IMAGE staffer Jennifer Sheerin’s wellness routine balances busy days with carving out space for herself
IMAGE staffer Jennifer Sheerin’s wellness routine balances busy days with carving out space for herself

Jennifer Sheerin

This three-storey Dalkey home has the most beautiful sloping gardens
This three-storey Dalkey home has the most beautiful sloping gardens

IMAGE

Real Weddings: Kelly and Sean’s show-stopping wedding in Co Kerry
Real Weddings: Kelly and Sean’s show-stopping wedding in Co Kerry

Shayna Healy

WIN a bundle of Max Benjamin wall fragrance diffusers worth €165
WIN a bundle of Max Benjamin wall fragrance diffusers worth €165

Megan Burns

If networking is a super power then Mary McKenna deserves a cape
If networking is a super power then Mary McKenna deserves a cape

Fiona Alston

The sunglasses team IMAGE are reaching for this summer
The sunglasses team IMAGE are reaching for this summer

Sarah Gill

Page Turners: ‘Assembling Ailish’ author Sharon Guard
Page Turners: ‘Assembling Ailish’ author Sharon Guard

Sarah Gill

A seafront Skerries home has been given a luxe update with rich colours and hotel-inspired details
A seafront Skerries home has been given a luxe update with rich colours and hotel-inspired...

Megan Burns

Calling all Irish entrepreneurs: The Pitch 2025 is open for applications
Calling all Irish entrepreneurs: The Pitch 2025 is open for applications

IMAGE

Money moves: Smart financial strategies for every chapter of your life
Money moves: Smart financial strategies for every chapter of your life

IMAGE

Image / Living / Interiors

Easy eco-friendly home swaps to help you live more sustainably


By Megan Burns
22nd Apr 2021

@kimgraygeneralstore

Easy eco-friendly home swaps to help you live more sustainably

We all know how important it is to try and reduce our impact on the environment, so here are some ideas for how to do so around your home.

Living more sustainably can feel like an uphill battle at times. Climate change is a global problem and nothing that any one person does is going to fix it. However, the collective effort of many people does have the power to make an impact.

It’s also no secret that most of us have some areas in our lives where we could make more eco-friendly choices. Plus, spending our money on more environmentally sound options helps tell companies that these are the kind of products people want, and will hopefully also lead to their wider availability. 

We’ve put together a few simple ideas for the next time you’re making a household purchase. Of course, it’s not sustainable to throw something away that you already own to replace it with an ‘eco’ version, but when you are buying something, it’s good to have these options in mind.

Kitchen 

eco-friendly home swaps
Wooden dish brush, €10, Kim Gray General Store

The kitchen is one of the main sources of household waste, and so there’s lots of places where we can make more sustainable choices.

If your favourite tea brand uses teabags that contain plastic, it’s simple to simply buy the loose variety and use an infuser, while plastic cleaning sponges wear out quickly but stick around in landfill for centuries — look for biodegradable options.

Bathroom 

Another place where we accumulate a lot of waste, look for versions of toiletries that come in non-plastic containers, and those that offer refills.

Living room

If you’re a scented candle lover, any candle made in Ireland from natural wax rather than paraffin is a much more sustainable choice than the mass-produced ones out there, and this new scent from Natasha Rocca Devine is gorgeously light and floral.

A natural, handmade product is also a safe sustainable choice, like these gorgeous storage baskets. 

Bedroom

If you’re buying bed sheets, linen is a much more sustainable choice than cotton as it uses less water in production and can be grown with fewer pesticides. This Irish brand also makes each piece to order, which reduces fabric waste. 

Wool is a natural fibre that we have plenty of in Ireland, so it’s also great to choose products made from Irish wool, like these Irish wool-filled pillows, much better for the environment than the many synthetic fillings on offer.

Office 

If you’re in the market for some new stationery, there are some great recycled options out there.