Eating seasonally means it tastes better too. Yes, you can get strawberries in the supermarket all year round. But in the winter, when they're out of season, they pretty much have no taste.
clairecheney i don’t know...depends on the type of the freezer that you’re using. Cause normally the freezer at my home keep the average temperature and when you want some berries or whatever they look fresh as you would buy from supermarket
I don't like strawberries outside of the season. I am planning to grow my own strawberries, raspberries, apple's & plums as well as vegetables/herbs in my allotment this year.
If you live in an area that doesn’t recycle, you can help by getting politically active within your community to encourage your local governments to start recycling programs or even composting sites!
That's what I wanna do to improve our recycling system in the US and each state. Also want the companies to transition all freights and shipping vehicles and postal/delivery vehicles to green energy. And for the US to have green energy bullet trains going traveling to major cities across and around the country!
I love the staycation idea. I live in the Netherlands and my husband owns an electric car for over 2 years now, so we haven't been flying for our vacations at all. We did a roadtrip through France, another holiday we stayed in the Belgium Ardennes and this summer we are planning on going to Berlin and the German forests. All by car. The only time I will fly is when I volunteer in an animalrescue in Spain, but that is a maximum of once a year. Also, I own a very old (25 y/o) small car, I only use it to do the big groceries and to go to my mum who lives in a place that is impossible to go to by public transport. I take my bike to work and for basically everything else. (but when it rains, I take my car because I hate biking in the rain.. just being real haha)
Just came to say you're such a lovely person for how sensitive you are to consider not all these tips are doable for 100% of people. It says a lot about your ability to empathize and I think that is so admirable!!
I love that you don't act like you are morally superior to other people, but you acknowledge that not everyone can do everything and that is okay. Everyone doing the best they can is already a revolution. People need encouragement not lecturing. I 100% agree that 99% of people cannot do zero waste, in fact no one can. It is unrealistic. Sustainability is a much better term. Love from Croatia.
1. Eat a vegan diet or plant based (more climate changing greenhouse gases are produced by the animal agricultural industry than total transport emissions!) 2. Reduce our overall consumption of stuff (clothes, shoes, cars, electronics etc) repair things before buying a new one. 3. Use public transport, walk/cycle more, go by train/bus rather than fly. 4. Buy locally grown produce 5. Be more energy conscious in your home, switch off lights, turn the heating down and wear an extra layer, take shorter showers, use your washing up water to water the garden.
I, too, often think about the way our parents and grandparents and those before them used to shop - no plastics and no excessive packaging. If it was good enough for them, it's good enough for us! (Going back in time, check out If These Walls Could Talk, Epidode 4 at 39:09 to see how they reused their waste).
Also living in a reasonable sized home is one thing. A huge house consumes more energy to sustain than a smaller one. And when you have a huge home, you'll probably end up buying more stuff to fill it too.
This is a big one! Our homes in the US are huge! I used to clean for a family of 3 who thought of themselves A “green conscious” and lived in a 4500 square foot house!
If you compost and don't want it to smell in your garden, for every bucket of food waste put 2 buckets of cut up cardboard, leaves, shredded paper or wood chips if you can get them.
really loved what you said about looking up to your grandparents as a guide for what to do! I do the same - my granddad has always been the least wasteful person I know, and has had a compost for as long as I can remember. I remember him once telling me that 'dustbins' used to be exactly that - primarily filled with dust collected from cleaning the house - rather than stuffed full of packaging etc.
Such an important topic! Thank you for sharing these very accessible tips. At the moment I'm tracking my money, it's very tight, because I found a wonderful renewable energy source I want to switch to but it cost more monthly... But it is for a beautiful cause: a retirement home for abused farm animals produces their own energy with a wind mill and they are sharing the excess! So not only would I have a renewable energy source, but I would give money to a beautiful and ethical cause.
Thanks for the video :) Some other tips I would add to this: drinking tap water instead of bottled water - it saves you a lot of money and you cut on so much plastic waste :D Borrowing books from libraries or reading ebooks - buy only the ones that are dear to your heart to save trees. Unfortunately here in Poland we have a big problem with fossil fuels - our whole energy system is based on coal. So there is a huge debate about whether we should switch to renewables and/or nuclear power but our government insists on keeping the mines... We also have a huge problem with smog because so many people still use coal and wood to heat their houses. In general, it's much harder to be sustainable here where I live :c but I'm doing what I can.
Here ist what I did in the last 12 month - I buy our detergent in bulk (because less plastic packaging) - Nearly all my clothes are 2nd hand - No impulse buying. I wait at least 2 days (even for 2nd hand things) - I went on a vegan diet this month (also for health reason). - I buy dry foods in bulk (because less plastic packaging) - I prep meals for work and put leftovers in the fridge.
I deeply believe that if everyone started to garden (growing natives, pollinator friendly plants, and edibles) and composted more that the world would be way more sustainable. Over 40 million acres of land in the US is covered by lawns and we are sad animals are lossing habitat?? Healthy garden soil is also an amazing carbon sink! That is something that so many people could change that would make a massive impact. Even a balcony garden can help! And a tip on composting, make sure you have more browns (leaves, paper) than greens, the one in the video looked a little off balance.
My motto is REFUSE, reduce, reuse and recycle. If I (and many many more people) refuse to make purchases that are plastic, or wrapped in plastic etc, than an alternative will have to be found. I don't expect to be perfect and be zero waste but I keep plugging away.
I'm a member of some Facebook groups where people sell their stuff on cheaply or even pass it on for free. It's so nice to save stuff that would otherwise be thrown out and there are some amazing things that you couldn't find anywhere else (discontinued/one of a kind). Some teabags have plastic so won't break down, but you can get those without which can be composted. Also, going on from being sustainable with food, if you keep all of your vegetable scraps in the freezer you can then make a stock with all of the peels.
Speaking of food, we should a remember that dime if our food creates a larger footprint than other, even if you are 100% plant-based. If you're in Europe, avocados, coffee, cocoa, coconut products, some produce (like tropical fruit) and tea are imported, some being flown in daily. So think of your food items in terms of footprint too. Not saying to avoid them, just make conscious choices and opting for things that are maybe grown localy, or if imported, are trandorted by land or water, rather than by air.
cornflour you can actually order it from depository. Shipping fee is free. I live in Canada and it was going to be out here at the end of February and it was going to be almost 28cad but I ordered it on depository website from UK and it was only around 21cad and I did not pay for shipping! It takes only a week as well :)
Such a good video! You're an inspiration to me! I would say a couple ways to reduce a carbon footprint are to eat more plant foods and be mindful of what you have!
Hi there, for the 5 key change would be to : 1- stop/reduce meat consumption, 2 - buy local produce, 3 - shop ethically and environmentally friendly made, 4- buy second hand, 5- reduce plastic waste.
I dont fly, i take public transport or walk im vegan, i try to.buy unpackaged produce thats in season, eating strawberries from abroad indecember isnt eating in season. I recycle and only buy what i need and upcycle furnature..every little bit helps
We grow a lot of stuff in our garden which is nice because it tastes better and also reduces trips to the grocery store/plastic packaging. But we live in California so the weather enables us to do that...we have tomatoes and other vegetables as well as apple, blueberry, and stone fruit trees. It all tastes a lot better than the stuff from the store, ESPECIALLY tomatoes.
One thing I wish councils would do is put more bins on the streets. Where I live, there are very few bins and people will just chuck their litter on the ground and make it an absolute mess. There needs to be a common standard between all councils that there should be a bin every so many yards / feet / meters on a street, on both sides of a road.
Personally as others have said before i also dont fly,i haven't done for at least 20 yrs now and i dont use the car every day(probably only use once a week) i am lucky as our storage facility(work for me) is walking distance away. I also from a business perspective have started using recyclable packaging or recycling old packaging for all our shipped items. One gripe i do have is the bus situation and prices, my daughter qualified for a excellent scheme round here for a pay once for all year and travel as much as you like pass. This is a really good positive ive got to say for our local council.But i WISH they would subsidised buses more for adults its far far cheaper for us to go into town and park up petrol ect in the car rather than catch the bus. I also buy i would say 90% plus of my clothing purchases are second hand so i try to help there too. sorry for the long ramble. Oh last point, i got from Lidl some reusable net veg/fruit bags rather than getting a plastic bag every time they were about 50p,
I love this! You inspire me to be more sustainable. I just went to my computer and deleted all my tabs with online shopping I was looking through. :) We really need to all work together to make a lifestyle change and I love your tips!
Yes! I love your videos so much 😁 you've helped me on my way to cutting down on my bad shopping habits considerably. I know your life's been hectic but can we pllllllease have another Renovlog 💕
Thank you for your videos- I have made so many changes in my family’s life. We put out very little trash now due to farmers markets and bulk stores in eastern Canada. I have been so inspired by you!! I even have started a compost pot at work😃
we need more resources on recycling correctly! in the US where i live a lot of people recycle inappropriate things since it's single-stream, or the infrastructure is just not very good and can't handle a lot of materials. and of course reducing and reusing items are even better options 🤗
Thanks for all the information. I try to eat seasonal and regional and also try other small steps during the day. I like to kook forward to things like strawberry and Asparagus season or Berry season and I am also preparing Well... How to say? We are cooking jam and Apple Sauce etc. from fruits from my moms garden for all year usw :) And we are reusing jars year by year since I was a kid. 😁
Thank you for saying meat eaters aren’t bad. I think many people are misled when they’re buying processed vegan foods like “stuff that’s made to look like meat” & tofu...they don’t think how it’s all processed by a factory. Animal husbandry goes back to the dawn of man. I buy meats from a local farm with free range very well treated cattle. We eat meat on occasion but mostly plants :)
My goals on the topic this year is to learn more about sustainability and where food comes from and when/how it grows (super excited to read your book!) and learn more about cruelty free, sustainable make up and fashion :)
Hi! I heard recently that streaming is responsible for more carbon emissions than aviation today. So I'm trying to reduce my time on youtube and Netflix, and it's so hard because this was my main hobby xD Now I will ry to read more books because dematerialized material is much more ecological than materialized. Like, listening to a CD you bought is much better than listening to the album on Spotify or Deezer. I also download the videos I want to watch several times, because every new time you watch something on youtube or netflix adds to the use of servers, while if you download then you can watch as many times as you want - if I got it properly. But downloading also is very energy demanding. Well. I also cleaned my mail box - because each mail you keep in your mailbox must be stored somewhere in a server that consumes a lot of energy to be refrigerated. And there is so many emails we keep for nothing without even giving a look at them! So I deleted enerything unneccessary and downloaded the ones I wanted to keep for later The numerical has a great impact on CO2 release unfortunately
Yeeeee..... Definitely not giving up my Netflix 😅 I don't have a TV or computer setup so my only entertainment is either books, Netflix on phone or RU-vid lol. But I think a great way to decrease your use of it would be to go out and do outdoor activities!
Great and important video! Thank you😊I always go on my holiday in England and my favourite place is Cornwall , this summer we are staying in Bude and will be travelling around 😊I promise I am not annoying tourist 😉Ps love your book 😘
The tip about doing it like your grandparents would have done it is the best tips ever and you can apply it to all the five tips you mentioned. You can't do exactly as they did, but the mindset I like! The generations before us would have eaten local and seasonal food, the would have travelled mostly by walking, even if it was a long distance to walk. And was it to far away to walk there, they wouldn't have gone if they really did not need to (or really seldom) and done things locally instead. They would have bought only what they needed. They would have mended clothes and taking care of everything they owned so it would last longer. They would have composted the little food waste they made… Not Everything was better back then. Recycling was not a thing then, for example. But for many areas, I think it work to think like that. Things I think has a great impact: 1. Use your voice! Vote for sustainability. Make it clear to your surroundings that this is an important matter. Make an social environment where sustaiability is the norm. 2. Research what your countrys strong and weak sides are on sustaiability. Things have a bigger impact if you do the right thing in your context. For example: where I live, recycling and taking care of waste is an area where lots have happened and it is pretty easy to be sustaiable when talking about waste here, because we recycle pretty much anything, and what can't be recycled is made to energy in different ways that houses are heated on. I Think it is only 2% (or even lower) goes to landfill, and thats only the things that they cant take care of in some way. That means that for me, zero waste would not have that big of an impact on the environment for me, living in the country that I live, than for someone who lives in a country where everything goes to landfill. For me, it has a greater impact to look over my travelling and energy consuption, for example. In that area I feel like it has happened very little in my country so travelling is harder on the environment here than in a country where green travelling is an acessible option. Of course everything has an impact. But if you want to do the things that has a great impact on things, you have to research what the "rules" are in your area.
I can only agree! Most impactful ways to cut down on CO2 from what I recently read: - plantbased diet (more impactful than seasonal, local and organic) - modern insulation and heating - less flying
You should come to York! It’s beautiful up here and there’s quite a few places where you can get amazing vegan food. Sadly one of the best vegan restaurants closed here but there’s other good ones!
I'm very lucky to live on the Isle of Wight, last year we had 2 weeks holiday, and we stayed home and did what our tourists do. Lots of nice long walks, sea swimming. Gonna do it again this year x
Hey I love it to see you sharing the consciousness for sustainability. I think all of your points are great. Still I would really hope to see you making a political statement regarding climate change. Everybody can start in his or her own life and that is amazing. However our greatest problem is our energy production which is structural problem, so we need to go out there and protest for a coal and oil free future. To conclude a very important point is to connect to similar-thinking people and let the politicians and economy hear your voice!
for me where I live there are a few things I can't do...I live in a studio apt...cozy less energy used its great...but I haven't purchased: clothes or shoes in 7 yrs, I haven't purchased feminine products in 3 yrs I use reusable pads (AMAZING) I haven't purchased razors in over 2 yrs ( I got a great deal from a lady who got 2 feminine dry shaver on ebay as gifts, one had a beat up box but item was new! I stop purchasing q tips I use stainless steel ear curette, I use body & shampoo bars Ethique OMG amazing, I don't use any hair products I keep my hair very short and got a great hair clipper and now I cut my own hair I save money and a trip to a shop, I use soap nuts, laundry once a month, unplug my tv and laptop when not in use, I don't have electrical appliances just stove, hand pour my coffee, I have a water filter at home and glass and stainless steel bottles...I make my own lotion, my own cleaning products, I make my own vinegar, I use my reusable bags and produce bags, I buy in small amounts to not waste food...I have a specific diet so I don't need to buy a lot of groceries, I cook my pups food so no plastic containers for his food and his poop bags are compostable, I use my own glassware and utensils from home for my food for work, I don't use make up, nothing designer, I hardly go out, I work out at home, I listen to audio books from my local library for free, I live very minimalist, sustainable, frugal, I use and reuse everything I can, it has helped me save money, has made my life more gentler being aware of my surroundings, I recycle and try to reduce my recycle and waste as much as possible, my family lives very far away and I only see them maybe once every 2 yrs, its expensive and far so in that aspect it has helped me reduce carbon footprint as well as save me $. also I do internal tourism, a few times a year I will take a drive to another town I haven't seen and I ALWAYS EAT LOCAL...ITS THE BEST...I know it doesn't seem as much but i feel good the amount of changes I have been able to make in my own life and pray it is contributing at least a little to our planet. GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS
One thing that I just can't believe is why new houses being built are not having solar panels fitted as standard, it should be compulsory now. I tried to get them with one of the grants a few years back but my roof was the wrong shape according to the satellite image they checked, it is just about money and not survival of the planet. Government won't say solar panels should be compulsory because then the energy companies profits go down and they are all hand in glove with each other.
I always use the 4 Rs. Reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse. Not a lot of people have heard of refuse. I see it as saying no to unnecessary waste that you don't need to create. Saying no to flyers, free samples, plastic grocery bags, paper shopping bags, plastic cutlery, campaign buttons ect.
This video came at the just right time! I was just about to buy a cane from Amazon and you reminded me to try to get it second hand :) my second hand can should be arriving in a week!
Love love love that you explicitly say to not shame people who are in poverty or who don't have access to more nutritious veg food for not eating vegan. 💛💛💛
Great video! Love the message. But please give us tourists a break... I love Cornwall and always take care when visiting. Haha from the States but the west penwith is my homeland (last name = trevarthen!). Congrats on your book - have mine on order! Cheers xoxo
I’m sure there are lots of amazing tourists too, don’t get me wrong! There are just lots of annoying and disrespectful ones as well! Having lived here my whole life it’s sad to see the litter that appears during the summer season, and just how badly everyone drives 😅
Oh and a holiday suggestion.....especially as you have a dog the Northumberland coast is beautiful and very overlooked by people from the south going to the lake district and peak district. The pennine trail is in the peaks though and is great
david chester I totally agree it’s paradise for dog walking and the scenery is stunning. And so unspoilt! And friendly people. I love Northumberland xx
Buying food which is marked down in supermarkets as it's getting put in the bin at the end of the day is another way to stop food waste. You might end up with some more plastic in your bin but I'd rather that than the perfectly good food ending up there as well.
There's a crazy stat that something like 10 calories of hydrocarbon energy are used in the western world to produce 1 calorie of food. It's interesting what you say about grandparents. Mine used to eat loads of cuts of meat most would consider to be pet food these days. If we eat animals we can at least make the most of the animal.
plus those cuts are often cheap, at my local supermarket you can get packages of fish with the filet removed for way cheaper than the filet. great for fish curry 😃and chicken feet/heads/carcasses make great broth, cow tongue is very tender and delicious, liver can help make ground beef more savory like in a bolognese 🤗
I personally think if you have the resources and buy animal products or need a new item, really try and buy the best quality. We only buy organic and local animal products. These industries will always be there but that way your money is pushing in the right direction.
I’m definitely working on my food waste this year and being more aware. I compost so it’s not the worst, but it’s the fact that i’m wasting money when I throw out food.
I’m envious of places with great public transport, lol. We live in the desert and you just can’t go anywhere without a car. Plus, the public buses to our neighboring city are a total death trap. So many bus accidents. You also see more “ghost bikes” around here than actual cyclists 😥. I do at least try to be minimalist, compost and avoid plastic when possible!
A big omission here is political activism! As individuals, our consumer choices make a tiny difference, if they make a difference at all. Massive, systemic change is required to prevent against future catastrophes. The most effective thing we can do as individuals is pressure our governments to enact that change - one person hooking up their home with renewable energy is not the same thing as an entire country phasing out fossil fuels to run on solar/wind etc. Yes, these small individual changes are good, but nothing significant is going to change or improve unless there is a huge shift in the way the world is run. That starts with nagging your political representatives to step up and protect your future.
So true, I wish all countries can do it. I live in the Philippimes a third world country and as much as I want to do the things Maddie said, my country is not capable of that yet. Im just happy that we have balance meals here, some dishes are made up of entirely veggies, so I'll just cut down on my meat cause I cant give that up entirely. Last year, I switched to bamboo toothbrushes amd reusable pads. I also enjoy thrift shopping now. With transportation, the traffic here is crazy so you'll really be pissed driving your own car anyway so the best choice is to commute. Anyway, I hope that our governments and businesses be mindful as well because sometimes a little kickstart from them really does a lot 😊
@Carrie I agree with that too, I'm middle aged and have no intention of having kids cause I can't afford it, don't want the commitment and am a coward when it comes to pain so I'm happy for others to go for it instead of me😊 But I also don't want to come across preachy as at the end of the day it's our nature to procreate so went for the middle ground. I also find it frustrating that in the West we keep telling people not to have kids when the problem of over population is in Asia and Africa.
The travel bit is really hard. Planes in Europe are often much cheaper than taking the train (like Ryanair for instance). Also, about driving, it's cheaper in the long run to drive instead of taking public transport here in the Netherlands. Trains are so damn expensive, and that's sad if you are on a tight budget. OH, also funny. We were looking to take the train from Antwerp to Paris and compare the costs with the car. It's the same price if you are alone, but with 2 people it's half already because you can share the gas costs. It does take twice as long though.
“Somewhere you can go without flying” laughs in Australian (This is a joke, you absolutely can go places without Flying, but when your state is the size of the UK)
Thank you for this list. These are good tips to make small changes. I’d like to ask why you don’t encourage contacting MPs and policy makers as a quick thing to do that could potentially make a huge impact? I love your videos and love lifestyle tips but without changing an unsustainable system, I worry these simply become consumer habits.
Hi Maddie Great vid as always I need help I keep getting ill with Bronchitis as you may know this can be caused by chemicals coughs colds ect.Basically I want to rid my flat of chemicals in cleaning stuff toiletries ect how and where do I begin to try to go chemical free. Thanks
Don't have babies, don't buy clothes just for a change or fashion but only if you need them, don't wear makeup etc. but few people want to take those options
