I'm back to help you get swapping!

2018 was a big year for all of us waking up to the realisation that many items we consume and just throw ‘away’ are actually now coming back to haunt us. No one can watch programmes about the destruction of animal habitats by our rubbish and not feel moved in some way.

Although many people now understand the extent of the problem, real action remains slow. After writing my first set of blog posts, I received an overwhelming number of comments from friends telling me the little things they had now changed to begin to live a life with less plastic. I was really pleased the blog had had this effect, as this was the main reason for writing in the first place! My belief throughout has been:

one individual can make a difference

Small changes can be made easily and in time the big ones will follow. All it takes is for those first steps to be taken.

don’t NOT do something because you can’t do everything

I am sure most of you have now bought a refillable water bottle and take your reusable bags to the supermarket. Maybe you request ‘no straw please’ or use your refillable coffee mug each morning. These are great first steps that practically anyone can do. But, sadly, it can’t stop here.

The posts over the next few days will highlight some of the other swaps you could make to decrease the amount your household is putting into landfill or recycling. These swaps will mostly focus on plastic but will also include some that generally just cut down on the amount of waste you produce.

There is ABSOLUTELY no way I can say that my boyfriend and I have become ‘zero waste’. However, the amount that goes into our landfill and recycling bin has reduced significantly and I hope that over time, with companies changing their packaging, it will continue to reduce even further.

Is everyone in the family on board with the plan?

Do they all understand 'why'?

Before you begin, I would recommend you sit down and have a bit of a household meeting to talk about how far you want to take these changes. Your children might have learnt a lot at school or watched programmes that moved them and they might be far more motivated than you imagined.

What you choose to swap will definitely depend on your budget. Many swaps (at the moment) cost more – there is no way to sugar coat that. It is your decision as to whether you are happy to pay out that money knowing the change will help the environment. If you are not able to spend more on certain items, then choose only the swaps that are the same price or save money in the long term or start recycling more items like crisp packets through companies like Terracycle.

If the family all have different priorities, you won’t be successful. If everyone understands what they are trying to achieve there will hopefully be less tension. When visiting the supermarket for example, if everyone understands what the ‘rules’ of your household are it will be easier to achieve them.

Starting tomorrow and for the rest of the week, I will focus on different areas of the house. The lists are by no means comprehensive but they are quite long! There is no need to read it all at the same time. All I am hoping is that there will be something for everyone. Something that will make you think ‘Yes! I can swap that’. Just pick a couple and run with them. The posts aren’t going anywhere so maybe next week or month come back and pick another couple to swap.

If you start to make changes, week by week, you will soon notice how slim your bins have become!

So sit down and make a plan with your family… tomorrow we start swapping in the bathroom!