How I Plan to Develop My Sustainability Skillset

From early adulthood, being a more sustainable person has always been some form of goal. Whether it was learning to enjoy buying secondhand because it was simply the affordable option, or learning about plastics effect on our wildlife, there was always something there that made me want to develop my skillset and challenge myself to live more sustainably.

I will say now, I'm not perfect.

I would describe my diet as flexitarian as I eat some meat each week. But my diet is far better than it was 10-15 years ago. I own some items that contain leather (such as my Doc Martins for work) because I'd rather buy them secondhand than buy a leather-free (which usually means plastic) alternative. And I still buy drinks in plastic bottles from time to time.

I'm not perfect, but we don't need one person who is perfect. We need lots of people doing little here and there.

Below I'm going to break down section by section on what I do to be more sustainable and share what I plan to add to it this coming year.

But please remember, not everything I do may be accessible to you for a variety of reasons. This post is not me shaming anybody, or expecting people to do exactly what I do. Not everyone is able to, and I'm sure there are people out there who are capable of doing far more than I can.

Clothes

Several years ago, I gave myself a year-long goal to buy only secondhand clothing for myself. I excluded underwear from this list because I didn't really know who to look for at the time (and as a G/GG, available options aren't usually suitable for me)

That year was life changing. I haven't returned anywhere near to my previous purchasing habits since I did this; I prefer looking secondhand in charity shops and on apps such as Vinted. I even bought all of my maternity bras through Vinted. All four bras together cost less than the average bra in store. My most recent secondhand clothing purchase was a pair of sketchers that had only been worn once because they were too big for the previous owner. I paid just under £25 for these!! (Absolute bargain!)

Now, when I do buy new, I try and purchase from more sustainable companies. To make it easier on myself the first thing I look for in a company is 'Are they a B-Corp?' That helps me in knowing I'm heading in the right direction.

Not Basics has some wonderful items that are well made. I love their leggings and long sleeved V-neck top. I lived in these leggings before my pregnancy and since having my baby, I bought two of the V-neck tops and I'm loving them with a Vinted-bought pair of mom jeans. (Sustainable mum-look, anyone?)

I have basic sewing skills (Which I'll come back to later on) so when a piece of clothing gets a hole, loses a button, or rips in some way I do my best to repair it. Even my husband comes to me asking for repairs on a beloved piece of clothing.

Personal Hygiene

For personal hygiene, I've been slowly doing what I can to eliminate plastic from my bedroom and bathroom. I still use toothepaste and mouthwash in plastic containers (my teeth admittedly aren't in the best condition so I need the products which have higher levels of flouride) I also need floss on the sticks, I cannot floss when it requires holding it in your hands. It's too much for me. Maybe one day I'll find a plastic free version.

My electric toothbrush is from Suri. I love it, and even though you're supposed to replace the heads every few months, my brush head isn't showing any signs of needing to be replaced yet. But when the time comes, I can send them back to Suri to take care of.

My Deodorant, body wash, lip balm, and shampoo and conditioner are all from Wild. I've used their deodorant the longest, I also need their sensitive version. It's the deodorant I'll recommend to anybody without a doubt. I love it so much! Despite using it daily, each refill lasts me longer than their estimated use, which is an extra bonus!

Their liquid shampoo and conditioner I'm not 100% sold on just yet. My hair's very thick and I only wash it 1-2 times a week. When my hair gets really greasy I have to shampoo it several times to get through to my scalp, which isn't what I want to be doing as part of a simple shower routine. The body wash and lip balm are new favourites of mine. I actually need to order myself some lip balm refills...

In recent years I use makeup less and less, owning only a few products that are my go-to for when I do wear makeup (though I could refine it some more) but when I do, I have two makeup remover cloths that I bought years ago. You just pour water on it and wipe away! It works great and if I have any doubts about leftover makeup, I simply wash my face as normal.

Now for the period care.

In 2023 I bought four pairs of period underwear. Love Luna to be specific. I'd seen so many brands of period pants advertised online and found this in my local Sainsbury's for £10 so I decided "What the hell," and came home with my first pair. I soon bought three more.

I love them!

My goal is to own fourteen pairs. That's two a day for a seven day period - which should be plenty for me. I'm currently trying out a new (to me) brand that does pads, tampons, and liners that are made from organic cotton. If I get on with them, I'll use their liners for non-period days (It's not a necessity, just personal preference) and their tampons with my period underwear. I also plan to keep some of their pads in the bathroom for guests to use and in my work bag for emergencies.

Shopping

When possible, I buy loose produce from the supermarkets. It's better value than the packaged versions and instead of using the plastic produce bags I just put them in the trolly. (I do own some fabric produce bags, I just have a habit of forgetting them in the car in a different shopping bag.) Having the fruit or veg loose in the trolly doesn't bother me, it'll either get washed or peeled.

There's a place near me that opens its garden once a year for Apple Day. It's free entry to go in their orchard and you can get a lot of apples for a very good price. Last October I turned them all into applesauce and gifted some to family. The money made all goes towards funding the care of the garden and orchard. There's also a pick your own pumpkin patch and a fruit place we like to visit yearly too.

I like using Olio both for food and items, though it's harder to collect food items now we have a little one (it's usually later in the evening when listings appear) but before I gave birth we were able to stock up our supply of diced celery in the freezer. All it cost was the fuel used on the local collection and the time put into prepping it afterwards.

If I can shop locally, I do. It isn't all the time or that often but where possible I'll do it. I'd love to buy the mince we use in some cooking from a local butcher, but we batch cook so I don't know how much the quantity of meat would cost and currently, that may not be a feasible option. Though the dream is still there!

I love getting new books, and I do often buy books through Amazon. This year I'm telling myself I'll use my Amazon wish list as just a list. Instead, I'll find the book through either Waterstones, Blackwell's, or World of Books. I don't need a book to be brand new so places like World of Books, charity shops and vinted come in handy. I also plan to use BorrowBox more this year, a library app that offers eBooks and Audiobooks.

The Kitchen and Garden

Still with me? Great!

I've linked these two together as it's mainly around food and food waste.

Before we moved into our home in 2023, we lived with my parents and during lockdown I rediscovered my love for gardening. I was in the garden daily, checking all my plants and excitedly waiting for the sweetcorn to finish growing.

Since moving out, we've yet to sort our garden, though I am leaning towards an allotment. I don't currently drive, and the one that's within walking distance isn't taking new applicants as it'll be moving a bit closer to me sometime in the next few years. I'm holding off for now, but I miss growing basil on my windowsill, so I'm going to try that again this year.

In the kitchen, I still can't convince my partner to get a compost bin for the worktop. (We have cats, and they will stick their noses where they shouldn't.) So I tend to put all my scraps into a pasta bowl before binning them. I've made veg stock out of scraps before, but for now, I want to prioritise making sure as little food as possible goes in the general waste bin and instead into the brown (food/garden waste) bin outside.

For 2025 my partner and I have decided to make our meals healthier by trying to get 30 plants in our diet per week. My link to sustainability here is that I've been looking into climate-friendly foods and these two topics overlap nicely. The more plants I can incorporate into our meals, the better!

And finally, in a bid to support local(-ish. Smaller companies within the UK), I'm trying to buy quality kitchen tools. For Christmas, my partner bought me a chef knife that I had been eyeing for a little while. It's from Katto and he got it engraved with my name and I bought the scabbard that was out of stock just after Christmas. (I'm determined to keep this safe and in good condition!) I love this knife. It's beautifully crafted and I will keep care of it so it can hopefully outlive me. I'm also very tempted by their chopping board, though I'm in no rush for a replacement.

Hobbies and Skills

I'm AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) and I unfortunately have the ADHD trait of hyperfixating on hobbies for a few weeks until they leave or a new one comes along.

Sewing, however, has managed to stick around. I like to sit and do repairs on clothing; I can reattach buttons and close up rips (albeit slightly wonky at times) and I would really like to develop this further. I've bought some uncut patterns secondhand that I want to try making, I've bought a book on alterations and repairs and I save my scrap pieces and threads to use as stuffing (One of my cats loves that I fixed her little avocado toy!)

In an extra attempt to keep my hobby sustainable, I'm looking for unwanted or unused fabric second hand too. One person's scrap fabric is my treasure! (Well, the phrase is close enough...)

Knowledge

I want to learn more.

I want to learn what else I could be doing, and what I am capable of changing to do instead.

As I write this I am halfway through CONSUMED by Aja Barber. This book is teaching me so much about the fast fashion industry and if I weren't where I currently am when it comes to consuming clothes, I would be starting because of this book.

I'm using my library app to look for eBooks and audiobooks that fit my interests. I want to expand my knowledge so I can share it where possible and just live a better, more planet-friendly life.

The Wrap Up

And that is everything I am currently doing and plan to do. While I've no doubt missed one or two things that I'll only remember at 3:26 am on a random weekday, I feel satisfied with the size of the information I've shared today.

Once again, I only do what I know I am able to do. Is there more I could do? Absolutely. Will I guilt myself over not doing them? No, no I won't. A lot of people living an imperfect sustainable life will always be better than a few people living it perfectly.

I'll always do what I can to add to my contribution and I hope my little one grows up to share the same passion and care for our planet that I have.

I'd love to know if there's anything you're doing the same or different to me, or if you're planning on adding new things this year, so please do feel free to share them with me below! Self-sufficiency is great, but it still takes a village after all.