With the horrendous price rises that hit us on April 1, the cost of living crisis has meant that, understandably, concern for the planet has to take more of a back seat when we’re all trying to figure out where to find the money to pay the bills. Often, it can seem that household and lifestyle sustainability solutions, though laudable, end up costing us more money as there’s a huge upfront cost (ie washable nappies) or an increase in monthly spend (loo roll in fancy packaging that costs twice what you’d normally spend on loo roll).
We’ve put together some planet-saving ways to save money so that you don’t have to make the choice between saving pennies and saving the planet.
Draught proof your house. This is such an old, and obvious, one but it really works. Our hall and bedroom were freezing and almost unbearable in the winter without a blast of heating, until we added draught excluders to our external doors. If you don’t have the money to buy a draught excluder then roll up an old blanket and wedge it against doors and windows that are draughty.
Cover up letterboxes and keyholes in doors as they can be serious offenders when it comes to letting draughts through – a small outlay on a keyhole cover, for example, can make a real difference to temperatures in halls for example, and save you having to put the heating on.
And even if it’s cold outside, open curtains during the day. Any small amount of sunlight will get in and help heat the room.
Use food waste apps. Olio and ToGoodToGo are two of our favourites. About a third of all of the food in the world is thought to go to waste, a major driver of climate change as the unused food often ends up in landfill where it rots and produces methane. ToGoodToGo advertises very low cost ‘magic bags’ of shopping, baking, sandwiches and fruit and veg based on what local partners have to offer. We got a huge bag of baking from Starbucks for £3.50 this week via ToGoodToGo with pastries and sandwiches, most of which we froze. Olio advertises free food either from people in the local community or local food shops such as Pret.
Skip the weekly shop once a week. We do this on the last week of every month and instead make a point of eating everything in the freezer and cupboards we can, only buying things day to day that we absolutely need. This saves us money and cuts down on waste. You’ll be amazed at how much you have that can be used when you make the decision to shop only for what you need – we always spend far less on shopping in our week when we don’t do a big shop.
Lift share instead of driving. There are millions of cars doing the daily commute every day in the UK, and many of them only have one passenger – the driver. Check out Liftshare, where you can arrange to commute with another person, or share a long journey with someone else, either by giving them a lift in your car or vice versa. Always be mindful of safety and check out a user’s reviews before sharing a car with them, though. And if it’s possible, consider cycling instead of driving – often this can be quicker than driving as you nip through traffic, and it’s good for your health, too.
Have at least one meat-free day a week. Plant based eating is good for the planet and good for your purse. A healthy vegan meal such as our lentil dhal is easy to make and really inexpensive if you already have the store cupboard ingredients, or this plant based vegetable soup.
Freeze EVERYTHING you can. I look back at myself in years gone by and cannot believe how much food I used to throw away, leaving unfinished food out or in the fridge then tossing it when I could have frozen it. Our freezer is full of boxes of varying sizes of leftovers from shepherd’s pie to curry – though Colin isn’t the best of labelling things so sometimes what’s inside the Tupperware is a little surprise! Get it out of the freezer in the morning so it’s ready to put in the oven for your evening meal.
For more ideas, read our ten easy eco changes to make your life greener.
I also recommend the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert forums for some brilliant money saving ideas, many of which don’t put sustainability on the back burner.