Saving the Planet: 50+ Things You Can Do Today To Waste Less

I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about how the way I live affects the planet and what I can do to try and reduce the effect I’m having on the planet by producing less waste and becoming more sustainable. I watched Blue Planet 2 with David Attenborough avidly last winter along with millions of other people and I became really concerned about the plastic waste in the ocean and also all the other ways we are destroying our planet.

I have decided that I want to start taking some steps towards becoming more ethical, sustainable and zero waste to help the planet but also because some of these are actually better for my own health and wellness. I thought I’d figure out all the things that I’m already doing and all the things I want to start implementing in the near future when I have run out of what I use at the moment or when I feel ready to take the next step.

Things I already do:

1. Refuse plastic straws
2. Use a bamboo travel mug
3. Tote bags (because these are so aesthetically pleasing anyway)
4. Reusable water bottle
5. Handkerchiefs
6. Saying no to free promotional items
7. Buying Secondhand
8. Donate unwanted goods to charity
9. Wash clothes when properly dirty and in a full load
10. No dishwater and no tumble dryer
11. Open a window if I’m too hot
12. Put on more clothes if I’m too cold
13. Buy electricity and gas from a company that uses 100% renewable electricity and some renewable gas (my parents recently moved to Bulb)
14. Avoid palm oil in everything I buy
15. Bar of soap for washing hands and in the shower
16. Mooncup menstrual cup for my period
17. LED / low energy lightbulbs
18. Turn off the water when brushing my teeth
19. Only buy thoughtfully not impulsively
20. Have lots of plants to clean the air and because they look lovely and green
21. Borrow before buying
22. Have meat-free days
23. Unplug/turn off lights and electronics when not in use
24. Buy quality stuff to last from sustainable and ethical brands like clothing
25. Packed lunch or eating in rather than takeout
26. Paperless bills and letters
27. Plastic-free q tips

Things I'm planning to do soon:

1. Bamboo toothbrush *
2. Solid deodorant bar *
3. Find minimally packaged or unpackaged food
4. Toothpaste tablets *
5. DIY all-purpose cleaning spray
6. Greywater system in my house
7. Have vegan days * am now vegetarian
8. Shampoo bar *
9. No more kitchen roll or tissues *
10. Bucket in the shower to water plants / for toilet
11. Don’t wrap presents or wrap them in old paper
12. Metal safety razor with replaceable razors for shaving *
13. Go wheatless for a day a week (to reduce intensive grain farming)
14. Compostable scrub/brush instead of a sponge
15. Loose leaf tea, not tea bags *
16. No receipt or have them emailed to me *
17. Converting to an ethical or sustainable mobile provider
18. Converting to an ethical or green bank for current accounts and savings accounts.
• Triodos Bank, Starling Bank, Ecology Building Society

I have also been researching so much about alternative products to buy or ways to make my own products and am coming up with loads of interesting information from different bloggers and advice sites. Some of my favourites have included Trash for Tossers, Blue Ollis, The Wasted Blog, Lush, Going Zero Waste, Paris to Go.

* everything with a star against it are things that I now do, mid 2019