Wondering how to bring a few more eco-friendly habits into family life? It can feel overwhelming knowing where to start. Here are 21 simple, family-friendly environmental actions you can introduce at home, one small step at a time.
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It seems that the moment I mention we use cloth nappies, accept hand-me-downs or turn our soft plastics into eco-bricks, people assume I’m some kind of earth-friendly extremist. It really isn’t the case — I’m just on a mission to play a small part in looking after myself, my family and the environment.
As a mother of four, I want to make healthier, planet-friendlier choices for my kids. Between climate change, pollution, wildfires and deforestation, there’s no shortage of reasons to be more environmentally conscious.
As a parent, I believe it’s part of my job to look after the environment and leave the world a little better than I found it. It’s not just about “going green” — it’s about teaching our children to make smarter choices they’ll carry with them through life. Small changes really do add up.
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Easy and Effective Environmental Actions
#1. Make Eco-Bricks
The kids will absolutely love this one! Seal Rescue Ireland collects completed eco-bricks and repurposes them into chairs, tables and more.
Simply fill a clean plastic bottle with soft, unrecyclable plastics — biscuit wrappers, cling film, fruit packaging and the like. It’s hours of fun filling the bottles, and you know the result is going somewhere useful.
#2. Switch to e-Billing
Ditch the paper bills and save a little money while you’re at it. Many companies offer small discounts for switching to paperless billing, so it’s a win-win.
#3. Eat Less Meat
As a vegetarian, this one’s easy for me — I don’t eat meat, chicken or fish at all. The rest of the family still does, but we’ve introduced one meat-free dinner into our weekly meal plan, and it’s gone down a treat.
Give it a try — it’s also a great way to sneak more vegetables into everyone’s diet.
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#4. Recycle Old Crayons
When crayons get old, battered and broken, melt them down and make new ones. It’s a lovely rainy day activity for the whole family, and it teaches little ones about reusing what you already have instead of throwing it away.
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#5. Buy What You Believe In
Skip the impulse buys and step back from fast fashion — trends last a month or two at most, so ask yourself if you really need it.
A lot of what we buy, from clothing to gifts, isn’t made in a particularly eco-friendly way, so it’s worth thinking about where things come from and how responsibly they’re made.
Tip: look for small local businesses instead of always defaulting to big retailers. Every purchase from a small business makes a real difference to a real person.
#6. Look After Your School Books — and Watch Out for the Extras
Back-to-school time is still an expensive time for families. In Ireland, free schoolbooks now cover textbooks, workbooks and core classroom stationery for both primary and post-primary students, but the books belong to the school and are loaned rather than given — so it’s worth teaching kids to take care of them and return them at the end of the year. At post-primary level, schools may ask for a refundable deposit on loaned items, which you get back once everything is returned in good condition.
Costs haven’t disappeared entirely, though — uniforms, footwear, school bags, stationery outside the scheme, photocopying fees and voluntary contributions are all still very real expenses for families, so it’s worth budgeting for those instead.
#7. Go to the Library
Instead of buying books, why not head to the library? It’s a lovely afternoon out, it saves money, and most library services also let you borrow digital magazines, newspapers and eBooks from home — saving paper (and trees) over time.
#8. Cut Down on Food Waste
Household food waste is a genuinely costly problem for families, and it adds up more than most of us realise over the course of a year.
Hold a family meeting and talk about it — where the waste tends to come from, what it costs, and what you can do together to cut down on it.
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#9. Use the Clothesline
As your mother or grandmother probably said, “it’s good drying weather out there.” Make the most of it, and get the kids involved — they can help with pegs, or hang smaller items themselves.
Make it their job to check whether the clothes are dry, or whether rain is on the way. They’ll love the responsibility of checking every few minutes.
#10. Make Recycling a Normal Part of Life
Set up a recycling system at home and explain to your kids what goes where and why. A simple colour-coded system works well — even very young children can pick it up surprisingly quickly.
#11. Ditch Kitchen Roll
Spills happen constantly, especially with toddlers around. Cut up old towels and keep them handy for wiping up messes — pop them in the wash and reuse them hundreds of times over.
#12. Collect Rainwater
Repurpose an old barrel to collect rainwater for warmer days. Use it to water plants, wash the car or hose down the patio — and let the kids keep an eye on the water level after each shower of rain.
#13. Get Active, Get Outdoors
Make the most of local parks and green spaces. Being an active family is good for the mind, body and soul — and it can save a little on the electricity you’d otherwise use at home.
Bring a reusable water bottle, pack a picnic, and find something free and fun to do. Where you can, try walking instead of driving for short local trips, including the school run.
#14. Use Freecycle Groups
One family’s clutter is another family’s treasure. Local freecycle and give-away groups are a great way to pass on old bikes, toys or clothes you no longer need — and to find things other families are giving away too.
#15. Ditch Plastic Straws
Join the fight against single-use plastics and cut straws out of your home. We switched to metal straws a while back and they’ve been a hit — a small change that keeps a surprising number of straws out of landfill over time.
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#16. Swap Disposable Batteries for Rechargeable Ones
Rechargeable batteries are cleaner for the environment and can save you money over time. If that’s not an option right now, make sure to drop used batteries to a WEEE recycling point rather than the general bin.
WEEE Ireland has collection points across the country where you can recycle batteries, electrical goods and light bulbs.
#17. Grow an Edible Garden
Nothing sparks quite as much joy in kids as growing their own food. Strawberries, carrots, broccoli and cabbage are all easy options to start with.
Kids love preparing the garden, sowing the seeds, watching things grow — and, best of all, digging up the results to eat.
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#18. Introduce “Fiver Birthdays”
If a birthday is coming up, let other parents know that gifts aren’t required — but if they’d like to give something, a small monetary contribution would be appreciated instead.
That way, your child can choose one main gift with whatever they receive, cutting down on unwanted presents, unnecessary plastic and all the wrapping paper that gets torn open and binned within seconds.
#19. Use Cloth Nappies
My cloth nappy journey began during my third pregnancy, and I’ve never looked back. Disposable nappies take a very long time to break down once they reach landfill, and switching to cloth can meaningfully cut down on the number of nappies your child gets through before toilet training.
#20. Carry a Reusable Water Bottle Instead of Buying
This is one of the easiest changes any family can make. Invest in a reusable water bottle for each family member, for school, work or days out — and make it a family mission to stop buying single-use plastic bottles.
#21. Conserve Energy
Make it the kids’ job to switch off lights, unplug devices and make sure the TV isn’t left on standby.
Keep an eye on your boiler’s efficiency, and when it’s time to replace appliances, look for the higher energy-rated options where you can. Small habits like these add up — for the planet and for your energy bill.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the easiest way to start being more eco-friendly as a family?
Pick just one habit to begin with — switching to e-billing, using a reusable water bottle, or starting a simple recycling system at home. Small, consistent changes are far easier to stick with than trying to overhaul everything at once.
How can I get young kids involved in recycling at home?
Keep it simple and visual — a colour-coded bin system works well, and explaining briefly why each item goes where helps it click. Even toddlers can get the hang of it with a little repetition.
Do small changes like reusable water bottles really make a difference?
Individually, small swaps might seem minor, but across a whole family over months and years, they add up — both for waste reduction and for the household budget.
Are cloth nappies a lot of extra work?
There’s a learning curve at the start, but most families who switch find it becomes part of the routine fairly quickly, with the added benefit of far less nappy waste going to landfill.
Does living more sustainably as a family have to cost more?
Not necessarily. Many of these actions — walking instead of driving, using the library, growing your own vegetables, cutting food waste — actually save money rather than costing more.
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Save This for Later
Not ready to try all 21 today? Bookmark this article or save it to your favourite parenting board so you can come back and work through them at your own pace — and browse our family-life hub for more ideas like this.
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