8 inspiring zero waste bloggers
Go green this year and try out the ‘zero waste’ lifestyle.
Image source: SpelaG91
Want to save money, reduce household waste and limit your use of single-use plastics? Just a few simple changes to your daily lifestyle can have a huge impact. Here are eight inspiring blogs with a wealth of tips on how to work towards a zero waste lifestyle. Not only will you benefit financially, but the environment will love you for it too.
HungryCityHippy
Love good food, eco-living and travel? Jane Cook’s HungryCityHippy is filled with inexpensive culinary delights and tips for sustainable living. Swap pricey organic chicken breasts for organic chicken thighs, which you can roast and shred for curries. Or even better, take a break from meat altogether – low-cost meals like Jane’s vegetable chilli use tasty lentils to mimic the texture of mince.
And in a nation where 24 million slices of bread are thrown away every single day, Jane’s ingenious tips for storing and using bread will transform your life as well as your weekly food bill. We love her recipe (pictured above) for mushrooms on toast!
A Lazy Girl Goes Green
Don't have time to live a greener life? Take inspiration from Trudi Holden over at A Lazy Girl Goes Green. Trudi describes herself as the ‘world’s laziest eco-warrior’. Her solution? Take it easy! She didn’t go green overnight – she concentrated on taking small steps each week. Starting a compost bin, non-supermarket food shopping and carrying your own drinking bottle around are just some of the small, very achievable tips she shares on her heartwarmingly honest blog.
And if you can’t ban overly-packaged chocolate eggs from your home this Easter, Trudi’s fun ideas for reusing the plastic holders will help balance the guilt scales, if not the ones in the bathroom!
Spot of Earth
Curious about what it takes to be a ‘Zero Waster’? Check out Helen McGonigal’s Spot of Earth blog for tips that are so simple, you’ll hardly notice the change of routine. For instance, busy mum Helen’s packed lunch boxes no longer contain cling film. Recyclable paper bags keep her kids’ sandwiches fresh all day – saving pennies and the planet. Fancy a change from sandwiches? Pack leftover pasta or curry in a flask, or make your own oatcakes to enjoy with cheese or hummus.
And, whether you’re just beginning your zero waste journey or are already well on your way, check out Helen’s 10 easy changes to reduce waste for green inspiration. You’ve probably thought of reusable water bottles and coffee cups, but have you considered removing makeup with a face muslin rather than cotton wool? What a great idea!
My Zero Waste
Not only does Rae Strauss write My Zero Waste blog, she’s also the force behind the UK’s annual Zero Waste Week. From large-scale projects such as this incredible igloo made from tetra-pak, to small everyday changes like swapping to LED lightbulbs, Rae has ideas galore.
We especially love her unusual ‘crinkly’ curtains. Who knew that lining your curtains with inexpensive foil-survival blankets would be such a game changer in saving vast amounts of heating energy? If you want ideas for reducing and reusing all sorts of everyday household waste, Rae’s blog is the place to go.
Leafeco
Over at Leafeco, Dani D’Silvez says 'Zero wastin’ should be easy and simple and super cheap.' Check out her easy guide to creating a compost bin from chicken wire to make good use of fruit and vegetable scraps. Got gifts to wrap? See her tutorial on how to use less tape.
And if, like most of us, you’re constantly battling junk mail, Dani’s ultimate guide to putting an end to this recycling-bin filler is a godsend. In just half an hour you can prevent addressed junk mail hitting your doormat. And her ideas for stopping unnamed junk mail are super easy to implement as well!
Gypsy Soul
Everyone loves good health and beauty products, right? But it’s easy to fill your bathroom cabinet with clutter. Gina Caro at Gypsy Soul loves her Alum Stone as a natural and thrifty alternative to deodorant. Used for thousands of years, this sustainable product has a shelf life longer than most shelves!
Gina guiltily admits to using baby wipes in the past to remove makeup. Labelled “the biggest villain of 2015” by The Guardian, these non-biodegradable products are environmentally unfriendly. The alternative? Washable bamboo baby wipes used with coconut oil. Simple!
Ana goes Green
'Babies' and ‘zero waste’ aren’t terms you often hear in the same sentence. But fear not! Ana Green, over at Ana goes Green, has plenty of advice for parents who want to preserve the planet for their children. She’s found the best reusable alternative to disposable nappies, saving new parents research time they don’t often have. And it’s not just about the cost to the environment – babies get through an estimated £800 of disposable nappies in their early years, so reusable nappies save money too.
It's not all about the babies though. Ana has recently ditched disposable razors in favour of a classy, rose-gold safety razor. If you’re still on the fence, read what she has to say about zero-waste hair removal.
A refuge for daffodils
Has Pip Sadler lost the plot? Spending £117.62 on a cardboard box seems a little extreme for someone who wants to reduce the amount of card and paper in her home. But it’s no ordinary cardboard box, and it has changed Pip’s life. Intrigued? We think you’ll want one too!
Pip's blog, A refuge for daffodils, discusses why we should live without single-use plastic. In a recent talk she said: 'recycling isn’t actually a good thing, just a less-bad thing'. Want the facts and stats? This is definitely something to re-inspire you when the zero-waste effort is all feeling a bit too much.
Pip's practical tips include switching to bamboo toothbrushes, swapping to unwrapped bakery bread, avoiding multipack crisps, refusing plastic straws in restaurants, and checking if your local health food store sells cleaning-product refills. All easily achievable and not overwhelming at all. Thanks Pip!
