If we can't get an electric car, the vegan life isn't for us or we just want some simple wins - what can we do? How many of these little hacks are already in your life? Is there a new one you can pick up?
Hack 1: Mushroom tubs for sustainable living (hear me out...!)
Unpopular opinion: my fave savoury food is probably mushrooms. My house is full of mushrooms tubs. Not like I'm hoarding them, but in a useful way. When doing the weekly food shop it can be tricky to get stuff without plastic can't it? We're all on a budget and are time-poor. One way I feel better about some of the food plastic waste I have is by reusing it.
So my house is full of mushroom tubs. They make excellent drawer organisers for anything: pants, socks, kitchen stuff, odds and ends. At a quick count in my studio there are at least 9 of them in here. I use them to sort yarn scraps, fibres being used for different projects and even organising my bookmark kits as I make them. They stack nicely inside one another, even those of different sizes. They are mostly white so it's easy to see what's in them. I love mushrooms and their tubs - can you tell?
Glass jars are also an easy win, I don't think I've recycled one of those in years. Here's a studio shelfie. I can only imagine how much money this has saved me in the studio from buying plastic storage boxes too!
Hack 2: Getting someone else to upcycle your stuff
Our dining table is my favourite upcycle. I'm not a huge DIY person so it's not something I do lots of, but this one is epic. When we needed a bigger table, we found this old tabletop in the perfect size on a secondhand site. We bought it but didn't like the legs. They weren't strong enough for the size of the table and with all the wear and tear it was going to get, it was obvious it wouldn't last.
So we called Andrew from Slo Workshop who's based in East Yorkshire to find out if it was the legs that were the problem or the whole thing. Luckily he said it was the legs! He helped us pick out some new ones from The Hairpin Leg Co and expertly fitted them so it would work in our new space. Now the table is completely unique, fits the space and design of the space perfectly.
Hack 3: Visible mending
I'm not a particularly neat at sewing by hand, so I've always put off mending things, I thought I'd ruin it or make it worse. Now I don't care. It's worth it to make lovely things last longer. I've repaired jumpers, laundry baskets and my fave tote bag. Maybe it's because I place more value on my things now and want them to last. Or maybe it's as I get older and I just don't care as much what others think. I don't mind the mending being visible and 'not neat' - I'm embracing it.
I know this picture's blurry (sorryyy!) but this is my comfy jumper, it's a bit scraggly but it's so comfy it's going nowhere. A few holes were appearing so I did some very random mending stitches - I didn't follow a pattern and now my comfy jumper lives on - woo! I foresee this being patched and stitched all over in the coming years.
The joy with visible mending is it's meant to be seen. I love using contrasting colours to make repairs. You don't need anything fancy - just needle and thread. It's also really freeing because there's no right or wrong way. If you search #visiblemeding on Instagram or YouTube you'll find thousands of clips showing different techniques. A quick scroll and you'll find something that can work for your project and you can copy for your garment - easy!
Hack 4: Set up alerts for secondhand treasure
Sometimes new is needed. But many times secondhand is cheaper, better and easier. Take my new yarn storage, isn't she beautiful? And yes, that's an empty drawer! Won't be for long...!
These units I wanted are from IKEA, after a lot of research I decided they would be the most efficient use of my studio space. I didn't need them urgently so I set up alerts on local online selling platforms like Facebook Marketplace. Did you know you can make alerts? Use them! With a bit of planning, they save SO much time. It's so easy. You can setup alerts for specific details like brand/item names or more general searches like 'storage unit'.
A few weeks later I got a ping and these were available only 10 mins from me. Much closer than IKEA and for literally 75% less than they would be new. They were a bit wobbly and dusty from being in someone's garage but nothing that couldn't be dealt with. I got them home and gave them a good clean up and tightened the screws and they look brand new.
It was genuinely easier than going all the way to Ikea and paying full price never mind that there was no need to buy new!
Which sustainable hack is your next easy win?
So sustainable living really can be easier, cheaper and better. Which of these hacks is one you can pick up? Let me know on Woven by Eve (@wovenbyeve) • Instagram photos and videos
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