February marks the start of Lent, a Christian tradition which begins on Ash Wednesday (14th February), and finishes on Holy Saturday (29th March).
The season is focused on giving something up for forty days, and more often than not, people use Lent to give up on indulgences that they often take for granted.
That inspired us to think of a few items you could give up during Lent that could not only help improve the environment but also save you money!
Cut down on plastic packaging
One area we could all work on improving is cutting down the amount of plastic packaging we use. Not only is it easy to do but it can make a massive difference to our environment. During Lent, could you:
- Carry reusable shopping bags?
- Quit bottled water, carry a multi-use bottle and refill with tap water throughout the day?
- Avoid buying pre-packaged fruit and vegetables when you carry out your weekly grocery shop?
Stop wasting much food
According to the Food Standards Agency, the UK throws away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from its homes every year! That’s roughly £470 of food waste per household.
Use Lent to switch up your grocery shop:
- Create a meal planner before you go shopping, not only will this help you stop buying those food items you never end up eating, but it could save you lots of money throughout the year
- Store your food properly to prevent it going to waste
- Recycle some of your food waste by creating your very own compost! It’s great for your garden and a wonderful way to turn your food waste into something good for the environment
By making even small changes to your grocery shop, you could make big changes to how much money you save and how much food you waste.
Reduce the amount of water you waste
Have you ever considered how much water you could be wasting in your household? Why not use Lent as an opportunity to use a little less water and save a lot more on your water bills!
- Take shorter showers
- If you’re going to use dishwasher, make sure it’s full
- Only put a clothes wash on if you’ve got a full load to clean
Making small changes to your life, even for forty days can make a huge impact to the environment – and once you’ve cut certain things out of your life, you can learn to cut them for good!