Derval O'Rourke: The top tips for sustainable living in my house
Derval O'Rourke
Living a sustainable life is attempting to reduce our use of the earth's natural resources and our personal resources. I’m very conscious of our choices and how they affect sustainable living in my house. It’s tough to try to be sustainable in every aspect of your life — we are all very busy, so for that reason, I feel that you should choose areas that are achievable for you to make sustainable changes. Doing this will also mean that these changes are more likely to be long-term changes. To celebrate this week’s Sustainability Special, I’m sharing my Top Tips for Sustainable Living and a gorgeous Basil Pesto recipe which will be a great addition to salads, sandwiches and more this summer.
Here are my top five:
There are a few different ways that we’ve made an effort to be sustainable in recent years in our household. We use a composter which is great for waste. I make an effort to drive less — walking and cycling where possible. I have bought a trailer for the back of the bike which is super for putting the kids into safely, which has made a huge difference. I always tried to work from home where possible which cuts down on travel in the car, Covid has made this much easier to do.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB
It’s easy to forget that plastic is not biodegradable and that the plastic we ‘throw away’ still ends up somewhere — be it in our oceans or littering our streets. Plastic is everywhere and is having huge impacts on our planet. Here are some things I try to be aware of which helps me to cut down:
- Declining plastic straws and cutlery when out and about.
- Using a reusable water bottle and avoiding buying plastic bottles where possible. As a bonus, this can also be a great way to encourage you to drink more water throughout the day. I always encourage people to keep one with them and aim to refill it 2-3 times throughout the day.
- Use a reusable instead of a disposable coffee cup, I try to use mine as much as I possibly can. Peter also recently bought me a coffee machine so I can make nice coffee at home — this has made me cut down buying coffee as much, which has also helped in cutting down on the coffee cups.
- Buy fruits and vegetables loose as opposed to in plastic bags if you can. Bananas are a classic example; buy them loose and you immediately cut down on the plastic that you take home with you.
Food waste is incredibly unsustainable. If you can cut down on how much food you waste it will be great for the environment but also for your wallet. My aim before I do a food shop is to have very little food left in the kitchen meaning that we’ve used it all up. I usually do this on a Sunday — if I have lots of veg left, I’ll make a couscous with roast vegetables mixed through it
I try to source my food locally where possible. Of course, there are times this doesn’t happen but I’m conscious of it. I buy my meat from the butcher and my fish from the fishmonger whenever possible. It can be hard to know what food is in season, I use the website ‘Neighbourfood’ and it’s brilliant! Check out their website.
I’ve massively reduced my clothing buys in recent years. I aim for quality with my clothes and try to buy clothes that I will wear for years instead of a few weeks. I try to give clothes to friends or charity shops rather than throwing them away.
When it comes to the kids’ clothes I make a big effort to share clothes with friends who have kids a similar age. Kids grow so quickly and for me I think it’s a huge shame for clothes to be underused. Toys are another item that I make a big effort to share and re-use. Kids go through different stages and grow out of toys. Lots of my kid's toys are second-hand from friends who kindly passed them on to us. Consider who might be happy to pass on their previously loved items to you and vice versa.
Sit down with a pen and paper today and consider what small changes you can make to live more sustainably, which will have a big impact on our environment.
Instead of driving to work, or the shops this week, swap it for a walk if you have the time. This will help in reducing travel by car, which will help the environment and it will also increase your daily steps hugely which will have a positive impact on your mind and body.
Basil pesto is super-tasty and this is quite a healthy version. It can be enjoyed in sandwiches, as a dip or spread, or as a sauce for pasta. You can use Parmesan, Pecorino or Grana Padano — whatever’s available. Remember that cheese goes a long way in pesto, so if you’re looking to cut back on calories and fat you could reduce the quantity of cheese by half.
This pesto will keep in a jam jar in the fridge for up to 10 days. Just make sure you pour a thin film of olive oil over the top of the pesto before you put the lid on — this will seal in the flavour and keep the pesto from darkening.
- 1 whole fresh basil plant, leaves picked and washed but not dried
- 40g Parmesan, grated
- 40g shelled pistachios
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- a pinch of black pepper
Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and use a hand blender to blitz until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
