4 sustainable home hacks you'll actually want to stick to.

Full disclosure — if there were a 'sustainable living' report card, I’d be lucky to pass. It’s not that I don’t care, because I do. A lot. And for what it’s worth, I’ve tried… albeit sporadically.

Ironically, my problem is sustaining the sustainable living habits. Between kids, dogs, work, life and making excuses, my sustainable living attempts always end up in the too-hard (non-recyclable) basket, and my guilt and shame grow right alongside my carbon footprint.

Fortunately, I have an amazing group of mates who are getting A plus from Mother Earth for all their consistent, gold standard efforts. These greenies were only too happy to share their genius hacks for living more sustainably.

So, if you're like me and desperately want to know about some genius (super easy, bordering on effortless) hacks so you can do better — read on.

Spruce up your leftovers. 

A not so fun fact: In Australia, one in every five shopping bags of food gets thrown out, which adds up to a rather confronting 300kg per person every year. 92 per cent of household food waste ends up in landfill, where it emits methane, a potent and noxious greenhouse gas.

If your house is anything like mine, most of this food waste is coming from leftovers. It’s the sad savoury mince, the limp roast veggies and most of the curry. To combat this, one of my earth warrior friends told me she’s never met a meal that can’t be brought back to life with added condiments — with Greek yogurt being her number one go-to. 

She (rather passionately) told me that my first step in reducing food waste is to obtain a tub of Farmers Union Greek Style Yogurt, dollop a big ol’ spoonful on heated leftovers and chef’s kiss.

Image: Supplied. 

Side note: Farmers Union Greek Style Yogurt is a dairy star with its triple threat of natural ingredients; milk, cream and cultures. So, not only are you reducing your food waste, you’re also getting a nutritional boost.

As if that’s not enough bang for your buck, the Farmers Union Greek Style Yogurt tub is great quality, making it an awesome addition to your storage container drawer. Use it for even more leftovers to store in the fridge overnight or bits and pieces around the home. Minimal effort. Maximum impact. Highly recommend.

Grow your own food.

How do you know if your friend grows their own food? They’ll tell you. Gardeners are a passionate and smug group of people. And with good reason.

I’ve always put gardening in the same category as, say, being an Olympic gymnast. One must have innate talent, dogged determination and a need to make life significantly harder than it needs to be — and even then, the chances of you bringing home gold are slim to none. However, my friends assure me this is not the case.

Apparently, all you need to start is a garden bed, dirt and a few seeds. They suggest you start small, thereby setting yourself up for a little win.

Added benefits include: kids love it and being involved in the process can get them eating vegetables. Also, you'll officially have somewhere to put your food scraps as you’ll soon be the proud owner of a compost.

Rethink your recycling.

Image: Supplied. 

Of course, the best thing to do would be to eliminate single-use plastic, and some of my friends who have achieved this would like to take this opportunity to show you their weekly rubbish output because… who wouldn’t? Bravo, friends. You are an inspiration.

Now, these legends assure me that living like this didn’t happen overnight. It was a process that started with making simple household recycling so easy it was almost more effort not to do it. They also got their kids involved. Taking the recycling out morning and night (excessive, but dude thrives on a routine) is now my 7-year-old son’s job. Genius.

Make op shops your go-to.

The clothing industry is the second largest cause of pollution and is estimated to produce 92 million tonnes of waste every year. But what if you love clothes and procuring them is one of your main sources of dopamine?

I may be a bit late to the party here, but my sister introduced me to the nirvana that is the 2024 op shop. I’m not sure exactly when this happened, but they are no longer the buildings of broken dreams I remember going to as a kid. They don’t smell like mothballs, and the volunteers who work there have actual customer service skills. Anyway, I’m exclusively getting my 'new clothes' dopamine fix here from now on.

Shop Farmers Union Greek Style Yogurt for easy ways to reinvent your leftovers. 

Feature Image: Supplied.