We're all familiar with the big measures, and let's be honest, we sometimes find them daunting: fewer (or no?) flights, less (or no?) car use, less (or no?) meat, heating set to 17°C (from a renewable source...)

Put like that, it can all feel a bit discouraging (and make you feel guilty about your last holiday... ?)

So here are a few handy tips to pick from, among others, that will save you time and money, without piling on the pressure or spiralling into eco-anxiety or burnout.

Because tiny seeds can grow into baobabs, and tiny drops fill oceans… So here's to every little step.

- Nose hygiene : you can cut down on single-use plastic pods by making up a large bottle of your own saline solution. Really handy when you're doing six nose rinses a day throughout that never-ending winter.

For the uninitiated, saline solution is the liquid closest to what our body naturally produces: interstitial fluid. "When you put it in your nose, it's to drain, not to disinfect," explains Dr Valleteau, paediatrician.

The nose itself acts as a filter and contains plenty of germs. The saline solution doesn't therefore necessarily need to be sterile." Which is why making it yourself carries little risk for your baby.

The basic recipe: 9 g of sea salt or Himalayan salt — about two teaspoons — unrefined and additive-free, dissolved in 1 litre of tap water. Decant the saline solution into a container that you can sterilise beforehand (for extra caution, place it in boiling water for about ten minutes).

Opinions differ on how long the serum keeps. The more cautious say 3 to 5 days. After that, discard the contents of the bottle. It can be stored at room temperature, away from direct sunlight and excessive heat. The extra-cautious can also choose to keep it in the fridge. In that case, pour out the amount needed for the day and use it at room temperature.

Important: do not boil and cool the saline solution to re-sterilise it with each use, as this increases the salt concentration. Similarly, it's best to discard the last bit of liquid at the bottom of the bottle, as the salt concentration there can be too high.

Each time you need some, pour a little saline solution into a clean small container, then draw it up with a rubber-tipped nasal syringe (washed each time), to avoid introducing germs into the bottle.

Another alternative is to buy saline solution in a large container, which you can also find in pharmacies or online. A bonus tip: when you've caught their wretched cold and you sound like you're talking through a sock, you can do your own nasal rinse — or your older children's — with a handy tool like the Rhinohorn.

A sort of Aladdin's lamp you fill with saline solution and pour into one nostril, letting it flow out through the other in a continuous stream like a tap. A nose shower, from one nostril to the other. Not exactly glamorous — but don't skip it: Scandinavians do it daily and colds apparently don't get a look-in. Those Swedes are onto something — it really does feel wonderful in the moment, especially for the sinuses. Tried and tested, on children too. There are tutorials online.

- For cleaning eyes, some cautious healthcare professionals do recommend sterile single-dose pods to be discarded after opening.

If you're more of a relaxed eco-warrior, you can also make your own, but in that case, sterilise the water by boiling and cooling it before adding the salt.

While writing this article, we also discovered there are heaps of recipes being shared online in Facebook groups like "Zero Waste Families", using dried flowers — especially for the eyes in cases of conjunctivitis.

We haven't done a deep dive on the subject, but we loved the idea of wandering through the meadow to pick mallow flowers, like Laura Ingalls (from Little House on the Prairie), and tenderly applying them as an infusion to our baby's eyes.

Just like the idea of stirring a huge steaming pot of ivy leaves in water to make your own DIY laundry liquid (and apparently it actually works)

- Bottom hygiene: warm water is all you need. A gentle soap if necessary. Same goes for the face.

You can swap cotton wool or disposable wipes for good old-fashioned flannels. You will still need a fair few for each nappy change, mind you. People online share incredibly thorough methods for scraping reusable nappies over the toilet. The same principle could probably work with flannels too.

For dry skin : liniment is very easy to make yourself: 50% lime water and 50% organic extra-virgin olive oil.

Worth knowing: it helps repair the skin. If baby's skin is healthy with no redness, there's no need to apply it. It acts as a protective barrier, and has no cleansing or disinfecting properties.

White clay (available in health food shops or online, often sold loose) can be used to prevent nappy rash and soften bath water. Dust a thin layer over baby's bottom at the first sign of redness, and you can even make a poultice by mixing it with water (there are tutorials for this).

To moisturise the skin, give gentle massages with organic plant oil — organic extra-virgin olive oil is the easiest to find, but argan and sweet almond work well too. Also super handy before gently combing out cradle cap from baby's head. 

When baby has grown up: if you haven't passed them on to a little niece or a charity, you can recycle muslin cloths as make-up remover pads or face wipes for the kids.

And as the years go by, the children's face flannels can in turn be repurposed as make-up remover pads for mum. For when our 15-year-old no longer needs their face wiped after yoghurt, and we increasingly need a little help looking fresh-faced every day (because the morning dew alone won't quite give us the glow of Laura Ingalls any more).

- Laundry: for stains, rub them with beef tallow soap (available in health food shops or online), using an old toothbrush if needed, before putting in the machine. It works really well on all organic stains. Rather than using colour-catching sheets like Decolor Stop, you can first fix the colours of new coloured textiles by soaking them in lightly vinegared water.

Good to know: if you do still use disposable colour-catching sheets, you can actually reuse them two or three times. You can even cut them in half when you first buy them, then use half a sheet per wash. Reusable versions are also available.

- For formula milk bottles, bottled mineral water in plastic bottles is not automatically the right choice. See the recommendations from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses).

Tap water is very closely monitored, and bottled mineral water can sometimes contain unwanted substances too. This information should be taken in context depending on where you live. In the Paris area, tap water is perfectly fine. You can check the food safety agency's recommendations before using tap water on the Anses website.

And the water quality results for your area on the public website: https://sante.gouv.fr/ to check that the tap water meets the dosage levels recommended by Anses for a baby.

Unless your pipes date back to before the war, the main recommendations are to use cold water only (hot water encourages bacterial growth) and to let the water run for a few seconds before using it.

- Finally, buy less, buy secondhand, and buy better quality — certified if possible. We won't tell you anything new by saying that what lasts may sometimes cost more upfront, but it more than pays for itself when used over several years and passed on.

Quality certified textiles (GOTS, Oeko-Tex), FSC or PEFC wood — like an extraordinary play mat that lasts... right through to adulthood...

Just our two cents, take it or leave it…