Sustainability in the Home A to Z – A Guide to Being More Eco-Friendly

I initially wrote this blog back in 2019 and decided it was time to dig it out and revamp it for 2022. I think it has now gone from “we all need to do our bit” to “we have to do our bit”.

I have become increasingly alarmed at the weather patterns and effects climate change is having on our world, but can sometimes find knowing where to start a little overwhelming.

How to Be More Sustainable at Home

However, as the saying goes, every little helps! I have always been a keen recycler and, upcycler and try to buy second-hand where I can. I’m not really one for fast fashion, I might occasionally buy a new dress for a night out, but the majority of clothes I have in my wardrobe are many years old.

I know I need to be better and buy sustainable clothing like linen or organic dresses and buy second-hand or vintage clothing where possible. 

The more I read about the damage we are doing to our planet, the more I want to help so I thought I’d put together a list of simple changes we can all make, including lots of eco-friendly products for the home. 

A – Awareness

It all starts with awareness. You have to be living on the moon to not know that we are facing a climate crisis at the moment.

I think the best quote I’ve heard recently is “We can’t do everything, but we all can do something!” and sustainability in the home is a good start.

The thing is, sustainability in the home can be totally overwhelming so hopefully, this little list will help you on your way and if you need any more inspiration, the book 50 Ways to Help the Planet is a great start.

B – Bottle

Buy a reusable water bottle and use it! Make it a habit to always have it on you, just like your wallet or keys. There is an increasing amount of cafes, restaurants, and shops that will now let you refill your bottle for free when you are out and about so you are never caught short.

If you’re looking to purchase more eco-friendly products, this is a good place to start. 

C – Cleaning Products

Over the last few years, I’ve become quite concerned about the rise in bulk buying of cleaning products for the home which are not eco-friendly products or sustainable (never mind the waste when it comes to plastic!).

The biggest culprit has to be cleaning wipes which (shock horror) people flush down the toilet and can be devastating for our environment. Choose eco-friendly products like Raindrop Cleaning products with plastic-free refillables or the Ecover products.

If you still have to use wipes, go for the Ecover multi-action wipes as these are completely biodegradable and contain no toxic chemicals. You could even go one better and make your own cleaning products!

Bicarbonate of Soda, White vinegar, and baking soda are all amazing natural substances that will get rid of any stubborn dirt and help towards sustainability in the home.

D – DIY for Sustainability

One of my favorite phrases (and probably because I’m a stubborn so-and-so) is, do it yourself! Don’t throw out that jacket because it’s got a hole in the armpit, sew it! (Or get your mum to do it as I did!) Hair dryer broken? Perhaps it’s just the fuse or plug.

There are plenty of tutorials out there these days to fix small electronic items. If you’re like me though, your hair dryer is probably the only thing that still exists from your teenage years. My hair dryer is indestructible!

E – Energy Efficiency

When choosing appliances, like your washing machine or fridge freezer, make sure you look at the energy rating before purchasing to find out its sustainability. Energy-efficient and eco-friendly products use less power and water and they don’t necessarily have to be the most expensive appliance on the market!

Think of the money you will save by using a highly efficient machine whilst doing your bit for the environment. An A-rated machine is better than a D and there are now A+++ appliances on the market.

With the energy cost crisis only getting worse in the UK, choosing energy-efficient white goods can really help drive down your energy bills.

F – Furniture

Sustainability in the home all starts with buying furniture that is built to last. A bit like Fast Fashion, we have become a nation that also buys into Fast Furniture, a flat pack society where the furniture is cheap but doesn’t last.

I have definitely been guilty of this in the past. I always had a look around for the cheapest product to satisfy my needs, but it was always a flat-pack MDF mess and would only last a year or two and I knew I had to change my habits to increase my sustainability in the home!

When we bought our first home, we didn’t have a lot of money to buy furniture so a lot of it came from IKEA. Instead of getting rid of our old chest of drawers and bookcases, I upcycled them to fit into our new home.

I now try and make sure I buy furniture that has been built from sustainable materials like reclaimed wood, bamboo, rattan, marble, and wood that has the FSC certification.

G – Green Energy Supplier

Green energy is generated from completely renewable resources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power.

As of 2020, 41% of the National Grid electricity has come from renewable sources. and it’s now even easier to change tariffs to a company that provides 100% electricity from renewable sources. These include Ecotricity, Octopus and Bulb

Although, unfortunately, going with a green energy supplier will not keep your energy bill down. All energy is “pooled” by the National Grid and when there is a huge demand for energy, the National Grid tops up the energy deficit with gas.

However, if more people switch to green energy suppliers, the demand increases. This in turn provides more investment into renewable sources and can help the UK on its path to becoming 100% fossil fuel free. 

Of course, you could generate your own green energy by installing solar panels or small wind turbines in your garden! Grants may be available to help you do this, the Energy Saving Trust is a great place to start.

H – Heating

Using energy to heat our homes plays a huge part in increasing our carbon footprint on the world by increasing greenhouse gases. Sustainability in the home starts by turning down our thermostats and radiators and making sure radiators are turned off in rooms that are not used very often or at all.

Smart thermostats are now widely available which means we can now turn the heating system off remotely when we’re not going to be home and can also detect the amount of heat that is required in each room.

If you don’t want a smart thermostat, go put that big thick jumper on, layer up, and invest in some cozy winter blankets for when the colder winter evenings return.

I – Insulate

The best way to keep your home warm throughout winter is to invest in insulation and keep the draughts to a minimum. It is estimated that 25% of heat is lost through the roof, so think about getting your loft insulated and draught-proof your windows, doors, and floors.

You could also consider insulating wall cavities and using thermal curtains to reduce the heat that is lost through the windows. You can draft-proof your doors by making sure there is a letterbox flap or brush and getting a hinged flap draught excluder for the bottom of your doors. You could even purchase a draught snake!

J – Jars

Sustainability in the home means; don’t throw things away! You can start by not throwing away useful items like glass jars. They can be used to take your food to work for lunch, store crafty items like buttons or ribbons, and even used for planting a herb garden!

K – Kettle

Choose an electric kettle over a gas-fired one as this is much more energy efficient. Don’t overfill the kettle either, use just enough water needed.

According to the UK Tea Council we drink 165m cups of tea and 70m cups of coffee each day, but over half of us overfill the kettle. This leads to extraordinary amounts of wasted energy and decreases our sustainability in the home.

L – Lighting

Swap all your light bulbs for LED lighting. These are so much better in terms of energy efficiency; they use 85% less energy than traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs and can last up to 20 times longer. Need I say more?

M – Milk

Are the old ways the best way? Growing up, getting our milk in a plastic bottle from the supermarket was unheard of, having milk delivered to our front door every week was just a way of life.

Back in 1975, 94% of UK milk was delivered, but that has now decreased to just 3%! We switched back to having our milk delivered with Milk & More and have not looked back since. It is more expensive but, the more people sign up, the cheaper it becomes!

It’s a great start to cutting back on plastic and improving our sustainability in the home.

N – Natural Beeswax Wraps

Ditch the cling film and aluminum foil and invest in some natural beeswax wraps. They are reusable and great for sustainability. These eco-friendly products are a fantastic alternative to cutting out plastic and waste.

You can use them to cover a bowl to put in the fridge, wrap up leftover ingredients, or even pack up a picnic and enjoy it outdoors. You can also get them in lots of different fabrics to brighten up your fridge!

O – Outdoor Clothesline

That’s right, ditch the huge energy-consuming tumble dryer and get the washing outside. We got rid of ours 3 years ago and have never looked back. It can be challenging at times with a household of four people (and a daughter who likes to wear her dinner on her school uniform), but we have learned to adapt.

Now, I know this is a problem in the colder months in Britain, but there are solutions. We have an awning built on the side of our house with washing lines hanging under it so that when it rains, the washing stays dry.

You can also buy rotary line hoods so you can hang your clothes out without the fear of the rain! Clothes do not need to be washed as much as you think they should be.

This is a whole other subject on sustainability in the home, but reducing the number of times you wash your clothes will actually prolong them and stop you from having a house full of drying washing. 

P – Paint

Choose eco-friendly paint. Many conventional paints contain VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds which can include formaldehyde or heavy metals. Not only are they bad for your health, but the processes involved in manufacturing the paint often use non-sustainable resources and can create huge amounts of toxic waste.

Some of the best eco-friendly products include Little Greene, Earthborn Paints, and my current favorite – Lick!

Q – Quit Fast fashion

I’ll admit, this was an easy one for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like to look good, but I’ve never really been all too bothered about fashion. I’m always on the hunt for new clothes in charity shops and the jeans I am currently wearing I’ve had for around 10 years.

I can’t remember the last time I purposely went into town to “shop” and will only really buy something if I desperately need it or I’ve got an event to go to.

Apparently, £140 million worth of clothing is sent to landfill every year in the UK and the fashion world’s textile production produces global emissions equivalent to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 every year. This is an eye-watering amount and the industry needs a drastic overhaul. Sustainability in the home also relates to the High Street!

R – Reuse, Reclaim and Recycle

If I have unwanted pieces of electrical items or furniture, I take them to a charity shop. If I want a new piece of furniture for the house, I always look at what I already have and see if I can upcycle the furniture or I go to a charity shop and buy second-hand.

I love bringing old bits of furniture back to life by painting, wallpapering, and adding new accessories. Biophilic design has seen a surge in popularity in recent years due to its sustainable practices, read my blog post on biophilic design here.

S – Showerheads

Installing low-flow shower heads in your bathroom will reduce the amount of water you use during your normal shower. In turn, this will also reduce the amount of energy you use to heat the water and get you closer to being an eco-friendly home.

T – Tumble Dryer

I know how hard it is when you’re a family of 3 or more but ditch the tumble dryer! It is estimated that the tumble dryer emits more than a ton of carbon dioxide every year and can also be extremely damaging to your clothes.

Make a conscious decision to wear your clothes more than once, this cuts down on the amount of washing you do and will actually help your clothes last longer.

U – Use

Make it your mission to use and use again! Buy a reusable coffee cup and take it with you wherever you go. If you forget, insist (where possible) that the coffee shop uses cups and mugs and not disposable coffee cups.

Purchase metal straws that you can put in your bag for the kids, therefore reducing the need for plastic straws. If you know you are going somewhere that will serve you plastic cutlery (I find theme parks are notorious for this!), take your own cutlery. These are all small steps in the war on plastic.

V – Vegetables

Eat more vegetables! Trying to cut down on meat eating and dairy is probably THE most important thing you can do to help the environment. Our insatiable appetite for beef and meat has been a huge contributor to large-scale deforestation and contributes enormously to carbon emissions.

Either adopt a flexitarian diet or replace meat with meat-free substitutes. If you can’t give up your weekly steak and chips, just try and swap one meal that contains meat for a vegetarian version once a week.

W – Waste

Food waste is also a huge problem when it comes to climate change. It takes an enormous amount of energy to produce the food and make the plastic packaging that is needed to transport the food around the world.

We apparently waste about a third of all food produced for human consumption. Would you believe me if I told you 100 million pints of milk are tipped down British sinks every year? Stop and think before you bin that out-of-date cabbage or courgette.

Turn it into soup or stews (Nadia Hussain has a fab book out – Time To Eat – with great recipes for leftover food). Turn leftover food into compost which in turn can be used to improve your soil (the RHS has some great tips here).

We tend to freeze a lot of our food that is about to go out of date. I always freeze any leftover bread which in turn I use to make breadcrumbs. When bulk buying meat, separate the portions and freeze what you don’t need.

Probably the best way to cut down on your food waste is not to buy too much food in the first place, plan your meals ahead, and only buy what you need. Don’t be sucked in by supermarket 2-for-1 offers and try to stick to a food shopping list when in the shop to help live in a more eco-friendly home.

X – Xeriscape

I know, Xeri- what? I’ve just heard this word for the first time as well. It means to landscape or choose plants that eliminate the need for extra water from irrigation.

Plant trees that provide shade which helps protect your plants in the garden. Drought-tolerant native species that will not need extra watering to survive are also a good investment for your garden.

Y – You!

It starts with you making small changes to how you live your life and living in an eco-friendly home. Whether that be ditching the tumble dryer, steak supper, or weekly clothes shop. As I said at the beginning, we can’t do everything, but we can all do something.

Z – Zero to landfill

And last, but not least, if you take on board all the tips I’ve written about in this blog post, hopefully, you will reduce what you send to landfill. Obviously, the ultimate goal is to send zero to landfill, but every little helps!

Two-thirds of landfill waste is biodegradable, but unfortunately, this results in methane gases being released into the atmosphere. Methane is a toxic greenhouse gas and traps up to 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide.

Not to mention the hazardous impact it has on the environment around it and the leftover third of items that do not biodegrade!

We can all make small changes to our lives to try and halt the speed at which the climate is changing. The planet is already suffering hugely because of our insatiable appetite for consumerism.

This is only a small list of what we can do to help sustainability in the home.

There are also other huge impacts on our environment like travel, holidays, and deforestation and the only way we can change this is by putting pressure on the government and taking action in our community.

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