I am sure that some people, living in cities and coping with life in a tiny flat must look at my life and think – well, it’s easy for you. They look at the wealth of resources those with gardens have at their disposal. They imagine how easy it would be to live more sustainably if they only had access to outside space and natural resources on tap. We are indeed very lucky. Our garden provides many of the things we need to transition to a greener way of life. But no matter where you live, you have more resources for sustainable living than you think.
When we cannot look to our gardens to provide the things we need to live more sustainably, where can we look?
Reuse and upcycling offer a range of interesting options. Most homes have far more to work with than often meets the eye. Often, you can make use of things that might otherwise be thrown away. For example:
- You can use food packaging to start an indoors garden. (Use plastic pots and trays for seed starting, make yourself a mini watering can, etc..)
- Upcycle old clothing or textiles to make new clothes, or repair what you have to breathe new life into them.
- Use old clothing or textiles for other purposes around your home. For example, make your own blinds, rugs or draught excluders to keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter, and reduce energy use. Make a fabric vertical garden with planting pockets. Or make yourself a reusable shopping bag to reduce plastic use.
- Use cardboard and paper to make paper pulp, then make your own recycled paper.
- Or use old paper/ magazines to make waste paper bins or woven storage baskets.
Your household rubbish is a resource – use it however you can and you will find that it is easier than you might imagine to reduce consumption and begin living in a more sustainable way.
EWSP Consultancy 