going vegan is the only option, this isn't always viable for all families particularly where children are involved - but introducing one or two meat-free days per week can be a good alternative as even a reduction in the demand for meat and dairy products could make a positive difference.
4. Unplug
Did you know that not only does leaving items on sleep mode increase your overall energy consumption, but it could also be costing you around £80 per year unnecessarily? Making the effort to unplug electrical items overnight or when going away from home could help you to dramatically reduce energy consumption as well as your electricity bills.
5. Shop Smarter
It's not secret that the clothing industry is a huge problem when it comes to pollution and waste, but there are ways to do our part in reducing this impact. One way we can do this is by trying to buy second hand whenever possible - although as a plus size woman I know from experience that this can be much easier said than done for some people, it's worth considering when buying childrens clothes in particular as these tend to be easier to come by in all sizes and also as children tend to get less wear out of clothes it makes more sense from a financial perspective too - you might also consider renting clothes too, as rental services are now available for both adult and childrens fashion.
I hope you find these suggestions helpful in your own efforts to become more eco-conscious, after all it's so important that we're all doing our best in whatever ways we can. I'd love to hear any of your town tips and suggestions for living a more eco-friendly family lifestyle in the comments below.
*Collaborative pist
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