LiveSimply ideas

Take part in the LiveSimply award

Commit to a LiveSimply journey

Committing to live simply, sustainably with creation and in solidarity with those in poverty can help us deepen our relationship with God, ourselves and one another.

Action Plan: Ideas to get you started

Living simply

Small steps

• Challenge yourself to a parish ‘unplugged’ day – without your phone, TV or radio. 

• Make time for silence in your day and in Mass. 

• Upcycle your furniture and give your old sofas, chairs and tables a new look instead of replacing them. 

• Have a meat-free day every week. 

Giant strides

• Collect pledges to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with God’s creation from everyone in your parish. 

• Shop your wardrobe: could you challenge yourself to buy no new clothes for 12 months and discover new outfits from your existing clothes and accessories? 

• Walk or cycle everywhere you can to benefit your mind, body and soul? Top tips for making your travel green

• Make time to pray for God’s creation, the people and the planet. You could use the LiveSimply hymn or prayers.

Living in solidarity

Small steps

• Join in with CAFOD campaigns to make sure the voices of all our sisters and brothers are heard.

• Spend time in prayer on Family Fast Day, eating more simply and contemplating our relationship with God and with each other.

Giant strides

• Support your local Caritas organisations who will be able to support you in becoming a collection point for a foodbank, or a support service for the homeless.  Find out how they are supporting refugees in the area and how you as a parish can help. 

• Switch to an ethical bank (at home and in the parish); check that your energy is from a renewable source.  

• Set aside time to reflect on Laudato Si’ as a parish.

Living sustainably

Small steps

• Make your parish meetings and events planet-friendly: Choose Fairtrade tea and coffee for cuppas and use real crockery. Do the cleaning and washing up with environmentally friendly products. Reduce the amount of paper you print for mass, for events and for meetings (folks are usually happy to share and it gets conversations started).  

• Reduce your use of energy: use led light bulbs and turn them off when they’re not needed; turn off computers and photocopiers when not in use; encourage people to walk to mass and meetings or to share lifts, display bus or train information in the parish, check you are recycling and composting as efficiently as possible.  

Giant strides

• Conduct an energy audit of the parish. Depending on what you discover you could reduce your carbon footprint by insulating buildings, installing ground source heat pumps and/or solar panels. There are lots more ideas in this guide.

• Set aside part of the parish grounds for a wildlife garden or community vegetable garden, complete with insect hotels, bat boxes and bird houses. Start a gardening club hold a seed or sapling or harvest swap.