6 ways I'm being more sustainable

You might remember that one of my New Year's "resolutions" (they're not exactly resolutions, more like goals I aspire for but won't beat myself up for if I slip up) was to consume less, and especially reduce my use of plastic. Inspired by another post by Lucy Moon, I'm listing five ways I'm trying to act more sustainable and limit the amount of waste I produce.

1. A keep cup. I've had a keep cup for almost a year now. Buying your coffee in a takeaway cup just to be thrown away seconds after finishing the coffee is such a waste, and thankfully many coffee shops will give you money back for bringing your own cup, so there is a financial incentive there too. I've also heard single-use coffee cups are rarely recycled.

Most often I make my own coffee or tea at home, but I've been making the effort to bring my keep cup if I'm having coffee in town (or having the coffee in the coffee shop in a china cup), and even making coffee or tea at home in the morning and bringing it with me in my keep cup, just so I won't be tempted to get one on the way. As such, it's been months since I last bought coffee in a takeaway cup.

2. A reusable water bottle. I bought a reusable water bottle in IKEA at the beginning of the year, and I'm happy to say I haven't bought bottled water since. I even bring my water bottle to the cinema!

One exception for buying drinks in plastic bottles are meal deals - I feel that there are no options for those of us who are plastic-conscious. Even if I normally prepare my own lunch and buy a meal deal perhaps once every month, I still feel a little bit bad about that.

3. Moon cup. I don't know if this is a bit TMI, but I recently purchased a moon cup. The amount of plastic that gets wasted during a period is ridiculous. I will still use a tampon/pad here and there, but I've definitely cut down my plastic waste in relation to periods to less than a quarter.

It takes a couple of tries to get used to wearing a moon cup, but after that it is super easy and comfortable!

4. Washable cotton pads. I recently bought a ten-piece set of reusable make-up remover pads from Amazon. They come with a laundry bag which is super handy! They do stain a little bit, and I feel like I'm using slightly more micellar water due to the pads being quite absorbent, but I'm not throwing away a cotton pad a day anymore!

5. Eating less meat. This was also one of my New Year's resolutions, and it's great that I can kill two birds with one stone here! (or more like not kill since I'm not having chicken any more...)

I've started to buy Quorn mince and Quorn chicken pieces instead of the real thing, and I have to say I'm not missing anything, I wasn't a huge meat eater in the first place. I still have bacon and chorizo occasionally, and I will choose a meat option when I'm eating out if I don't fancy any of the vegetarian options, but hopefully I can cut these habits for good at some point and become completely vegetarian.

6. Take less flights. I normally take about 3-4 return flights a year. I know this is not good, but it doesn't help that my whole family lives abroad. Even though I am not going to not see them, I pledge to take alternative transport where I can, i.e. domestic trips and if I'm visiting France/Brussels where Eurostar is very convenient. I'm also interested in doing more staycations instead of foreign holidays. I also commute on public transport, so that makes me feel a little bit better.

I'd love to know if you're doing any of the things I've mentioned above! Or, let me know if there is something else you do to be more sustainable, and we can all inspire each other!

Love,
Maddy-Lou