little white truths

Stop buying wrapping paper

Sure, if you're buying paper that's been recycled, that's great - but how about not buying it at all? When it comes to wrapping gifts, I use the pictures my kids draw daily or bring home from kinder/childcare (the ones we don't want to keep, that is) - and if you don't have kids, just use the sheets from an old magazine or brochure/junk mail that's shown up in your letterbox. 

You can also use the tissue paper or paper stuffing that's used to pad out online orders or items you've bought in-store - so don't throw that away when your goodies arrive, keep it so you can re-purpose it.

Sure, it's nice to be given something that's beautifully wrapped with all the bells and whistles, but it's not necessary - and of course, it's what's on the inside that counts ; )

Need gift ideas? Buy sustainable items

I've been doing this for the past year or so, and these things are incredibly well-received - especially because it's not always easy to buy gifts for the person who has everything, who doesn't need much, or who prefers to buy the things they want for themselves because they're picky (my husband is like this).

So this year people have received sustainable items from me, including fruit and vegetable storage that increases the longevity of these items (which helps reduce food waste), replacements for glad wrap, reusable coffee cups and thermoses, sustainable everyday goods like replacements for washing powder, reusable bread bags and even seedlings so they can grow their own stuff. 

Boring presents? Maybe. Except that everyone uses them and people almost seem relieved that they don't have to think about/research these items for themselves. Definitely something to think about. It can also take the headache out of gift-buying, and I would prefer to support sustainable companies rather than those who produce consumables we just don't need.

If you want a good website that offers heaps of these kinds of environmentally friendly alternatives, I recommend Nourished Life.

Plant trees and other greenery

Whether you live in a house or an apartment, you can still make sure that your garden, balcony or even your living space is filled with as many trees, plants and pot-plants as possible. Planting trees is the cheapest, easiest thing we can all do to help delay the disastrous impacts of climate change while society gets its act together and implements much-needed solutions to a global problem.

Planting greenery is also a wonderful thing to do with kids, and you can give them the responsibility of watering said greenery so they learn how to be responsible for a living thing and can enjoy watching it flourish. It's also a great way to show your child that you trust them to look after it, which can help build their confidence.

Of course, growing your own fruit, herbs and vegetables is a great thing to do too. We're lucky enough to have heaps of fruit trees in our garden, and there's something wonderful about being able to walk into your own backyard and pick a mandarin from your tree, and sit there eating it in the sunshine. Heaven.

Install solar panels 

I know, I know - these things ain't cheap. But neither's the annual holiday you take each year. We haven't travelled for the last two years for a few reasons (one of which is that travelling with kids ain't easy!), but another reason is that we preferred to put that money towards installing solar panels - and given the rebates available in Australia, installing panels was a damn sight cheaper than a family trip to Europe or Asia. It wasn't much more expensive than a family trip to Queensland either.

Plus if you skip getting on a plane, you'll be avoiding spewing more carbon into the atmosphere - while making your household greener for decades to come. So forgo the plane flights for a year or two and instead travel by land or sea somewhere local if you need a holiday. 

Worth noting is that, while we had to draw-down on our mortgage to fund our solar panels, our household bills have dropped already and that means the draw-down won't have an impact for long because we're now able to put more onto the mortgage each month. Holidays don't pay themselves back, that's for sure ; )

If you're renting or live in an apartment, petition the landlord or owners corporation to install panels. It will increase the value/attractiveness of the property afterall (because tenants/prospective buyers will have lower electricity bills, and any prospective buyer won't have to do it themselves), so you may be able to convince them - especially if they've been thinking about doing it anyway.

I think it's also worth mentioning that installing panels encourages other people to do the same. I know three families already who have gone on to install their own panels after they heard we'd done ours. Sure, they were thinking about it already - but hearing that others have done it can give people the impetus to bite the bullet themselves. And when they do it, their friends start doing it... And so the tree grows.