Hi Guys,

Hope everyone’s having a good weekend! I’m on route to Kilkenny after a busy morning shopping in Dublin and I can confirm that winter has come. It’s absolutely freezing! I flew home this morning, not as early as my usual 6.30am flights though so it wasn’t too hard to get up, and randomly enough Maura Higgins was on my flight!

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to write this blog for a few weeks- before Black Friday at least. Usually I end up doing a really last minute shopping list or something, but this year I wanted to do something different and chat a bit about sustainability before this years week of discounts.

Obviously it’s great when things are cheap and you can make huge savings but sometimes we (myself included) can get carried away with sales. It’s hard not to be persuaded by 50% or 70% emails, notifications and ads!

So this year I’m trying to be a bit more economical and sustainable and only buy what I’ve actually been looking for or what I need. There’s been a few things on my list that I’ve been specifically looking at and I’m waiting to see if they have discounts on Black Friday to get them. I’m also trying my best to buy items I know I will have for years and that are of good quality, regardless of Black Friday. I have boxes and boxes of clothes that won’t fit in my wardrobe and a lot of them are bits I bought on sale or things that I rarely wear, and honestly a big clear out is coming. I was home last weekend and couldn’t find anything in my room because there’s stuff everywhere- even though I’m a quite organised person!

Since moving to London my attitude has also completely changed on sustainability and material things. Yes it’s nice to be able to buy new clothes or products, but there is so much waste in big cities that it makes you more aware of what you’re buying and essentially what goes in the bin. And obviously, I’m by no means an expert on sustainability and going green, but I am trying to do my bit for the environment and reduce my carbon footprint especially since I fly so much.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the influencer preview of A Spirit of Christmas this year and they held a wreath making workshop where we made our own sustainable Christmas wreathes! The base of the wreath was made from copper wire which we can keep once the greenery dies and all the decorations can be taken off and used over and over again so it’s a small way of bringing up the sustainability topic this Christmas. I also met the lovely Sofia Blunt who writes some really interesting articles about sustainability and we chatted about buying ethical and sustainable presents and decorations this year.

Christmas can be a time where there is so much waste particularly with packaging and food so this year even though I love colourful wrapping, I’m going to try and use paper I have left from last year or else buy recyclable brown paper and use ribbons to decorate. I’ve already gotten some pinterest inspiration.

So this Black Friday, before you run away with yourself buying 10 items you don’t need for €5 each, pause and a have quick think to see if you really need it or if it just going to be added to a pile of clothes somewhere!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Eva xx