A Sustainable Life isn’t just about composting, growing a few veg, or ditching plastic.
It’s about creating a life and lifestyle that sustains you for the long term: doing stuff today that your future self can still enjoy, without wrecking the planet - A life that fuels your health, supports your family, gives you time for yourself, and keeps you connected with the people and things that matter most to you.
Here I share what a sustainable life is all about for me...
Jump straight to...
Grow Food
Composting
Chicken Keeping
Family Projects
Sustainable Income
Why It All Matters
Grow Your Own Food
From windowsill herbs to allotment veg, growing even a little food reconnects you to the seasons and puts flavour back on the table. This section will give the the top 10 benefits of growing your own food, as well 5 simple steps to get you started.
Top 10 Benefits of Growing Your Own Food - The Root of It All
1. Flavour That Blows Supermarket Veg Away
Fresh-picked food just tastes better. Tomatoes with actual sweetness, carrots that crunch, herbs that actually smell like herbs. Once you’ve had it, supermarket stuff feels dead.
2. Packed With Nutrients
Food loses vitamins fast after harvest. When you eat straight from your garden, you’re getting the full hit - fresher, healthier, better for you and your kids.
3. Saves You Money
Seeds are cheap. A packet can grow enough lettuce to keep you going all summer. Even a small patch or a few pots can cut your grocery bill.
4. Cuts Out Chemicals
You control what goes on your plants. No mystery sprays or preservatives - just honest food.
5. Reduces Food Miles
Your dinner doesn’t need to fly halfway round the world. Zero air miles, zero lorries, just a quick trip from garden to kitchen.
6. Builds Resilience
When supply chains wobble (remember the pandemic?), your homegrown food gives you security. Even a small harvest means less reliance on supermarkets.
7. Teaches Kids Where Food Really Comes From
Pulling a carrot from the soil or picking peas straight from the pod sticks with kids. It’s an education that no classroom delivers.
8. Therapy in Disguise
Digging, watering, weeding - it’s grounding. Nature calms your nervous system, lowers stress, and gives you a sense of purpose.
9. Seasonal Connection
You learn to eat with the seasons - strawberries in June, pumpkins in autumn. It gives rhythm to your year and makes food more special.
10. Pride & Legacy
There’s something powerful about feeding your family from your own work. It’s self-reliance, tradition, and legacy rolled into one.
Bonus Tips: Start Small and Build Up
It’s tempting to go big straight away, but trying to grow everything at once usually ends in overwhelm and weeds taking over. Start small then expand each season as you learn what works in your soil, and what you actually like to eat. Small consistent wins beat big burnouts every time.
Simple Steps to Get Started
1. Pick Easy Crops First
Start with low-effort winners like salad leaves, herbs, raspberries, potatoes, or courgettes. They’re forgiving and give quick rewards.
2. Use What You’ve Got
Don’t wait for the perfect garden. Pots, tubs, window boxes, or a tiny patch of soil are enough to begin.
3. Feed and Water Regularly
Plants don’t need constant fussing, but they do need consistency. Water deeply a few times a week and top up with compost or organic feed when they’re hungry (grow comfrey and make comfrey tea to feed your plants).
4. Grow With the Seasons
Plant what thrives in your climate and time of year. It’s easier, cheaper, and the harvest will be miles better.
5. Learn as You Go
Don’t stress if something fails - it’s all part of the process. Each season teaches you more than any book or blog ever could.
Bonus Tip: Nettle Tea (For Your Plants, Not You)
If you’ve got nettles popping up around the garden, don’t curse them - use them. Chop them up, throw them in a bucket of water, and let it steep for a few days until it stinks. What you’ve got then is liquid gold: a fertiliser packed with nitrogen and potassium that will supercharge your plants. Free, natural, and powerful.
Final Word
Growing your own food isn’t about perfection or living off-grid. It’s about small wins that stack up - fresher meals, healthier kids, less stress, and more freedom. And once you taste your first homegrown tomato, you’ll never look back.
Composting & Waste
Turning scraps into soil is one of the simplest, most powerful things you can do. In this section I’ll let you in on the top 10 benefits of composting, and different composting systems you can use at home.
Top 10 Reasons To Start Composting
1. Less Rubbish in Your Bin
Up to 40% of household waste is food scraps and garden clippings. Composting keeps it out of landfill and turns it into something useful instead.
2. Free Fertiliser
Forget expensive bags of compost or chemical feeds. Your waste becomes rich, dark soil you can use in pots, beds, and borders.
3. Cuts Greenhouse Gases
Food rotting in landfill releases methane - nasty stuff for the planet. Composting massively reduces that impact.
4. Saves You Money
Buying compost, fertiliser, and bin bags adds up. Making your own from scraps is as close to free as it gets.
5. Healthier Soil, Healthier Plants
Compost feeds the soil, not just the plants. Stronger soil means tastier veg, better yields, and less need for outside inputs.
6. Teaches Kids About Cycles
From peelings to plants, composting shows your kids how nothing in nature is wasted. It’s a simple, hands-on lesson in responsibility.
7. No Special Gear Needed
You don’t need a fancy tumbler or bins. A corner of the garden, a crate, or a pile will do. Nature does the hard work.
8. Reduces Reliance on Chemicals
Healthy compost makes soil naturally resistant to pests and disease, so you need fewer sprays and potions.
9. Connects You to the Seasons
As the pile heats, cools, and breaks down, you notice the rhythms of nature. It’s a quiet but powerful grounding ritual.
10. It’s Weirdly Satisfying
Turning a smelly heap into rich, crumbly compost feels like magic. There’s pride in knowing you made soil from scraps.
Bonus Tip: What You Can (and Can’t) Compost
Not all scraps are created equal. Veg peelings, fruit cores, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells, garden clippings - brilliant. But cooked food, meat, dairy, and oily leftovers are a no-go in a standard heap. They smell, attract vermin, and slow the breakdown.
How to deal with it: Stick to plant-based scraps for your main heap. If you want to handle cooked food too, look into bokashi bins or hot composting systems.
5 Different Composting Systems You Can Use At Home
1. Cold/Traditional Compost Heap
The simplest method - pile up garden waste, kitchen scraps, and let nature do its thing. Cheap, easy, but slow.
2. Hot Composting
Speeds things up by managing heat, moisture, and balance of greens/browns. Done right, you’ll have compost in weeks instead of months.
3. Compost Bins & Tumblers
Enclosed systems keep things tidy, reduce smells, and help keep pests out. Tumblers also make turning your heap easier.
4. Wormeries (Vermicomposting)
Great for small spaces. Worms break down food waste into rich “worm castings” - some of the best fertiliser you can get.
5. Bokashi Bins
A Japanese method that ferments cooked food, dairy, and meat scraps. Perfect for dealing with stuff you can’t normally compost, especially in kitchens.
Final Word
Composting isn’t just about dealing with waste - it’s about closing the loop. Every peel, leaf, and scrap you throw on the pile becomes fuel for the next season’s growth. It’s one of the simplest, most powerful ways to live lighter on the planet and build healthier soil for your family’s future. And once you see your first heap turn into rich, living compost, you’ll realise - it’s not rubbish, it’s magic in disguise.
Chicken Keeping
Chickens aren’t just about eggs. They’re composters, waste disposal experts, soil tillers, and little characters that bring joy (and breakfast). In my opinion, chickens are an integral part of Sustainable Life.
Here I’ll share the benefits of keeping chickens and how we run the Henbassy at Feral Soul.
Top 10 Benefits Of Keeping Chickens - The Real Cluckin' Deal
1. Fresh, Nutritious Eggs
Forget pale supermarket yolks. Fresh eggs from your own hens are richer, tastier, and packed with nutrients - plus, different breeds lay different coloured eggs. Your kids will love collecting them straight from the coop.
2. Living Compost Machines
They'll turn your compost heap for you, and add fertiliser - keeping your compost pile humming with nitrogen-rich droppings.
3. Natural Pest Control
Slugs, snails, beetles, ticks - your birds will demolish them. That means healthier crops without chemicals. Warning: This is best done under supervision - chickens have a tendency to eat your veggies too. Tip: Do this in the morning when the air is damp and bugs are most at large to keep them focussed on the job at hand.
4. Waste Reduction
Give them your peelings, weeds, and plate scrapings (Illegal in the UK, ridiculously). Less rubbish in your bin, more goodness back into the soil.
5. Soil-Building Power
In deep mulch systems like ours, chickens shred organic matter, mix it in, and add manure. End result: dark, crumbly compost gold with minimal effort from you. This can be dug out every year and used in your veg beds.
6. Hands-On Education for Kids
Responsibility, empathy, and patience all wrapped up in a feathered package. Plus, kids learn exactly where their food comes from.
7. Mental Health Benefits
There's something grounding about watching chickens scratch, peck, and dust-bathe. It's slows you down and gives your mind a breather.
8. Community & Connection
Surplus eggs, chicks, or compost? Swap with neighbours, or sell to locals. Chickens are a great excuse to build local connections
9. Resilience & Self-Sufficiency
Supermarket egg shortages? Prices hikes? Doesn't matter when you have your own steady supply in the garden. Plus the sale of surplus produce will pay for their upkeep and potentially make a bit of pocket money.
10. Entertainment Value
Each chicken has it's own quirks - they’re daft, curious, and endlessly watchable. Better than Netflix most days.
Top 10 Hassles Of Keeping Chickens
I’ve got to be honest, there are a few hassles when it comes to keeping chickens. But here’s the truth - most of them can be dealt with pretty easily, and the pros massively outweigh the cons.
So, if you’re thinking about keeping hens, here are the top 10 things you’ll want to know — and how to handle them like a pro.
1. Noise
Hens like to celebrate laying an egg by shouting about it. Some folk don’t mind, but certain neighbours will think it’s the end of the world.
How to deal with it: Offer said neighbour “the best eggs they’ll ever eat.” Works more often than you’d think.
2. Care When You Go On Holiday
Chickens need daily food and water. No skipping.
How to deal with it: Ask a mate to check in and pay them in eggs. Or set up automatic feeders and drinkers - you can buy them or DIY.
3. Chicken Sh*t
What goes in must come out. And trust me, it comes out a lot.
How to deal with it: Scoop it into your compost heap, or use a deep bedding system and clean out a couple of times a year. Compost what you can, gift the rest to gardeners.
4. Chickens Eat Almost Everything
Give them access to your garden and you’ll wave goodbye to flowers and veg beds.
How to deal with it: Keep them in a big enough setup with enrichment deep mulch, swings, perches - so they don’t need to roam.
5. Predators
Foxes, badgers, hawks… chickens are basically everyone’s dinner.
How to deal with it: Build secure housing. Solid floors or a mesh skirt around the run stop diggers. Covered areas to escape aerial attacks. Lock up at night.
6. Vermin
Rats and mice love chicken feed.
How to deal with it: Store feed in secure metal bins. Use vermin-proof feeders. Check your setup regularly.
7. Broody Hens
Sometimes a hen decides she’s going to hatch eggs - whether you want chicks or not.
How to deal with it: To “break” her, give her a cool, airy crate for a few days. Or, if you have a cockerel with your ladies and fancy chicks, let her get on with it - you’ve got a free incubator.
8. Feather Pecking & Squabbles
Chickens sort out a pecking order, and it can look rough. Feather pulling and scraps happen.
How to deal with it: Give them space, multiple feeders, perches and enrichments to keep them busy. Most squabbles die down once the hierarchy’s sorted.
9. Seasonal Egg Droughts
Hens often slow or stop laying in winter.
How to deal with it: Accept the natural cycle. Freeze or water-glass surplus eggs in summer to cover the lean months.
10. Escape Artists
Some hens are born troublemakers. They’ll fly, climb, or squeeze out of gaps just for the thrill.
How to deal with it: Patch holes, clip a wing if needed (trim flight feathers), or just enjoy the comedy of rounding them up. But believe me, the comedy aspect soon wares off!
Final Word
Yes, chickens come with hassles - but they also bring fresh food, fertility, and fun. And once you’ve got systems in place, most of these “problems” become just part of the rhythm of keeping birds. For me, the joys of chickens far outweigh the faff.
How We Roll At The Feral Soul Henbassy
We don’t just keep chickens - we’re building something different. After years of trial and error (some wins, some learning curves), we’re creating what we believe could be the ultimate sustainable, small-scale chicken system: a deep mulch chicken orchard.
Chickens are a natural forest dweller, so their welfare is our top priority. We’re giving them a woodland-style home - fruit trees for cover, a rich forest-floor mulch to scratch through - and in return we get more than just happy hens. We get fresh organic eggs, fruit from the orchard, and nutrient-rich compost that goes straight back into our veg beds.
It doesn’t stop there. Surplus eggs go to neighbours and locals through our honesty box at the gate, which covers feed and bedding costs. That makes the system not just regenerative, but financially sustainable too.
Family Projects
Sustainability sticks when it’s shared. These are practical, fun projects to get your kids (and your partner) involved without the stress. Think den building, gardening, or even outdoor cooking.
Top 10 Family Projects for a Sustainable Life – Memories That Matter
1. Build a Bug Hotel
Stack logs, bricks, and straw to give insects a home. It’s simple, cheap, and gets kids buzzing about biodiversity.
2. Plant a Wildlife Corner
Let one patch of your garden go wild with native plants. Butterflies, bees, and birds will thank you - and the kids will love spotting who shows up.
3. Make a Rope Swing or Den
Nothing beats old-school fun. Grab some rope, a sturdy branch, or a pile of sticks, and give your kids an adventure spot in the garden or woods.
4. Start a Family Veg Patch
Give each child a small bed or a few pots to grow their own food. It teaches patience, responsibility, and pride when their harvest hits the plate.
5. Keep Chickens Together
If space allows, get the kids involved in feeding, collecting eggs, and watching the flock. Teaches empathy, routine, and where food really comes from.
6. Go Litter-Picking
Grab gloves, a bag, and make a game out of cleaning your local area. Instant impact, and kids see the difference they make.
7. Build a Compost Bin
Knock one together from pallets or boxes. Kids love chucking scraps in and seeing it transform over time. It’s science, patience, and magic all in one.
8. Stargazing Nights
Sustainability isn’t just physical - it’s soul food too. Lay out blankets, switch off the lights, and connect with the universe above you.
9. Cook a “Garden to Table” Meal
Harvest whatever’s ready - spuds, herbs, salad - and cook together. Kids get to taste the reward of their work and learn that real food doesn’t come wrapped in plastic.
10. Seasonal Celebrations
Mark the solstices, harvests, or first frost with a small family ritual. It builds rhythm, respect for nature, and memories your kids will carry for life.
Bonus Tip: Forget Pinterest Perfection
Family projects aren’t about perfect photos or Instagram-worthy results. They’re about muck, laughter, and doing it together. The den might collapse, the compost might stink, and the veg might get eaten by slugs - but your kids won’t remember “perfect.” They’ll remember you being there.
Final Word
Memories, lessons, and roots are all rolled into one. They bring joy in the moment and resilience for the future - proof that a sustainable life isn’t about sacrifice, it’s about living fully, together.
Sustainable Income
I believe a truly sustainable life means building income streams that align with your values, passions, and the life you want to lead. It’s not about chasing the hustle. It’s about creating freedom, so you have the time to spend your best energy on what matters most.
Top 10 Reasons to Build a Sustainable Income – Freedom That Lasts
1. Time With Your Family
Most jobs trade your best hours for a wage. A sustainable online income gives you time back to actually be there for school runs, adventures, bedtime stories, and time with your other half.
2. Freedom From the 9–5 Grind
No more clock-watching or begging for holidays. You set the hours, the pace, and the projects.
3. Align Your Work With Your Values
You don’t have to sell your soul for a salary. A values-driven business lets you earn in a way that feels right, not hollow.
4. Location Flexibility
Work from home, a café, or the woods if you fancy it. As long as you’ve got internet connect, you’re in business.
5. Passive & Scalable Income
Build once, sell many times. Whether it’s digital products, affiliate marketing, or online services, you can create income streams that keep flowing without you constantly trading your time for money.
6. Financial Resilience
Relying on one employer has it's risks. A sustainable business diversifies your income and makes you less vulnerable to redundancies, recessions, or pandemics.
7. Teach Your Kids a New Way of Working
When your kids see you building something of your own, it shows them there’s more than one way to live and work. That’s a mindset legacy worth passing on.
8. Reduce Stress & Burnout
Work that aligns with your passions feels less like a grind. Instead of draining you, it can energise you - giving you more to give at home and in life.
9. Potential to Earn More Than a Job
Most jobs have a limit to what you can earn. An online business doesn’t. It takes effort to grow, but the upside is limitless compared to fixed wages.
10. Build Something That Outlives You
Even an online business can be passed on, sold, or scaled. Unlike a job that ends when you leave, your work can become part of your family’s long-term stability.
Bonus Tip: Don’t Go It Alone
Starting an online business can feel overwhelming - tech, marketing, business models, mindset — it’s a lot to juggle. The trick is not trying to reinvent the wheel. That’s why I chose to work with Launch You, a platform that gave me the training, tools, mentors, and community to actually make it happen. Having guidance cuts the learning curve massively and keeps you moving when most people quit.
Final Word
Sustainable income isn’t about chasing millions or hustling yourself into the ground. It’s about building a freedom-based life - one that supports your family, aligns with your values, and gives you the time and energy to live fully.
Freedom isn’t a daydream - it’s something you can build. Find out how on my "Build Freedom" page
Why It All Matters
This isn’t about being the “perfect eco-warrior” or living some Instagram version of sustainability. It’s about living in a way that keeps you, your family, and the planet standing strong for the long haul.
Supermarkets will keep selling you quick fixes. Work will keep pulling at your time. The world will keep telling you to speed up, buy more, and ignore the cost - emotionaly and financially . But deep down, you know that pace isn’t sustainable. Not for the planet, and not for you.
When you compost, when you grow food, when you take on family projects - you’re doing more than saving scraps or planting seeds. You’re building resilience. You’re showing your kids that life doesn’t have to be about burnout and dependency. You’re proving to yourself that a simpler, freer, more connected way of living is possible.
And sustainability doesn’t stop at food and waste. It’s also about income. Because what’s the point in growing your own veg if your job is grinding you into the ground? A sustainable income - one that aligns with your values and gives you freedom of time - is just as vital. Without it, you’re always at the mercy of someone else’s clock and someone else’s rules.
Because sustainability isn’t just about the environment. It’s about your energy, your bank balance, your relationships, your sanity. And when you put all those pieces together - that’s when life feels rooted, balanced, and worth living.
It all matters because you matter. Your kids matter. The way you show up for them, for yourself, and for the world around you - that’s the legacy you’ll leave behind.
*DISCLAIMER - The advice on this page is for educational and inspiration purposes only. While we share tips on gardening, composting, and sustainable living, we can’t guarantee results — always use your own judgment, follow safety guidance, and consult professionals when needed.