Going Green

‘Going green’ is a term that has been thrown around for years. I liked to think of myself as quite ‘green’ – I mean, I separate my rubbish into recyclable and non-recyclable and I have a ton of Tupperware containers so I don’t waste plastic – but then my gorgeous friend Sarah put me to shame.

I was at her place one day when I noticed a list on her whiteboard about going green so I asked her what she was doing/changing. The answers she gave me sounded so innovative, yet so simple. I couldn’t believe the minor changes she had made in her life that would have such a positive impact on our planet. I asked her to tell me the five best/easiest/cost-effective things she had done and now, I am sharing them with you.

1. Beeswax wraps
   These funky looking wraps take the place of your standard cling-wraps and aren’t only amazing because they’re environmentally friendly, they will save you money because they’re re-usable! This eliminates waste AND will save you money in the long run, it's a win win!
   
   Beeswax wraps are cotton sheets which have been steeped in beeswax and usually another oil like jojoba oil and pine tree resin – this make the wraps naturally anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, self-adhesive and water resistant. How they work is also really cool – the wraps become malleable at room temperature, allowing you to use your hands to shape the wrap over the top of the container/bowl/jar/whatever you wish to cover and then once it goes into the fridge it hardens/sets.
   
   To re-use, simply wipe the wrap with some water and non-alcoholic soap, drip dry and you’re ready to wrap again. How genius! I use the wraps made by Beekeep which are hand-made with love right here in Australia. You can get them for yourself here.
   
   
2. Keep Cup
   As the clever name suggests, this product is a cup that you keep, which allows you to stop wasting disposable cups when you get your morning warm beverage of choice.
   
   When you think about it, if you were to buy just one coffee a day that’s 365 disposable cups that end up in landfill every year. Now, if you have 5 other friends who are also known for their daily caffeine hit, that number goes from 365 cups to 2190 cups per year. I’m sure you are already aware, there are a LOT more than 6 people on this planet, a large percentage of whom get a coffee almost daily so that is a HUGE amount of waste and unfortunately, most disposable cups cannot be recycled!
   
   Keep Cup’s don’t just save our planet, they save your wallet too! Some café’s will now give you a discount on your morning beverage if you have your own cup. Caffeine + saving our planet + saving money = a good time had by all.
   
   
3. Making your own cleaning products
   I have always wondered how people are so comfortable with spraying cleaning products all over their homes to ‘kill germs’ with no regard to how these chemicals may be impacting their own health. The packaging of these products also affect our planet since they get thrown out as soon as they’re empty and replaced with another bottle. So wasteful! My friend Sarah feels the same so she decided to make her own cleaning products and tells me it isn’t that hard!
   
   She uses a mixture of essential oils and safe house hold products like vinegar and bicarb soda to create human-friendly cleaning products. They smell amazing, are safer than using a cocktail of chemicals that are made from who-knows-what AND once again, they eliminate waste as you can re-make your own once you run out instead of throwing out empty bottles to go and buy more. Genius.
   
   
4. Composting
   Good ol’ fashioned composting strikes again. So beneficial for you, your garden and the planet.
   
   Sarah and her handy-man hubby have created a composting invention in their veggie patch that basically does the work for them – all with a few pieces of PVC pipe (and some worms of course)! If you don’t know, the basics of composting is that you throw your food scraps into the composter where there are worms which eat the food scraps and, um, poop out nutrient rich poop (no better way to say it really).
   
   This allows for food scraps to be put to good use instead of taking up space in our landfill. Composting is also amazing for the garden so if you’ve got a little veggie patch or flower garden, or your aim is to be fully sustainable, composting will do you wonders!
   
   
5. Re-usable face wipes
   Disposable face wipes are another thing – like your daily coffee – that you don’t really link to as being/causing waste, but if you use face wipes most days, then the waste caused by them adds up. Switching to re-usable face wipes reduces waste and are beneficial for your skin.
   

There you have it. Five super easy ways to help our planet, while also helping your wallet, health, skin, everything! Okay maybe not everything but close!
 
I know I will definitely be incorporating these simple tips into my daily life and will forever be pestering my friend Sarah about the new things she comes up with to go green. These ideas are such small changes to our lives, but imagine the effect it would have on our planet if we ALL made these changes!
 
Remember, it starts with you.
 
Georgia x