Going green when you’ve got kids doesn’t mean transforming your house into an eco monastery or dedicating your Saturday mornings to lecturing your six year old about carbon footprints and recyclable packaging. It means finding ways of living sustainably that actually work in a household where someone is always hungry and/or someone is always having things broken and you’re always running late.
I have three kids between the ages of six and thirteen. Over the past few years I’ve learned a lot about what sustainability actually means when you live with children who think leaving lights on day and night is an ingrained human right and believe packaging is something magically collected rather than something you should care about. Some things have stuck. A lot of things haven’t – I gave up quietly on many after two weeks of me being the only person who actually followed through.
Sustainable habits with kids tend to stick when they make your life easier instead of more complicated. When they save you money instead of costing more. When your kids are old enough to actually remember to do their bit without you having to remind them every.single.time. The things that require everyone pitching in and being on their best behaviour 100% of the time aren’t going to survive in a house full of children who forget their PE kits and leave their lunch on the kitchen side daily.
As you can see from the above, our green family journey has focused on practical system changes rather than buying expensive eco alternatives or dedicating our lives solely to reducing waste. Children will waste food no matter how well you try to avoid it. Teaching them why it matters and helping them learn how to make less mess is much more realistic than aiming for zero waste to landfill. Dust bunnies are real under the bed somewhere. Sustainable living with kids means finding systems everyone can live with and dramatic change nobody can remember.
If you’re trying to live a greener family life but wish someone had shown you the simple, gradual changes that actually make life easier (and save you money, bonus) then this might be the resource for you.
Each section of this guide starts with some of the research and numbers behind why changing this area improves life for families and the planet. You don’t need to read these but they do provide evidence and reasoning behind why we focus on certain changes instead of others.
Following this is some practical tips for sustainable systems that actually work with kids in the house. Storage hacks, behaviour change tricks and don’t ask how we managed to survive before real life hacks.
At the end of every section we list some common mistakes new parents make when trying to live greener with children. These are predictable. Lazy. And almost entirely avoidable.
Finally we have breakdowns of research, other family situations the advice in this guide also works for, how each section benefits your family life, wallet and planet and step by step guides on approaching each area so you don’t try to do everything at once.
Sound good? Let’s go.
The Research
Reducing Food Waste With Children Who Live At Home
In 2021 UK households threw away 6.4 million tonnes of food waste (WRAP). Families with kids tend to produce more food waste than childless households. Not because children are inherently wasteful monsters but because catering for a family is stressful. Someone doesn’t like something on the meal plan. Someone is eating at a friends house two nights this week. Someone decided to be vegetarian this week.
The food you bought for well intentioned Sunday meal plans looks extremely wrong by Thursday.
Nappies
Disposable nappies make up around 2-3% (Defra) of the waste that goes to UK households but still equates to around 400,000 tonnes of waste a year (Defra). If 20% of families switched to reusables we could reduce waste by over 1 million tonnes per year across Europe (The Nappy Lady). The numbers are impressive but this is only realistic and valuable if using reusable nappies actually works for your family.
Energy
The median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for homes in England is 68 (ONS). This puts most homes in band D. Families have higher energy use than couples and single occupancy households but reducing your thermostat by just 1°C could save you up to 10% on heating bills( Energy Saving Trust). Small changes matter when you’ve got a house full of people who have very different opinions about comfortable temperatures.
Screens and Wanting Stuff
On average, UK adults spent 4 hours and 20 minutes online each day in May 2024 (Ofcom). Children have less screen time than adults on average but their screen use habits tend to follow family patterns. Screens matter here because there is a direct link between screen time and wanting things you’ve seen advertised.
Sustainable Food Systems That Work with Kids
Meal Planning Without Punishment
Meal planning with children is not scheduling the perfect menu for each day of the week on a Sunday. It’s scheduling in realistic chunks with enough back up that when someone announces at 4pm they don’t want to eat whatever delicious meal you’ve defrosted you’re not poop punching them.
Plan your week by types of meals not specific meals. We do pasta something on Mondays, chicken something on Tuesdays, leftover or use up meal on Wednesdays. That lets us buy enough to avoid starvation but enough variety that we don’t get bored. It also means when someone doesn’t want chicken we can switch monday and tuesday instead of starting from scratch.
Build up a list on your phone of meals your family will actually eat. Not what you think they should eat. Not food that would be good for them but they hate. Meals they will eat without drama. Once you’ve got about twenty meals you regularly rotate through you should be able to grab something from that list and be sure it will get eaten.
Buy ingredients for three meals at a time, not a weeks worth. You’ll waste less and have more scope for sudden changes in plans. Keep a couple of backup freezer meals you can get to the table in twenty minutes or less. Frozen mince, a tin of toms and pasta will cover most eventualities.
Getting Kids Involved Without Assigning Responsibility
Kids can help with meal related stuff without being solely responsible for it. Little kids can wash and put away vegetables and help carry shopping home. Older kids can make their own sandwiches, know not to eat past use by dates and understand the difference between broke and not broke when asking for snacks. Teens can cook simple meals themselves and know that checking the fridge before you go shopping prevents wilted veg and mad dashes to the shops.
Don’t make anyones diet dependant on someone remembering to do their bit though. If meals would be ruined without xyz doing their part build in slack. Make meals that are fine with just adults doing them.
Oops We Wasted Food
I swear children are immune to the concept of wasting food. Setup three containers next to where you usually chop veggies. One for rubbish. One for compost. One for things that could still be eaten but we need to use up first. Empty them regularly until everyone is in the habit of thinking about which container something belongs in.
Store things you can see through in your fridge so you know what needs using up. Move things that have been there longer to eye level. Plan at least one meal a week around using things up, even if it is just a bizarre combination of random items.
Energy and home Systems
Heating Kids Actually Like
Families fight about heating. Someone is always too cold. Someone is always too hot. And someone is always making everyone else cold/hot by turning the thermostat up or blasting cold air everywhere they go. Set your main thermostat to a level most people are happy with most of the time and deal with personal comfort issues with additional layers or hot water bottles, not by constantly adjusting your whole houses temperature.
Each degree makes a difference on your bills. Each degree makes a difference to how annoyed everyone is with each other. 19°C is a good target for main living areas. 16-17°C is good for bedrooms. If kids are always cold look at drafts in their rooms before turning the whole heating bill up.
Kids And Energy Use
Make energy use tangible. Put a note on the kettle showing how much it costs to boil and how little water you actually need for two cups. Show them your meter readings every now and then. Let them know what the numbers mean in actual pounds rather than just units of gas and electricity used.
Set them up to win. Turning off lights when you leave rooms. Closing curtains once it gets dark outside to keep heat in. Not leaving devices on charge overnight. Looking for easy wins they can actually remember to do.
Hot Water Habits
Lets be honest, most families are crap at using hot water efficiently. Taking shorter showers helps but so does turning the cold tap off when you’re washing up or brushing your teeth. Install tap aerators that reduce how much water comes out without changing the water pressure. Time yourself in the shower once every few months. See how long washing your hair actually takes.
Set your hot water at 60°C minimum. This stops bacteria from growing but avoids anyone getting burned byreally hot water. Insulate your hot water cylinder if it doesn’t already have a jacket on. Fix dripping hot taps as soon as you notice them, they waste more water than you think.
Rubbish and General Consumption
Recycling Without Fighting
Household recycling rates in the UK are 44.6% (UK government). This wildly differs by region. For example, Wales currently has a recycling rate of 57% (UK government) because their systems are designed to make it easier for households to get it right.
Set your recycling up so it’s easier to throw something in the rubbish than the right bin. Clear containers. Labels everyone can see. Put them where people actually are when they are throwing stuff away. Check what your council will and won’t recycle then print off a one side guide to popping things in the right bins. Sorting recycling rules for the whole uk would be insane, rules vary too much between councils and change frequently.
Kids can help learn what can and can’t be recycled but your system still needs to work if they put the wrong thing in once.
Cutting Down on Things Coming Into Your House
Look at where you can cut down on packaging. Food packaging, toy packaging, and clothing that gets ruined or grows too small quickly are the biggest contributors to weekly bin volumes in most families. Buy fruit and vegetables loose where you can. Choose alternatives with less packaging when there is a real choice available and the price is similar.
Buy clothes and shoes that last. Children grow like weeds but this doesn’t always mean they need a new wardrobe every few months. It usually means buying fewer things that are actually built to last.
Reusable Nappies – Yes or No?
If you’re on the reusable nappy fence be honest with yourself about how much extra washing and drying your family can realistically handle. They are amazing for some households and abandoned after two weeks by others. Using reusable nappies doesn’t help the environment if you end up using more disposables while you struggle with the washing up.
Try a few reusables in the day and disposables at night to start with. Make sure you like the washing routine before investing in a full set of day and night nappies. Remember that washing and drying reusable nappies uses energy and costs as much as buying more disposables.
5 Mistakes To Avoid When Going Green With Children
Mistake #1 – Trying to make meal times/cleaning up/recycling etc the children’s responsibility. Your kids can help with sustainable living. But if your system only works when everyone remembers to do their tiny green bit without being asked you’ll end up in a.Arguments happen when systems break. Build systems that work when adults do most of the leg work and kids chip in where they can and remember.
Mistake #2 – Aiming for perfection instead of better than you were. Families waste more food, use more energy and water and have less control over what they buy when and where than households without children. Don’t aim for your family’s waste footprint to look like a single person flat sharers. Aim to be doing better than you were before.
Mistake #3 – Buying expensive ‘eco’ everything. Businesses knoweco’ labelled stuff costs them more money so they charge you more. don’t. Focus on buying less crap and wasting less of what you buy before upgrading everything in your house to ‘eco’ branded products.
Mistake #4 – Trying to change everything at once. It takes time to build new habits. Make one change properly before starting on the next thing. Food waste, then energy use, then shopping habits. Not all of the above at the same time while also expecting people to remember new recycling rules.
Mistake #5 – Expecting the kids to grow up in an eco monastery. If your version of sustainable living means everyone in your house is told they cant have things/they need to do chores/all their favourite activities harm the planet ALL THE TIME it will not work. Find areas of your life you can change so everyone feels like life is improving rather than restricting.
The Research
What research shows
The more you look into sustainable living with children the more stats you uncover. Families produce more waste, use more utilities and spend more money on consumables than childless households but the housekeeping experiments I’ve chronicled here focus on evidence that shows simple changes add up over time.
Food waste stats from WRAP highlight the huge amount of food UK households throw away but their research into what works shows better shopping habits and planning meals save more food than expecting families to be zero waste to landfill. Energy saving stats consistently show dripping taps and not washing your woollies on 40 degrees are just as effective at cutting bills as investing in technology few of us can afford.
Government waste stats show huge discrepancies in how much different areas recycle. Partly because systems that make it easier for households to recycle correctly have far higher rates of compliance.
The best ways to live more sustainably with kids are the ones that make life easier for you by reducing your workload and saving you money.
Who else can use this guide
Renters who can’t make many home updates: Focus on changing energy use habits, wasting less food and reducing consumption rather than installing solar panels in your garden. Use draft excluders rather than insulation you can’t add. Replace lightbulbs with efficient LEDs instead of entire lighting systems. Buy efficient products when you need to replace whatever broke instead of buying everything new.
Small houses with multiple children: Concentrate on sustainable changes that don’t require you to have more storage space. Make your mess smaller rather than finding better ways to store what you already have. Use vertical space and stackable containers.
Living on a tight budget: Tackle the changes that will save you money from the start. Food waste will save you £200-400 a year. Energy efficiency saves £100-300 yearly on heating bills. Buying less lets you save whatever you want/need.
Many sustainable living changes can save you money if you do them correctly. Start with the ones that will pad your wallet the most.
Rural Families Concentrate on buying less so you don’t have to travel as far and as often for shopping. Buy non perishable items in bulk. If you have space grow some of your own food. Batch cook and freeze extras. Parents with children at school spend a lot of time driving around anyway so plan deliveries and shopping trips to minimise repeated journeys.
What you gain from each section
Money in your pocket: You will save money on your weekly shopping by wasting less food. You’ll save on energy bills by using less and helping your house hold appliances use less. You’ll spend less on toys,clothes and technology by buying less crap.
Less yelling about stuff: Meal planning takes away daily decision making about what to eat. Efficient systems for recycling and managing energy reduce how often you have to remind people about things and argue over household jobs nobody wants to do.
Kids who actually learn life skills: Things like meal planning, basic cooking, caring about how much something costs to run and thinking about waste will teach your children useful skills. Not just feel like another lecture about why they cant have things.
Better behaviour from your boiler: Less blasts of hot water when someone leaves the shower on too long will save you money. Keeping your home warmer for less will help everyone feel more comfortable too. Your vacuum will thank you when you buy decent cleaning products that actually pick up stuff rather than leaving you to lug buckets of furry water around the house every few weeks.
Supporting local: A surprising amount of green living tips involve using local resources better. Whether its food box schemes, repair cafes or taking part in clothes swapping events with neighbours you’ll end up knowing more about the area your family lives in.
Section by section changes
The point of this handy guide breakdown is to show you how to implement the systems in a way that spreads the work out and doesn’t try to change your entire lifestyle overnight.
Step 1 – Food:
Food waste reduction is step one because it saves you money, helps you plan better and feels instantly rewarding. Plus once you’ve got systems to manage your meals and reduce waste you can tackle the rest of your weekend cooking in one hit without spending ages each day worrying about what to feed everyone.
weeks Allow 4-6
- Meal plan with structure instead of schedules
- Start a shopping list on your phone
- Install glass storage containers
- Check use by dates before shopping
- Track your wasted food for two weeks
Budget: £30-50
Buy glass containers that let you see whats in your fridge. Setup your recycled bins. Stock up on draught excluders for trouble spots.
Step 2 – Energy Efficiency
Allow 4 weeks
Step 3 – Waste
Recycling and managing your landfill can wait until you’ve cracked the first two stages. You’ll find once you start making better meal plans you waste less overall and cleaning up won’t be quite so much of a horror show every few days.
Allow 4 weeks
- Sort recycling containers so they fit your space and subscriptions
- Figure out what can and can’t be recycled in your area
- Tie up any remaining lose ends so your system is easy to maintain
- Set up composting if you have space or can access community schemes
Step 4 – Consumption
Take a good look at where you can cut down on incoming packaging. Food packaging, toy packaging, and clothing that constantly gets ruined or grows too quickly are the biggest issues for most families.
Allow 4 weeks
- Buy fruit and veg loose where you can
- Choose products with less packaging when you can
- Buy clothes that last instead of won’t
Budget Breakdown
| What | Cost (£) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Food storage containers | 20-40 | Invest in glass containers so you can see whats in your fridge |
| Draught excluders | 15-30 | Buy simple ones from foam strips or fabric draught excluders |
| LED lightbulbs | 20-40 | Only replace bulbs as you need them, not right now |
| Recycling containers | 15-25 | If you need extra bins or sorting containers |
| Insulation | 30-60 | Window film and pipe insulation can be DIY |
Total Budget: £100-195
Build systems that work for your family and/or budget. The best sustainable changes when you’ve got kids revolve around making life easier not restricting what you can do or spend your money on. We buy eco beans if the price matches our normal brand. We dont buy them if they cost twice as much for beans. Life’s too short and children need your money for expensive stuff like dance classes and football jerseys.
