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When you're just starting out your journey to a more sustainable life, everything can seem daunting. It seems as though you must get rid of anything environmentally unfriendly and replace them with sustainable options, which is really the worst thing any of us can do. The first thing I want you to remember is, every step and small change helps; secondly, don't fall into the trap so many of us have fallen into before, you don't need new things, not until you use up your old ones, and when you do, some of them don't even need replacing. Here are five sustainable swaps I thought I needed but don't!

If you scroll down a little bit on my Instagram, you'll see this picture. As my first step towards my goal, I was convinced I needed three things: a metal straw, a string bag and a reusable water bottle. Have I used them all? Yes, countless times. Both the string bag and water bottle are used everyday and go everywhere with me, no question about it. But did I need them? I could have stuck with only one. 

The string bag I got because I thought I'd look so cool with it, Monica Geller would be proud, but in reality I had and have loads of tote bags kicking around my house, so there was really no necessity in the purchase. 

The water bottle, which I've mentioned so much on my blog, wasn't a necessity either, more so a convenience. I didn't have any reusable water bottles, and I really hated reusing single use plastic bottles a lot, in an effort to not use plastic bottles nor buy reusable plastic, I bought my 24 Bottles Urban bottle, and I definitely use it and love it (although I've come to realise I should have gotten a Clima one instead), but if you have reusable plastic bottles around, use them until they can't be used anymore, only then should you buy something new. 

Lastly, the metal straw, this was the most unnecessary purchase. Do I use it? Yes, somewhat often. Do I need it? No. If you're someone that absolutely needs a straw, then by all means, skip this bit, but if you buy one just because it feels almost like a "sustainable staple", please don't buy it, drink straight from the glass and avoid making an unnecessary purchase.   

Another classic on the sustainability wheel of products you don't really need are travel cutlery and metal lunch boxes. Unless you're literally starting from scratch and have nothing, you most likely already have cutlery and Tupperware at home, so just use what you have, in the last 4 years I've had to take lunch/dinner to uni or work almost everyday, and not once did I feel as though what I was using wasn't good enough.

The moral of this post is really to remind you to think before you buy. Will you actually use it? Just because it's sustainable, is it necessary? Do we really need coconut bowls? The best way to be sustainable is to use what you have and only buy what and when you need.

Let me know which sustainable swaps you've made that you've since questioned.

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There was always something about plastic bags in grocery stores that irked me, the way they feel against your fingers when you try countless times to open them up, how easily they rip and leave me with pears aimlessly rolling around the supermarket floor, the way they sound... they were never my friends. And, once I first started learning more about plastic pollution and waste, I really refined my aversion to them, they were now the enemy. Shopping bags were one of the first things I really cut off my day-to-day life, I saw no point to them seeing as I had so many tote bags around the house, I made this change early on, way before I even started delving into the whole plastic-free-living subject and I have regretted nothing. 

Fast forward until now, still refusing to use those annoying little bastards, still making cashiers angry for refusing them, and finally finding a way to replace them. In case this is a change you're yet to make, I thought we could go through it together. I've already started making my own, I simply got an old pillowcase I had and didn't use, cut it in four sections, and made four little bags, this way there was a lot less sewing to do and all I needed to add was a few strings I always save to help close them if needed. I was also lucky to find some lost ones at my grandma's which she told me to keep, so my little collection is growing. Cashiers still find this strange, and often wonder if I'm trying to steal something, and I get a few looks while I'm filling them up with my veggies, but I'm learning to ignore them, or sometimes teach them when they actually come up to me asking about them.

• make sure to always wash your fabrics a few times before sewing to prevent it from shrinking, I'm sure you don't want to make a bread bag to have it turn into a tiny bag to carry one lonely apple (I'm obviously exaggerating, but you get my point), you can skip this step if you're re-purposing old clothes that have been washed a lot already;
• if you're planning on making several bags at once, all the same size, make a template to make cutting easier, this way you won't need to measure every single time you cut a piece of fabric, you can use the first piece of fabric as your template, no need to waste a piece of paper;
• make sure to hem both the tops and the inside of the bag, this way it won't fray nor leave bits of fabric on your food;
• whether you're using a sewing machine or sewing by hand (as I do) I recommend you iron and pin the bag before starting to sew, to make sure all edges and corners align;
• tie a furoshiki cloth, one of the simplest bags you could ever use, simply because it starts out as a square of fabic that you simply tie all four corners in pairs, I tend to use this when I'm out and about and need to carry a snack, I grab whatever I'm having, put it in one of my fabric napkins and then tie two knots;
• make your own bento bag, this one is quite new to me but I love the look of it, and would love to make one soon. If you're not familiar with the bento bag concept, it's basically a piece of fabric that after some folding and pinning turns into a bag, like some magic origami piece. I've also seen these being used as gift wrapping or to carry lunches to work or school. Here's a pattern* you can use to make your own.