How Sustainable Living Can Save You Money
If you follow me on social media, you may have seen the Twitter and Instagram story polls about why people aren’t being more sustainable. Over the past few months, I’ve picked up on some factors that crop up a fair amount. These include people not having enough time and not liking change. The most common one though is money and people thinking that leading a more sustainable lifestyle is too expensive. Let me tell you right now, this is not the case. Sustainable living can save you money and here are some reasons why.
Fashion
Sustainable fashion is not just luxury £200 beige culottes and t-shirts. I think there’s a misconception that eco-fashion is all about designer clothes. Not at all.
Shopping secondhand in the likes of charity shops or online on Ebay, Depop etc. is good for the environment because you are prolonging the life of clothes that would otherwise be thrown away. What’s more, you can nab some brilliant bargains.
Refuse, Reduce, Reuse
In primary school, most of us we taught the slogan ‘Reuse, Reduce, Recycle’ as the 3 staples for looking after our planet. However, industrial recycling still uses a lot of energy and we are currently producing too much recycling. Instead, we should be focusing on refusing, reducing and reusing.
When it comes to fashion, think before you buy. Do you really need that item? Are you just buying it because it’s on offer? Do you have something similar at home already? Do you genuinely like it?
Work on using what you already have. Try styling different items together or make use of accessories to change the look.
Being stricter with your buying habits and using what you have will save you money.
Buy less items but better quality
We’ve all been there. Tempted by sale signs or Primark’s ridiculously low prices. As a student, it’s hard not to get sucked into low price tag. There’s a reason for that though. The quality is bad and it also means that the people making the clothes are likely being treated poorly. The amount of things I’ve bought from Primark and other fast-fashion shops in the past that have only lasted a few months is ridiculous.
Instead of continuously buying low cost, bad quality fashion that throw out after a couple of months, perhaps look at buying a few timeless pieces that are good quality and are sustainable and ethical.
I think starting a capsule wardrobe is a great way to work on the less is more aspect. You can find out about starting a capsule wardrobe here.
Beauty & Wellbeing
Makeup Wipes
How many of you buy single-use makeup wipes/cotton pads that you throw away after one use? For us that like our skincare routines, it’s possible to get through lots of cotton pads everyday what with a morning and evening routine.
This is incredibly bad for the environment and your bank account.
Buying yourself a small pack of reusable cotton pads only sets you back a few pounds, but they last you for years.
I have a pack of 3 from Honour Your Flow which cost £3.75 from my local zero waste store and I’ve not bought anything others since!
A standard pack of single-use cotton wool pads from Boots costs £1.49. Just buying 3 of those packs will cost more than a set of reusable cotton wipes and I’m guessing that skincare enthusiasts get through more than 3 bags of cotton pads in the space of a few months.
The sustainable option is definitely the cheaper option here.
Menstrual Cups
Menstrual cups are becoming more popular now and it’s easy to see why. They can last you for years! Well-known brands such as Mooncup or OrganiCup may seem pricier at approximately £20, but just a few packs of single-use pads or tampons will soon hit that price.
Cotton Buds
Cotton buds is an easy one. Save money and don’t buy them. They aren’t good for the environment or your ears.
You may also like: 5 Eco-Friendly Beauty Routine Ideas
In the Home
I recently did another blog post about this, focusing on eco-friendly cleaning, but I’ll mention it again because sustainable cleaning is one of the easiest money savers.
Switching to reusable and rewashable cleaning cloths rather than kitchen roll and washing up sponges that go in the bin after a short amount of time is easy and saves money. Just pick up a pack of cloths at the supermarket and you’re ready to go.
Likewise, reusing old towels and toothbrushes for cleaning is helpful.
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To finish…
We’ve covered quite a bit of ground here, but I just wanted to add a final thought. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure out there to change every aspect of life to be more sustainable. I think in the modern world, that is incredibly hard to do and sometimes we don’t have a choice.
However, we are all capable of changing certain parts of life, big or small and it doesn’t have to impact your finances or daily lives.
Let me know how sustainable living has helped you save money.
“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” – Anna Lappe
