When I was younger, I never thought the little stuff like sorting our rubbish into different bins or walking to school everyday was important. As I grew up, I started to ask more questions and as it turns out, I was helping the planet for all those years without even realising it. As I became more aware, I started to notice that as a family, we did things slightly differently to most families.
At about the age of seven, my sister and I became vegetarian and my mum became vegan. Over the course of the next year, we slowly transitioned to vegan, the rest of my family following suit not long after. Our dietary choices made it difficult to eat out as there wasn't a lot of choice and after looking into it more, we found that the ingredients weren't the only problem. We were shocked at how much food restaurants and fast food chains waste and as we were not in control of what was wasted we started taking packed lunches whenever we went out, it was cheaper and it was better for the environment so it was a win win for us. Becoming vegan made us more aware of what’s in our food, it made us think about where it came from and what the actual cost of our meals was.
The next thing we cut out of our life was chemical products (such as bleach and other cleaning products), because my mum got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and she noticed that chemical products were one of the triggers for this. We started to check which products we were buying had chemicals in and how bad for the planet, or for us, the chemicals were. We found that not just cleaning products but cosmetics and even many toothpastes had harmful chemicals in. When we went through our cupboards we noticed just how many different cosmetics and cleaning products we had that all pretty much did the same thing so we stopped buying cosmetics, shower gels, shampoos etc, and replaced our cosmetics with a natural deodorant, natural toothpaste, coconut 
oil and a bar of natural soap. Our cleaning products were replaced with peroxide, bicarb, white vinegar, salt and essential oils in place of harsh chemicals!! Once again saving our pockets as well as the planet.
We try to buy stuff that’s compostable or reusable such as dog poo bags, toothbrushes and face masks, as well as washable and reusable toilet wipes and sanitary products.
Since we've changed the way we live I feel much more confident in myself and my choices, because I know that the things I do or eat won't have a negative impact on our future. I’m healthier, I don't get sick as often and I’m helping save the planet whilst saving my body.
Andi Sheppard, January 2021.