My Sustainability Aims for 2020 Blogger Tag

With sustainability being a topic that has become a larger focus both in my life and on my blog, I’m always trying to think of new ways in which to spread the message that being more eco-friendly isn’t that hard at all, giving tips on how to achieve it and to make people realise that anybody can do their bit no matter how small… And what better way to do this than with a blogger tag post? The aim of a blogger tag post is that you join in with the community by answering a set of questions, tagging some likeminded bloggers and sharing the post on social media which is perfect when you are also trying to get an important point out there. So, let’s spread the sustainability idea and tips love.

RULES (add these to the end of your post for others to refer to)

Answer the sustainability-related questions in your own blog post and tag (link to their website) your nominated bloggers at the end of the post (I would say 5-10 nominations would be about right). When you are nominated by a blogger please tag that person at the start of your post to say thank you and to also give them a link back. You can also state why you want to join in with the tag, what you hope to get out of it and that you are looking forward to reading all the others and so on (I will leave this opener up to you). Feel free to add links to relevant blog posts you may have on your site and add photos too. There’s no strict timescale as to when you need to get your posts out but within 2 weeks would be nice in order to keep the ball rolling. Oh, and if you haven’t had a tag but would like to join in, please do so! The more the merrier. If you’d like me to see them all please do also tag me on Twitter @EmReed01.

THE POST (Please copy and paste the intro plus the questions)

The aim of this blogger tag that has been created by Emma Reed is to get as many people involved as possible by answering the questions below, tagging your favourite bloggers (who you think will love to join in!) and sharing some fantastic tips on how to reduce waste, reduce household plastic and how to be more sustainable in your everyday life. And it doesn’t have to be anything big. The smaller changes are often the easiest for everybody to do and if more and more people did these they would have a bigger impact. So, onto the questions…

Have you already been making sustainable changes to your lifestyle?

Yes, we have been making changes since around June 2018 when I made the swap to reusable nappies and wipes. It seemed to open my eyes to the damage we are doing to the planet and set me on a mission to try and find as many sustainable changes as I could to our lives. It has taken time but so far we have plenty that have worked well (a few that haven’t) and I am really happy with all we have achieved so far.

What swaps have worked for you?

Oh so many!! I have a full post on that here which includes soap, shampoo bars, reusable water bottles, cloth nappies and wipes, buying more secondhand, making my own surface cleaner, reusable tea bags and so much more.

What swaps have been the easiest?

Swapping back to the bars of soap rather than having liquid soap in a plastic dispenser has to be the easiest swap of them all and one that everybody could do too. I would also say reusable water bottles, beeswax wraps, making my own cleaners and cloth sanitary pads.

What swaps have been the hardest?

Finding a shampoo bar that suited my hair type was really tricky and was also pretty annoying as I hate having greasy or knotty hair. Luckily Lush are really accommodating and when the first bar didn’t work for me at all they did an exchange on this for another one! I quickly found that another worked really well but have so far gone through 4 conditioner bars as they seem to really vary in results and I haven’t been overly happy just yet. Some swaps may work straight away and others may take time. I have really persevered with this one because I wanted to make it work.

What is your favourite eco-friendly swap so far and why?

It has to be my cloth nappies, of course!! I love them. Not only have they saved god knows how many disposables going to landfill (where they will sit for around 500 years), they have saved me money, they have been kinder on my child’s skin plus they look super funky!

What are your sustainability aims for 2020?

This year I am attempting to go vegetarian which is probably the biggest lifestyle change to date. I am already around 2-3 weeks in doing this and it is going well so far.

I also want to get better at composting (I started last year but have no idea how it is going to turn out) and try and find a solution to our toothpaste waste, which I think will be difficult as oral care is so important and I do not want to cause issues, especially to the kid’s teeth. I am also taking part in the #1000hoursoutside to help us to enjoy nature again, to ditch the car when we can, to teach the children more about our environment and to reduce time inside which can lead to increased use in electricity, gas, heating etc.

Have you set up a plan in order to make these happen/achievable?

To go vegetarian I started by first cutting down on our meat intake. Going cold turkey (sorry…) wasn’t going to work for me as I am already a fussy eater and wanted to ensure that I had food that I would like and enjoy. I had been hunting the vegetarian sections in the supermarkets towards the end of last year and giving everything I could a good go, along with my husband too. We would then decide what was yummy and what really wasn’t. I haven’t yet found a decent burger. Once I felt comfortable and started to have an aversion to meat I knew it was time to make the change. It had to be right in my mind otherwise it wouldn’t have worked. I need to continue to find new recipes, new combinations of foods and trying new produce and products to increase the variation in my diet so this will be a slow process but also an interesting one.

What are your top tips for anybody who is just starting to make eco-friendly changes?

Start small and work your way through swaps which you think are completely doable for you and your family. There is no point in going cloth fulltime, for example, feeling overwhelmed, hating it and then quitting. Start part-time, find a routine, find a brand you like and see if it works for you. You cannot jump in feet first with all eco-swaps. Bars of soap are easy whereas changing your diet isn’t. We are all different and what works for one person isn’t going to work for another. You do what you can and feel proud that you are doing your bit for our environment.

I hope that some of my swaps and ideas for 2020 have inspired you to make a few too. I’d love for you all to share yours with me by joining in with this blogger tag.

I am tagging my wonderful blogger friends:

Eva- Captain Bobcat

Nina- Spencers Arc

Kate- Less Refined Mind

Kayleigh- Candyfloss and Dreams

Louise- Pink Pear Bear

Rowan- Funning Up My Life

Joanne- Joanne Dewberry