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5 Things To Do During Coronavirus Isolation

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Coronavirus Self Isolation, Lockdown, Quarantine – Whatever level of official measures your country is at in regards to the COVID-19 outbreak, the message is fairly clear: Stay at home.

But staying at home can be a problem for many. Not physically, that’s easy – just stay at home! No, it’s the mental side of things that can get a bit hard. We humans are social creatures, and we’re not used to staying cooped up in the one place for too long these days.

Here in the UK, we’re on lockdown, only allowed to leave our house for a short time each day for exercise, and to get groceries approximately once a week. Apart from that (in our household, anyway), we’re at home, as I am on maternity leave currently and my fiancé is working from home.

The urge to stay in pyjamas all day and watch one mindless Netflix show after the next, day in and day out, grows stronger and stronger for us all in isolation. However that can just feed into a negative mental health cycle that’s then hard to break free from. So let’s discuss some of the ways you can try to avoid a complete swan dive into depression during COVID-19 isolation.

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Celebrating Ethical Living and Pride in Bristol

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Last weekend Bristol was inundated with rainbow flags, banners, decorations and fashion as the annual Pride March was held in the city.

Following a week of LGBTQ+ events across Bristol, the March and harbourside festival, held on the Saturday, was the headline event of 2018 Pride, as it is each year.

As if that wasn’t enough for me, another amazing event was happening in the city on the same day: The first-ever Viva!City Ethical Life Festival.

From the same creators of the Viva!Vegan Festivals (Such as the one I went to in Cardiff earlier this year), the Ethical Life Festival celebrated sustainability and green living alongside veganism.

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Sustainable/Zero Waste Fashion and the True Cost of the Fast Fashion Industry

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This gorgeous jumpsuit I wore to a wedding – Bought it for $5 at a secondhand clothing store!

For a while now I’ve been concerned about the pitfalls of the fast fashion industry – both the waste issues, as well as the humanitarian issues like sweatshops and low wage workers, and the environmental problems, like the high rate of pesticides used in the production of materials like cotton, and the harsh chemicals used in the creation of garments.

I’ve always purchased probably 50% of my wardrobe from secondhand clothing stores, but about 18 months ago, I decided to exclusively shop at secondhand stores for all my clothing from now on.

I always thought about it from a waste stream point of view – If I could purchase my clothing from the clothing already out there in the world, without contributing to the growing demand on the fashion market, I would be making a difference – however small.

But recently I watched the documentary The True Cost, and it got me thinking a whole lot more about the wider impacts of the fast fashion industry.

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Low Impact shopping at Bristol’s first Zero Waste store

Like many other South-West UK zero-wasters, I was delighted to hear about the opening of Zero Green in Bristol recently.

The gorgeous and green shop was opened by two passionate women, Lidia and Stacey, who said:

“Zero Green came about for two reasons; firstly, we were both becoming frustrated about how much packaging there is on everyday items and our understanding of how much damage plastic, and specifically single use plastic, was doing to our planet. Secondly, we realised that if we wanted to see something done about it we would have to do it ourselves! 

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10 tips to help you start moving towards a Zero Waste lifestyle

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About nine months ago I first heard the term “Zero Waste”.

I had seen TED talks by Lauren Singer of Trash is for Tossers and Bea Johnson from the Zero Waste Home, and became instantly hooked on the idea of a life creating as little waste as possible.

I began researching at every opportunity this “zero waste lifestyle” idea, and began implementing what I’d learnt into my life.

I became extraordinarily passionate about the topic, and talked to my friends and family about it as often as I could.

Now, after having been on this path for a while, I feel ready to share what I’ve learnt with you all.

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