Hello!
I'm Jen Gale and I am a really passionate believer in the power that we all have, to change the world.

I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes the world right now can feel like a pretty scary place. Climate change is well and truly here and the effects are being felt all around the globe. At the same time, it can feel like our politicians and leaders are making short sighted decisions based on profit and popularity, rather than on what the planet and our future on it needs.

As one person, one family, it can feel like we are powerless to change it. But we can.

Each time we make a different, more conscious, more thoughtful choice, about what we buy, or what we don’t buy (choosing to re-use or repair instead) we are changing the world.

Here at Sustainable(ish)  you will find practical inspiration for small easy steps to get started living a more sustainable lifestyle, and to consume more consciously. Steps that we can all take, without having to shun the shops, and live off grid in a yurt in the woods (not that there is anything wrong with living off grid in a yurt in the woods if that is what floats your boat).

This website started life as a blog; My Make Do and Mend Year, when my family and I spent a year Buying Nothing New. It was initially a method of documenting our journey, but along the way this wonderful community sprang up, and I knew I couldn’t walk away at the end of our challenge.

We have relaxed the buy nothing new ‘rules’ a little now, but I learned during the year (and in the years that have followed) the power of our individual choices. The choices we all make every day. They really do have the power to change the world.

I learned that in the face of climate change, resource depletion, fast fashion and a throwaway culture, one person’s action really do count.

My aim with this website is to empower you to just get started. To take one baby step, and not worry about being 'perfectly sustainable'. You don't need to jump from where you are now to full-on vegan, bike riding, yurt dwelling crusty. You don't even need to aspire to that. All you need to give is give a monkey's about the future our kids are facing, and want to do your bit. I'll help you work out what those bits are, and how you can fit them into your life.