Eco-Friendly New Years Resolutions

Last year I made some “Green New Years resolutions” which I wasn’t that successful at keeping. In my defence the pandemic was one of the reasons I failed at some of them. This year I’ve decided to give other people ideas for their own eco-friendly New Years resolutions. I’ve already made most of these changes, and others I plan on doing in 2021.

Eco-Friendly New Years Resolutions – 15 Ideas

Small Changes

There are some small changes you can make around the home, to your daily routine, or your grocery shopping, that can have a big impact.

1. Commit to never buying a plastic bag again

It’s easy to say you’ll always carry reusable shopping bags around with you but it’s happened to nearly all of us – we get to the checkout at the supermarket and realise we’ve either forgotten to bring our reusable bags or we didn’t bring enough. You don’t necessarily have to purchase bags though, there are several alternatives that might be available to you.

• Ask if the supermarket has any empty boxes you can use.
• If you drove to the supermarket just put your shopping back in the trolley and then straight into the car after paying. Admittedly this is a bit tedious if you did a massive shop, but at least you aren’t buying plastic!
• Did you buy just a few items? Carry them loose or see how much you can fit into your pockets or handbag. This will depend on how far you have to walk!

My main recommendation is to buy cloth shopping bags. Try to always have one in your handbag, another one in a coat pocket, a few in the car and store them near your front door so you see them before you leave the house. They’re so easy to carry in your handbag and your coat pocket, because they take up so little space.

2. Shop Local

Support the ‘little guys’. If you’re lucky enough to have a greengrocer, a butcher, a fish market, a delicatessen, a bakery, a florist etc in your home town, use them as much as possible. The products are likely to be better quality and your money is more likely to stay within your local community. It’s also much easier to ask for plastic free. If you don’t have these types of shops, support the local corner shop or try to find local farmers markets. If you have no choice and have to use a supermarket choose the most ethical supermarket near you.

3. Stop Buying ‘Stuff’ For The Sake Of It

I like to own nice things, we all do, but if something catches your eye ask yourself if you really want it or why you’re buying it. One thing I do is walk away from the shop and if I can’t stop thinking about it I might return and buy it. I’ve given myself some time to think about whether I actually want it or can afford it rather than impulse buying. A good example to use here are souvenirs. A lot of people like to buy themselves or friends and family gifts from their holidays, but are these items going to add value to anyones life? If you want to buy souvenirs buy from a local craftsperson and get something that’s both better quality and supports the local community rather than buying some mass produced tat. The recipient is likely to be much happier with your gift as well!

4. Buy Secondhand

There are so many things we can buy that already exist, why always buy new? Antiques are secondhand items and are in demand, we just need to start thinking about other things as valuable as antiques. You can buy secondhand clothes, crockery, books, games, jewellery, furniture, appliances, phones…. Almost everything can be bought secondhand. Shop around and know that by buying secondhand you’re reducing your own carbon footprint and possibly preventing something from going to landfill. It’s probably going to be a lot cheaper too!

Check out facebook marketplace, ebay, car boot sales, local charity shops and auction houses for some great secondhand deals.

5. Buy Reusable Instead of Single Use

When you’ve run out of all of your single use items start replacing them with reusable ones. Big Tip… Don’t throw out everything and replace the lot with eco-friendly alternatives. Your house might look nicer with sustainable products if you do that, but you’re just contributing to the waste problem! When you’ve run out of single use face wipes buy a flannel. When you’ve run out of disposable razors buy a safety razor. These items will initially cost a bit more but over time you’ll save yourself money and your personal carbon footprint will look much better.

6. Stop Sending Greetings Cards

It’s nice to receive something in the post that makes you think someone was thinking of you, but it’s so wasteful… and expensive to pay for so many cards and stamps. The sender might not even have really been thinking about you. At Christmas time you might receive a card that just says “love from Doris and Bill”, no message and your name isn’t even mentioned. What’s the point? Someone has just bought a stack of cards because they feel they have to but they haven’t the time to put a personal message in it. You’ll display it for a few weeks at most and then it’ll either go in the bin or stored in a box in the attic for future generations to throw away. Send the people you care about an email with personal messages and letting them know how you are instead.

7. Plan Your Shopping Trips

Occasionally I have to visit the local town to do some shopping or go to the bank because I live in a small village on Dartmoor. I try to do a maximum of one car journey into town a week so I work out all the places I need to visit and take the shortest route possible. I make shopping lists so that I buy everything I need so that I won’t have to come back in a few days to top up.

8. Car Share

This one is a bit trickier at the moment due to the pandemic, but wherever possible share car journeys with other people. If you and a family member, or your neighbour, are heading to the same place go in one car rather than two! My neighbour and I always do our ‘weekly food shop’ together and go in one car. (It’s ok, we’re in a bubble!)

9. Go Litter Picking

It’s so awful to see how much litter there is in the UK. Try to commit to going litter picking to keep your local area looking nice but also to protect wildlife and marine life.

10. Green Clean

The cleaning products we use around our homes are full of toxic chemicals. There are some really simple and cheap homemade cleaning products you could try and numerous eco-friendly and plastic free cleaning products you can buy. Check out The Eco-Friendly Way To Clean Your Bathroom and The Eco Friendly Way To Clean Your Kitchen for lots of ideas.

11. Eat Less Meat and Dairy

I’m not going to go on about this one, but it’s something you should consider doing. If you’re thinking about going vegan I highly recommend the facebook group Non-Judgy Vegans UK as a friendly place for lots of plant-based advice no matter what your current diet is.

Medium Changes

There are numerous small things we can do to reduce our impact on the planet, but there are some bigger changes we can make, some in terms of effort, that will make more of an impact.

12. Change Who You Bank With

This is one of the changes I’ve made that I’m happiest with. The majority of the articles on this website come about because I’ve either read something that made me think or I’m looking to buy something and I want to know the most eco-friendly option. I’d read about how lots of banks fund some pretty terrible things so I decided I had to find out which was the most ethical bank in the UK. Do you really want your money to help fund gas and oil or other environmentally harmful projects?

13. Sell Your Car and Buy a Smaller More Efficient One

So many people have SUV’s these days even though they know they’re terrible for the planet and for human health. It also seems to be the people who drive the biggest vehicles who tend to sit with their engine idling as well. Although it would be great to buy an electric car, my advice here is to buy the size of car that your and your family actually need rather than buying a status symbol. Buy a fuel efficient car, the smaller the better. If you live in the city and tend to do most of your driving in urban areas, you really don’t need a huge engine. (If you live in the city you could just get rid of your car altogether and make use of public transport!)

14. Have a Staycation Instead of Travelling Abroad

I realise that we don’t know whether foreign holidays will even be a possibility for a while. But if this pandemic ends the most eco-friendly holiday you can have is to stay at home and explore the local area. It’s one of those strange things that people tend to visit far off attractions rather than the ones closer to home. Probably because we feel like we can visit the local area whenever we want to, but you might be surprised at just how much there is to do where you live.

Plan a week in your local area. Find some local walks to do, visit local beaches. Check out local museums and art galleries. Make reservations at small locally owned restaurants. Visit the theatre. Explore! Local businesses need all the help they can get after a very difficult year, especially hospitality and entertainment venues. Staying at home and making the most of what’s on offer is better for your carbon footprint and could mean a local business staying afloat.

Big Changes

15. Sell Your Second Home / Holiday Cottage

We have a massive housing shortage in this country. One of the reasons for this is that there are lots of properties sitting empty because they’re someones second home or holiday cottage. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some lovely short breaks staying in holiday cottages but I struggle to justify their existence these days. In my village the two nearest properties to me are second homes / holiday cottages, there are then another two holiday cottages just five and six doors down from me. That’s four homes sitting empty the majority of the time on a street with only nine houses! Not only does this mean that more land has to be built on to provide new housing, but that the village shop, school and pub all suffer due to fewer people living here.

If you want to own a second property for investment purposes, rent it out to a family that needs somewhere to live!

16. Become a Campaigner

What’s one thing that frustrates you the most? Is it single use plastic packaging on fruits and vegetables? Do you hate the local council cutting down mature trees? Maybe you’re sick and tired of illegal hunters getting away with killing wildlife for sport… Whatever it is that makes you angry why not become a campaigner? You can join a local or national group or even start your own campaign. There’s so much you can do depending on how much time you can devote to the cause closest to your heart. It’s time to take action on so many issues, if we want our children and grandchildren to have a future.

Remember that no-one is perfect. As long as you’re making the effort and changing a few things to be greener you’re helping. Do as much as you can, future generations will thank you!

What are your eco-friendly New Years resolutions? Are you planning to go big or just make some small changes?

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