Welcome

Before diving in further, thank you for checking out my site. I wish you a warm welcome and hope that you find some interesting and simple solutions and changes you can make to your every day life, which are as good for you as they are for the planet.

My aim for Simply Sustainable Ideas is to help you navigate the world of sustainable living and reducing waste.

Lets face it, the world of climate change, plastic free and zero waste living, and what we should do vs what we may be able to commit to is a big deal, and can be overwhelming.

I want to give you options, suggestions and further food for thought on a range of topics that will help you gradually make little changes. Those little changes will soon all add up and soon, you will be making recommendations to me, I promise!

As a Keep Britain Tidy and Plastic Free Period Ambassador, and seeing the negative impact single use has had to our planet, I felt it my mission to find a way to help share my knowledge. And so the Eco Protection Squad and the Eco Squashers were born. Find out more here.

So who am i?

My name is Cathy and I am a 30 something middle class gal who recently quit her fancy pants job to focus more on going green and also to do more research for Simply Sustainable Ideas. I am trying to do what I can to make it easier for others with less time to find simple swaps that are good for them, their wallet and the planet. Trust me, I have been there - working long days and struggling to fit it all in. The last thing you want to do is search all over the place to find out what is truly a greener swap.

It is a real win win solution then. I get to research it all, and you get to cherry pick what works for you. I also have a facination with all things rubbish, plastic free periods and practical solutions to single use items. You will hear more about all of these throughout my site and in my blog posts, trust me!

My background

I was in Cambodia when the volume of plastic waste truly hit me and to the right is a picture of the first pile of rubbish I picked up whilst visiting a waterfall and made a decision to make a change in my life. It is a day I will always remember.

I love researching things and going down the rabbit hole - I graduated with a degree in Ancient History and truly believe we can learn from our past to better shape our future.

I have been fortunate and able to travel round to many countries in the world (before I realised the impact of flying!). When I was travelling a few years ago, my eyes were truly opened to the sheer amount of plastic in everyone’s lives and on the streets, and I wanted to do something to help reduce that.

I am not going to be the person with that big idea that will save climate change.

I am an ordinary gal who loves going out, partying, drinking, exploring, eating, reading and making the most of my life. In 2018 I set up an instagram account where I started fact finding and giving alternatives to every day household items, and I realised that I enjoyed ferreting this information out and finding eco friendly solutions. Amongst friends and family, I was fast becoming the go to person to ask about sustainable swaps to make and suggestions for reducing waste in their lives...And as a result, my goals changed. I now want to be a planet protector not a planet sucker.

The community

I found a wonderful community of really caring, supportive and inspiring people, all doing the same. Most people are focused on specific areas but as I went down further and further into different rabbit holes of research and saw more and more how everything overlapped, I realised I preferred having an overarching view of it all.

There are many experts and influential people who have fantastic and insightful information about their specific areas. They are well versed in their areas, and I am just hoping to make it easier for you to find them.

what does that mean?

I would like to caveat though, I am by no means zero waste. I am pro anti single use though and all about making considered choices, but I haven’t quite reached the holy grail of zero waste. You don’t need to put all that pressure on yourself when you start out. There are also exceptions to single use when it conflicts with medical and health purposes.

There is a better way for us to live. Where we can live more in harmony with the beautiful planet we are on. A way to live more sustainably and in tune with our environment.

The main thing is that you are here, and you want to learn... and that is a fantastic thing.

This site is really just me giving you some options / suggestions for you to challenge the reliance on single use items. In addition, suggestions for where you can buy certain products and recommendations of people that you could contact if you are looking to learn more or organise a talk in your school / company / place of work / amongst friends. In other words, Simply Sustainable Ideas that you can incorporate to your life and work.

Well, that’s me

Good luck and please let me if you find any of these useful, or if you have any queries about other areas I haven’t covered yet. I would love to hear from you!

Let’s protect our planet for the future generations.

Thank you for reading this. Wishing you peace, love and hope for less waste for the future generations we are borrowing this planet from.

Cathy aka Simply Sustainable Ideas