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Top tips for living more sustainably on a budget

18 January 2022

There are ways to make living sustainably and living on a budget synonymous with one another. UCL student Isabelle Osborne shares her top tips for living more sustainably on a budget.

A financial themed photo featuring a blank paper on a desk next to a pen and calculator and plant

There are ways to make living sustainably and living on a budget synonymous with one another as, in many ways, the former can contribute to the latter. If you’re looking for ways to decrease your carbon footprint, cut costs and lead a life that takes the planet into consideration, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Start small 

The simple things are as important as the big things when it comes to sustainability, and these are often the easiest to implement. Here are some ideas:

•    Switch lights, heating and electrical points off when you leave home or when they don’t necessarily need to be on
•    Use reusable shopping bags when you go to the supermarket rather than buying multiple plastic bags (and if you do buy plastic bags, save them, and use them again)
•    Save water by turning the tap off whilst you apply soap to your hands and cutting down your shower time
•    Invest in a reusable water bottle and drink container instead of buying plastic bottles every day
•    Recycle waste and unwanted products where possible
•    Rather than plastic straws, buy reusable straws that can be washed
•    If you have leftovers from a meal, buy reusable container so you can save them for the day after or freeze them. When you’re eating out ask a member of staff if they can provide a box so you can take your leftovers home.
•    When you go to the supermarket, buy only what you need so to limit the amount of food you waste; it’s always better to top-up on your supplies than throw them away
•    Hang wet clothes on a drying line rather than using the dryer.

 Buy less, save more

We all love the sales, browsing the shops and splurging on a new item of clothing here and there. The way we shop, however, is contributing to the climate crisis. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater, contributes up to 10% of global carbon emissions, and uses more energy than aviation and shipping combined. In the UK, we throw away £140 million worth of clothing each year.

Rather than buying more and more items that end up in the bin in a month or two, try buying less items and investing some love in what you already have.

Up-cycling is a great way to give a new lease of life to pre-loved products. When it comes to shopping for clothes, try buying more sustainably, such as from second-hand stores or charity shops.

You could even implement a ‘wardrobe switch’ with friends and family on odd occasions, so you can refresh your look and enjoy the novelty of a new set of clothes in a more sustainable, cost-effective, and fun way.

When you’re ready to part with a garment, don’t throw it away: donate it to a charity shop, hand it down to siblings or family members, or sell it on via Depop or Vinted so it can find a new home. 
 

Cut down on paper

Ever printed off 100 pages of a research article on single-sided paper that you didn’t end up reading? Find yourself tearing pages out of a notepad, only to use half the sheet before throwing it away? 

Paper waste accounts for 20% of all waste in the UK. Using digital copies of academic material rather than printing is more environmentally friendly, and it saves those precious printing credits too. If you do need to print, print double-sided so to use less sheets of paper.

If you accumulate a lot of wastepaper, try sorting through that which is ready for the recycle bin and that which could be used again, so that you create a ‘scrap paper’ pile. Turn to this pile when you need paper but don’t require a new A4 sheet, so you can scribble your shopping lists down without using a full piece of blank paper. 

And remember when you’re finished, recycle. Recycling 10% more paper each year would save approximately 5 million trees.
 

Overall, living sustainably does not have to be expensive or difficult. Implementing these small changes into your routine and altering your lifestyle where you see fit can contribute to the global effort to reduce our impact on the planet. 


Image: Photo by Mediamodifier on Unsplash