I’m trying to live a more sustainable life, not because it’s fashionable, or because I think I’m an expert, but because I want to do my bit. I don’t live off grid, I use an oil-fired heating system and I drive a diesel car. While I currently can’t afford a new EV car or heat pump I hope to be able to make these changes in the future.

In the meantime, I look at all aspects of my life to see where I can lessen my impact on the environment.

Every week we notice the cost of everything rising. Every season we see weather that no longer behaves as we expect. Every report on climate change warns us that we are running out of time to reverse the damage being done.

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We can either be crippled with fear and think we are powerless to make change. Or, we can look at it as an opportunity to do something no matter how small. It’s also common sense. If we make do, make things last and reduce waste and energy use, we are saving ourselves money as well as the planet.

From a rural point of view, many of the decisions made at Government level to counteract climate change affect us more. When fuel prices rise or services are centralised, rural households feel the impact first.

But where to start? Those who know me know that growing my own food is top of my list in living sustainably.

Growing fruit, vegetables and herbs gives me fresh food to eat, and reduces my grocery bill. It’s also really good physical exercise being out in the fresh air and great for my mental health. I’m lucky that I have the space to grow quite a bit, but even a few pots of herbs or a small patch growing salad leaves are a great start.

Interestingly, herbs and salad leaves are among the biggest food items that end up in the bin. We’ve all found the bag of slimy salad leaves in the bottom of the fridge or the dead basil plant we bought just a week earlier.

The EPA estimates that more than quarter of all the food produced is wasted. To put that into monetary terms – if you spend €100 on groceries €25 of that will end in the bin. This is definitely an incentive for me to reduce food waste.

Reducing is always better than recycling. The current return scheme for plastics and cans is great to encourage recycling

I now have what I call a use-up meal every week. It might be soup made from leftover roast vegetables or a frittata from leftover spuds. I use my freezer a lot. Tip – don’t be like me and think you don’t need to label stuff. Last week I defrosted chicken stock thinking it was stewed apple.

Trust me you can’t make apple crumble from stock.

Reducing is always better than recycling. The current return scheme for plastics and cans is great to encourage recycling. But reducing our purchases of these which are made from materials derived from fossil fuels is even better. And for your pocket? A friend recently told me she had saved €100 by recycling during the year.

She mainly bought the small 500ml water bottles. To get €100 she would have recycled 667 bottles. She’d have paid out the €100 already when purchasing the bottles plus at least twice that for the water. We did the sums and she bought her two kids refillable bottles.

Comedians have gotten great mileage out of “turn off the immersion”. While we smile at memories of parents shouting to turn off the lights or close doors they weren’t wrong. Energy production is very heavy on the environment and the costs of using it, heavy on our budgets. Putting on a jumper rather than the heating, turning off appliances on standby, and yes, turning off lights when you leave a room makes a difference

Living more sustainably isn’t about getting everything right; it’s about doing what we can. Growing some of our own food, wasting less, and cutting back on plastic all play a part. These small actions will help to shape a more secure and sustainable future for our children.