This is the fifth in a series of articles from the Eco Church Team at St Columba’s, which are also published in our church magazine.

As a child, I grew up in a household that saw a use for everything; not much was thrown away.  Used envelopes were made into shopping lists, old toothbrushes were great for cleaning in awkward spaces, yoghurt pots became paint pots, clothes that were past repairing were torn up for cleaning cloths and paint rags, vegetable waste and tea leaves were put on the garden compost.  Lots of other items were repurposed creatively.  So, I suppose, for my parents, being sustainable and eco-friendly was a way of life.  I guess I’ve inherited a lot of their ways, however, I do make sure items are used and not hoarded!

Having had the overwhelming task my parents’ house of their treasured possessions collected over 60 years, I do make sure that I ‘declutter’ on a regular basis.

To sum up, remember to Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose and Recycle.