Three Ways I’m Saving Money And Being More Eco-Friendly

‘Eco-friendly’ is one of those buzz phrases which has really come into it’s own this year. From fast food shops banning plastic straws and moving to paper to most of us using a ‘bag for life’. Like most of us I’m trying to make small changes in my lifestyle to help have an impact on the environment for the better. There’s no real harm in trying and if we all did the same it’s got to help.

I’ve found a few of the changes I have made have also saved me money *hooray*. So I’m

Making your own eco-friendly cleaning products

Cleaning products can be so harmful for the environment and while a lot of brands have been making changes to their products to make them eco-friendly you can go one better and make your own. Not only do you know exactly what’s going into them, you can make them much safer. If you’ve got kids this is especially a winner. With a lot of the ingredients you need to make these products once you’ve bought them once they’ll last you a long time.

Making your own green cleaning products couldn’t be easier. You can make a simple all purpose cleaner with just water and white vinegar. Just add some of your favourite essential oils to make it smell even nicer. If you’re looking to get rid of grease then white vinegar and lemon juice works a charm.

Switching to re-usable cotton pads

I used to go through a ridiculous amount of cotton pads and I’d find myself re-purchasing them almost every month. So this was one of the first things I wanted to tackle. Not only was I throwing away so much waste which couldn’t be recycled. But I was spending so much money on cotton pads. I bought a pack of bamboo re-usable cotton pads on Amazon and I couldn’t be without them now.

I use 2 pads each morning and evening so I needed a pack which would accommodate this and not need washing too often. I have washed the set I have about 6 times now and each time they come out like brand new. One thing I love about them is how soft they are, and after washing they’re still soft. Not only am I not throwing hundreds of cotton pads into land fills, but now I’ve spent my initial £9.99 I don’t have to fork out on cotton pads all the time.

Eating veggie every so often

There are more vegetarians and vegans in the UK than ever before which is great. When we go shopping I always find that the cost of meat is pretty pricey, especially if you want the decent stuff. Luke is a carnivore so we tend to have a lot of meaty dinners, but where possible I have veggie lunches.

The University of Oxford did some research that said that if a person cut out meat and dairy products from their diet they could reduce their carbon footprint by up to 73%. While going fully vegan might not be a choice a lot of us want to make just by have a veggie day every so often can help by more eco-friendly. Plus the price of your food shop should go down. And if nothing else the veggie food should have a longer shelf life than meat and fish.

I do find as well meal subscription services are a great way of at least avoiding waste. Fareshare have estimated that the UK creates 1.9 million tonnes of food waste by the food industry every year which is a crazy number. Just helping to reduce this would help.

Have you made any changes to be more eco-friendly? Has it saved you money?