Homebird household #brightFuture challenge

In my twenties I was fairly unconcerned about the future, although I was aware of environmental issues, I suppose I didn't take my responsibilities seriously enough. 

But....years later and as a parent I take the responsibility of my effect upon the environment with much more concern and thought - 83% of British parents felt like the birth of their first child made them want to change their life for the better. In addition, 9 out of 10 parents and 8 out of 10 children agree that if we all do our bit for the environment, no matter how small - 'together we can make the world a better place'

Unilever's brightFuture campaign focuses on the small changes that make a big difference to living sustainably.

So what little things do we do as a family to create a #brightFuture.......?

We grow our own vegetables and fruit at our allotment, use no pesticides and help encourage the wildlife too. Growing our own veggies cuts down on food miles and it's all organic so I ensure that what we eat is healthy and has no unknown chemicals in them. Little Bird loves the allotment and gets absolutely filthy - mud pies, digging the soil, exploring the plot and then taking home lovely home grown produce to cook with. Of course all that soil gets onto my son's clothes but I don't mind, it's a great sensory experience to feel the earth between your fingers and the clothes can easily be washed - Persil encourages children to get out and play - quite right too - and washing at a lower temperature helps the environment by saving energy.

The veggie scraps go onto the compost and a year later is rich organic matter to dig back into the soil. This is part of our recycling effort to cut down on landfill. Paper and card are used to help get our wood burner going and glass and plastics go in the council recycling tubs.

In the evening we try and not waste energy by turning lights off when we leave a room and not leaving the television on - candles flickering and reading a book instead some nights. A meter on the side shows how much electricity and gas we have used during the day so monitoring this has really helped and it is a challenge to keep the costs down.


Since launching the Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever have helped 482 million people to improve their health and hygiene, including hand washing, improving self-esteem and oral hygiene. Domestos has committed to helping 25 million people gain improved access to a toilet by 2020. Access to sanitation can protect people from diseases, reduce mortality rate and improve quality of life. 

*This post is an entry for BritMums #brightFuture Challenge, sponsored by Unilever