living lightly in ireland

Living Lightly in 2022

New Year, new plan!

I’m putting together a schedule of articles for the forthcoming year (yes, I’m that organised!) and wanted to ask if there’s anything in particular you guys want to read about?

I’m planning to do a big edit of the website after college hand-in next week. I’ve loads of great brands / products and articles bookmarked that I want to add into existing articles. It’s very important to me that the website stays as current as useful as possible. So please do tell me if you come across a broken link or some information that’s out of date.

Nothing mentioned in this article has been sponsored. It’s all just my own personal opinion. If you like your sources to remain independent then please;

share this article, or
buy me a coffee on Ko-fi, or
with a one-time donation via Paypal

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

I also intend on doing a lot more patron only articles. If your a patron what would you like to read about? I’m thinking of buying products to test with some of the funding I’ve received and maybe organising a few online events once college work is over.

I’m definitely going to continue writing positive newsletters. I find they really help with my eco-anxiety and I like recording all the news items in one place in case I need them for future articles or talks.

But what else?

Have you any thoughts on what you’d like to receive into your inbox this year? Company profile pieces? Interviews with green living folk? More crafts? More recipes? More about how I live ?

Here’s my current list of article topics. Any suggestions on what to add or leave out?

Backpacks & Hostels

Reimaging Christmas

Sustainable Ethical Chocolate

Arguing against Climate Deniers

Shopping Detox

Sustainable Interiors – Office

Sustainable Interiors – Kitchen

Sustainability for the Time Poor

Review of my ‘buy nothing new’ year

DIY Cosmetics

Sustainable Ethical Houseplants

Making your own clothes

Kids parties

Christmas Gifts

Pickling

Sustainable Ethical Yoga Mats

Green Accommodation – Europe

Cutting Down on Meat & Dairy

Sustainable Activities in Ireland

Conscious Living vs Lifestyle Shopping

What happens to our waste in Ireland

Setting up and Running Green Committees

Hit me with your thoughts in the comments section below.

Till next week

Elaine

Ps – This time in previous years I wrote about

Review of 2020

Every year I do a review of the past year, what worked what didn’t. When I look back through my Instagram feed it’s just amazing how much happens over a year. Some of the events seems like a lifetime ago. This year’s review is a mix of zero waste wins & loses and readjustments of perspective and outlooks for the forthcoming year.

Thank you so much to everyone who visits the website. Without you I wouldn’t really bother to keep it up. Thanks also to my amazing supporters who help pay for all the expenses that the website incurs. Next year I want to invest in a better search engine on the website. This is only possible because of you guys. You’re awesome! If you’d like to help just check out the links below.

Sustainable Crafting

This is my last article before Christmas, so Happy Christmas to one and all! I have to get my Masters finished by Jan 19 so no Christmas break for me. I didn’t have one last year either so I’m feeling very hard done by. Thankfully there’s light at the end of this tunnel.

Doing a masters during a pandemic had it’s challenges – motivation being the main one, but it also had some bonuses too. People were much more likely to reply to email enquiries and my online survey had far more responses than I expected. I also got to attend international conferences in my pjs!

Stress-free Christmas Gifting

There’s lot of chatter on social media about Christmas gift giving. It seems to be rife with problems for many. Some people are upset at having to engage in obligatory gift exchanges in the first place, other that requests for ethical gifts are being ignored while they’re expected to purchase undesirable items for others.

I feel their pain. I was so annoyed by the whole affair that I moved to a gift-free Christmas about 3 years ago. If you’re interested in finding out how I did it skip down to the headline A Gift-Free Christmas. If you don’t want to go gift-free and just want some tips on stress-free gifting read on.

Irish Design (& sometimes Irish made) 2021 Calendars

Guess what I’m in the market for? And I’m delighted to report that if you’re in need of a calendar we’ve some stunning ones to choose from. Here are the ones I found on my internet travels. Some are printed in Ireland and some are printed on recycled paper. All are by Irish based illustrators, artists and designers. Did I miss out on any? If I did do let me know.

Nothing mentioned in this article has been sponsored. It’s all just my own personal opinion. If you like your sources to remain independent then please;

share this article, orbuy me a coffee on Ko-fi, orwith a one-time donation via Paypal

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

share this article, or
buy me a coffee on Ko-fi, or
with a one-time donation via Paypal