Ginger Leaf Living

In the words of John Lennon: ‘So it is Christmas, and what have you done?’ This time of year always offers a time for reflection, and in our collective journey to creating the most sustainable life for yourselves, reflection is a useful tool for taking stock of progress and planning for the future. Having just spent my morning wrapping my gifts, I feel it is in the festive spirit to share what I’m doing this year, ideas you could try, and my reflections and goals for the new year – maybe prompting you to create your own…

• Creating over consuming – as much as I do love Christmas, in recent years I can spot more clearly the way overconsumption goes into overdrive at this time of year, from Black Friday to panic shopping, which kind of detracts from the whole sentiment of the celebration. To break this cycle, putting an emphasis on creating over consuming means not only not driving unsustainable habits and businesses, but also getting involved in more present and meaningful Christmas activities. Whether its drying orange slices for decorations, baking for friends or making scrapbook gifts with memorable photos, these will not only be lovely to receive but fun to make too!
• Leave no trace – The amount of waste created by this festive season is off the scale, so this year we are all saying no to overspilling bins! This year I’ve either wrapped gifts in squares of fabric or used wrapping paper with no non-paper elements, for easy recycling. Using paper tape also helps your recipients recycle easier too 😉During my wrapping session, I got out my little box of ribbons and ties (Yes I do keep everything…) and used these to secure my fabric wrappings or attach paper labels. Then, friends and family and reuse them next year and the cycle of reuse can continue – happy days! Note: I honestly think these might be some of the most beautifully wrapped presents I’ve given this year, so sustainable wrapping definitely isn’t dull!
• Thoughtful gifting – I always was someone who loved shopping, so if money was no object I’d love to get all my friends and family lots of things I’d think they’d like. But apart from money actually being an object, no one really needs that much stuff. Sometimes people actually don’t wany anything, or sometimes that one thing they have asked for really is just what they want. For so long we have felt that it is ‘things’ that show we care and give value, so there’s an instinct to buy more just for the sake of it. But asking people what they want and actually listening is more than enough. Choosing gifts have have longevity, can be reused or create very little waste means less harm to our planet and more care behind every present given.

Other ideas I love…

• Crafting gifts: Maybe you have a specific skill or theme in mind, but gifting yourself time to create things for others gives you many mindful moments as well as a hand-made gift for your loved ones which will mean such a lot to them🫶 .
• Experience gifts: For the people who have everything, getting them an experience gift for something they love would be such a fun option! Be it a theatre trip, meal out or your own kind of voucher to spend in a local business, such as an independent bookshop, this gift provides quality time together and treasured memories. Even planning a day trip together for next year and putting it in the diary now would be such a special thing for friends, especially where meeting in person can be tricky, so that that time together won’t be less prioritised once work etc begins again.

Reflections & Goals

This year has gone beyond quick, but there are definitely some parts of my sustainability journey that come to mind. I’ve transitioned most of my diet to vegetarian, and am loving it! I think I’ve been a lot more adventurous this year with trying new meat-free and vegan dishes, especially when eating out. In particular, trying different cheeses and creating dishes around them🧀 . Next year I hope to add some more recipes to my vegetarian cooking and try some more vegan alternatives too.

I’ve also travelled to a lot more places by train and have become a lot more excited by planning days out by rail, such as beach visits and city day trips. I’ve simultaneously been able to reduce my number of car journeys and travel much further than I ever have before, so its a win-win! Next year I’d like to take the train to more places on my bucket list and organise more day trips with friends to new places.

This year has also educated me a lot more on the most pressing actions needed to address the issues Earth is facing, and that not all of them can be done alone. There is so much individuals can do to create a more sustainable life for themselves and reduce our collective impact, but we need governments and those of influence to really make the change happen. So while I’m still working hard on my own actions, I’m also working on being kinder to myself in terms of eco actions and focussing on those who can help with more urgency.

I hope 2023 has been good to you all, and wish you a very sustainable Christmas and happy and hopeful New Year for 2024 – let’s make this festive period the most cosy, simple and loving time and show those around us and our planet we care too. Merry Christmas! ❄️

The unfortunate truth about being a citizen on planet Earth is that bad things happen. Sometimes personally, sometimes sporadically, and sometimes seemingly all the time. To begin this post I’d like to send all my thoughts to those caught up in war and disaster at this time – we are thinking of you❤️

And just when you think it can’t get worse, that’s when your government picks the opportune moment to backtrack on sustainability progress. How gallant. So then this might lead you to thinking, ‘well, what’s the point? Its clearly not a priority, I don’t see anyone else trying’ or a feeling of ‘I can’t do this alone’.

Sustainability can sometimes be a lonely business. It is a topic centred in the future, something unknown and often scary. It requires urgent change now but that change might not be seen immediately. And as humans, this is something our minds struggle with. But if you, someone interested in the future, someone who cares about being able to lead a long, happy, sustainable life, gives up now, then that means we can all give up. If we all think like that, who will live sustainably? Does that mean we have given in to the ideas of our politicians? Have they won?

Individual level actions cannot solve the climate, biodiversity and sustainability challenges ahead of us alone. But they sure make a huge difference. There are nearly 8.1 billion people living on this planet. If they all give up, then we’ve given up. But if everyone steps up, we can do this together. Facing these challenges needs every person, and now is not the time to be disheartened and give up, if anything its time to fight harder.

So if you feel like what you do doesn’t make a difference, remember:

• How far we’ve come – we do things now without thinking that those before us wouldn’t have considered. How many reusable water bottles do you see? How many urban parks? How much more does climate change make the news? The backlash against latest environmental U-turns from the public and businesses… As Hans Rosling notes in ‘Factfulness’ (an excellent read, highly recommend!), things can be bad and better at the same time. And it is making things better we most focus on.
• You are not alone – you can’t be because I have written this post having had these thoughts. So unless this goes unread there is more than just you and me feeling helpless. There are so many organisations out there fighting to keep environmental and sustainability issues on the agenda and plenty of community heroes working everyday but often unnoticed. You are not alone, we just need to be louder than those who are not committed to action.
• The public gets what the public wants – don’t hide your views or values, vote with your morals, keep the conversation alive and don’t let sustainability issues get left behind. We can’t allow it. So choose not to be like those in power, show them up, be better!
• Live life for you – I know just how overwhelming it can feel when it seems no progress is being made and you remembering your shopping bag probably doesn’t make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. But remember why we want to live sustainably – to create a healthy, happy life we want to lead, without all the negatives that come with the over-consuming life we are used to. A slower pace of life, more nature, clean air and water, fresh food, equality and better health. This will look different for every person, but it can help to mood board your vision of how you want your life to look so you have a goal to aim for when you are feeling disheartened (see an example below, but you can approach it in whichever way you like). If you were the only person on Earth, would your actions and behaviours now make you happy? Do the best you can do and you will create a nice life for yourself, regardless of other peoples actions. Sometimes just knowing that what you’re doing for yourself and those around you is enough.

So when trying to take in the whole world is just too much, come back to your world and what you can do. It doesn’t need to be everything, it just needs to be something. We are not like them, we do care, and we will create a beautiful life for ourselves that does more good than harm. We will choose to live our lives this way, not just because we have to, but because we want to give back, live more simply and be a part of this living world, not its destruction. So keep going with the big actions and lobby for those in power and business to make big changes now, but know whatever goes on in this big old world, you have control over what you do, you matter and you make a difference. Happy October 🧡

Cupboards full of tupperware and not a matching lid between them, or empty jars and nothing to put in them. At the start of the season where we look to start winding down and focussing on our surroundings, now is the time to make sure our homes are working in the most sustainable way for ourselves. Here’s our shortlist of the refill containers to invest in this autumn to reduce waste and make your home beautiful too…

• Large glass jars – A kitchen staple for dry foods such as pasta, sugar, rice, flour and more, as well as liquids like oils and cordials, not only can these be taken to zero waste shops to be refilled but by storing these items in clear containers you can easily see how much of what you’ve got left and when you need to purchase more. Simples!
• Soap dish/pump dispenser – To keep those hands clean, get yourself a soap dish for any solid soaps, the least wasteful option. If you still use liquid soap, for instance in the kitchen, a refillable soap dispenser which you can take to refill shops will cut out any difficult to recycle waste.
• Cleaning bottles and pumps – Pump mechanisms are infamously hard to recycle, so having a spray bottle you can refill with cleaning formulas or your own formulation prevents pumps ending up in landfill. You could even keep an old bottle, give it a quick clean, and reuse it without spending any money 😏
• Bags – Plastic, jute, cotton or other, whatever you use as your shopping/everything bag, invest in a sturdy one and then REUSE!
• Food containers with lids – Preferably ones that are good for everything: freezing, microwaving… So all those lovely leftovers and batch cooked meals are ready for you time and time again. (Maybe make a system now to avoid the lid seeking stress later in the season…)
• ….And if containers aren’t available, skip the cling film and reuse your Beeswax wraps to cover bowls, pack lunches and wrap leftovers with minimal waste. A quick wash and dry and they are ready for use again.
• Shampoo bar box – If you have made the transition to solid beauty products, a refillable/reusable container is a good shout for keeping your products dry between uses and safe during your travels.

These are just a few that with everyday use will make a big impact on limiting your household waste. But don’t stop in the home: remember to take refillables like coffee cups, water bottles and bags out with you to become a real zero waste hero. Make use of these items and hopefully you can create a more organised home life as well as a more conscious one for the planet 💚

Summer is here again, and often brings with it a need to completely reinvent your life and make the most of every moment. It’s easy to forget when the whole world seems to be travelling across the world on holiday, purchasing a whole new summer wardrobe and generally galivanting around, the values we should be collectively working towards. Sustainability is normally associated with cutting back, restrictions and a boring, plain existence – but in reality it is far from that way. Here is why actively curating a sustainable life you want to live is both beneficial for the planet and for you…

Sometimes making the most sustainable choice can be hard. It’s why we are still working on it, years after we knew we had to change. But there are many lifestyle changes which are easy to implement and can make our lives better in more ways than one. Take drying the laundry outside, an activity that gives you 5-10 minutes of quiet time to allow your thoughts to wander without screens or distractions. Reusing bags, water bottles and coffee cups gives you a sense of ownership over your possessions, knowing that everything has a use and you don’t feel as overwhelmed by piles of ‘things’. Growing your own food, whether windowsill herbs or a vegetable patch in the garden, creating wildlife homes and using active travel to get around, all give you a sense of accomplishment and achievement as well as bettering your own health.

Sustainability at its core means the ability to be sustained and to carry on in the long term. Therefore the best changes come from those you can work into your lifestyle and stick to, and that benefit you as well. If at the start you are finding habits difficult to stick to, romanticising a more sustainable life for yourself – a life you want to live and can envision – might give you to motivation to keep at the changes you have implemented. You could first put together a mood board or inspiration page of what this life will look like, be it ‘cottagecore’, clean and clutter free, more organic, healthier, more in tune with nature or even more cost effective. Then you can implement this into the everyday small things you do and be intentional about how you live your life. Life is happening right now, so finding the small things everyday to enjoy can make our lives more fulfilling as well as being better for our mental health.

For me, romanticising the things I do to be more sustainable comes in the form of wanting to be more self-sufficient, such as baking and cooking from scratch and using homegrown ingredients where I can, in addition to wanting a beautiful life for myself, which I pursue through using aesthetic yet reusable products, like bags and beauty products and spending time outside in nature. These things might seem frivolous, but by viewing sustainable change in a positive and intentional way I don’t feel held back by making conscious choices and instead know I’m contributing to the future I want.

I’m sure many of us have similar visions for the future: walking around green spaces full of life, breathing in clean air, eating fresh produce and being part of thriving local communities. All of which are achievable in a sustainable society. We have to believe in the changes we are making now and hold that vision of the future we want close so that meaningful change can happen. And if imagining you are living a simple cottage life when you fix your clothes or garden outside, or are on a hot girl walk to the shops when you leave your car at home helps you stick to your goals, then go for it. Make sustainability fun and fit your own aesthetic! Maybe then one day this life won’t have to be romanticised, but will be there when we look outside.

Summer 2023 sustainability glow up is officially underway ☀️😎🌻