Between power bills and rent increases we’re all feeling the pinch of the rising costs of living. Eco-friendly choices might be the last thing on your mind, but you may be surprised how much money you can actually save by reducing waste! By taking small actions to reduce what you buy, reuse what you have, buy second hand, and avoid food waste, you can save hundreds if not thousands of pounds a year.
Another great way to reduce costs and help the environment is by ditching disposables. While investing in some reusable options might cost a little more, you will save up in the long run!
Here are some of my favourite no brainer swaps!
1. Cling Film vs. Beeswax Wrap.
Even with the best intentions of smoothing out and reusing clingfilm, it’s not the easiest thing to manage. If you’re buying a £1.50 box of clingfilm every month you’re spending £18 a year. Not the highest number, but when you combine it with other expenses, then it piles up.
Switch to reusable beeswax wraps that will protect your food in the same way but less toxic!. They can be used over and over again and come in a range of sizes. Plus, when you’re done with them, you can throw them into your compost bin.
2. Bottled Water vs. Refillable Water Bottle.
You already pay to have water available in your kitchen tap so get a reusable bottle and start refilling. If you buy a bottle of water for lunch everyday working day of the year then you're racking up around £230 based on a typical £1 a bottle price. But if you make the simple swap of getting yourself a metal water container, you’ll be saying no to plastic waste as well as saving hundreds a year. With a stainless steel bottle, your water will stayer cooler throughout the day too!
3. Take away Lunch vs. BYO Lunch in Reusable Container.
Now that we’re back in the office our take away lunch at the desk habit seems to be creeping back in. An £8.00 lunch, 3 times a week, adds up to around £1,100 each year, not to mention a lot of packaging waste! You can make your own lunch at home for a fraction of the cost. Bring it to work in whatever container you already own or impress your colleagues with a stylish new lunchbox.
4. Disposable Coffee Cups vs. Reusable Coffee Cup.
Single use takeaway coffee cups are a horrendous waste but many coffee shops offer a discount if you bring your own reusable cup.
5. Kitchen Roll vs. Swedish Dishcloths.
Let’s face it, kitchen roll is handy for mopping up all kinds of spills, and it’s easy to get through at least 2 rolls a week. At around £2.50 a roll, that adds up to a mind-boggling £260 a year. Swedish dishcloths are the perfect alternative, as they can absorb up to 15 times their weight in water. They’re both reusable and compostable, and can last years with proper care. Who knows, you may even enjoy cleaning up spills with a Swedish dishcloth.
6. Disposable Razors vs. Safety Razor.
A safety razor can save you a lot of money in the long run. If you take proper care of it, it will be the last razor you ever buy. They also look way better in your bathroom and feel more like a proper shave is supposed to be. You realise quickly that it’s the way everyone should shave. The average disposable razor only stays sharp for 6 to 9 shaves meaning if you use one to shave daily, you’ll be throwing away a lot of razors per year. Disposable razors on the Boots website are currently averaging 89p per razor. So by ditching them, you can save about £40 a year.
What eco-friendly changes do you think you could make?
It's amazing how all the little things don't sound like they cost much until you add them up for the year. I need to look into buying some beeswax wraps because I always feel so guilty about using the cling wrap which is terrible for the environment. The Swedish cloths sound very good too as we go through so much paper towels. There are heaps of great tips here and it's given me a lot to think about as far as saving money and being more eco friendly.
ReplyDeleteI use my reusable mug now when I go to the coffee shop. I partcurily like Costa who give you the incentive of an extra bean and when you collect so many beans you get a free coffee 😁
ReplyDeleteLove this! We do try our best to be more eco-friendly. I've been using the beeswax wraps for a while now and they are fine once you get used to them. You just have to remember to warm them up or they are really stiff to wrap around your sandwiches else hehe!
ReplyDeleteWe used to use a lot of water bottles too, but have since started using our own bottles and filing them with the filtered water from the fridge. It's cut down on so much plastic waste. Fab tips! xx
These are amazing steps for a green lifestyle and these steps save money too. I follow most of these steps such as I use dish clothes, reusable containers and refillable bottles. It helps us saving money too. Instead of disposable cups and plates, we used reusable plates and cups for our recent holiday too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
#MMBC
I've tried the beeswax wraps but they didn't last very long and we ended up with little bits of wax stuck to our food (I've just read Jayne's comment about warming them but didn't realise we had to do that - will check that tip out). We use plastic boxes instead of cling film where we can. Swedish dishcloths sound interesting but we don't use a lot of kitchen roll. I have three dishcloths that I put in the dishwasher every time it runs - that works well for us.
ReplyDelete#MMBC
Some really great tips here Kim. I have used beeswax but I've never heard of Swedish dishclothes. x
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