The Green Doctor's Top Ten Tips for Greener Living
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Everyone is ‘doing their bit’ for the environment these days by using low energy lightbulbs and turning TV’s off standby.
But if you’re already doing that and want to do more then why not give these ideas a try...
1. Substitute one car journey a week.
Substitute at least one car journey a week with public transport, car sharing, cycling or walking. Leaving the car at home for at least one journey a week will not only save you money but could enable you to catch up on the gossip with a friend if you car share, let you breathe in some fresh air if you cycle or watch the scenery if you walk. Give it a try see what happens.
2. Get a water hog!
A water hog isn’t a teenager spending 30 minutes in the shower! It's actually a water saving device for all old style toilet cisterns. A third of an average family’s water use is flushed down the toilet by installing a water hog you will save an average 1 litre per flush.
3. Challenge yourself to not throw any food away for a week.
It’s not as easy as it sounds with so many leftovers from each meal and too many tempting BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) offers that just end up getting wasted and thrown away. Rise to the challenge and find out how to save yourself money in the process by going to our Love Food Hate Waste page!
4. Real babies wear real nappies.
Gone are the days of the terry towelling origami nappies, today there are so many different styles and colours to choose from, including pre-shaped nappies, which are as easy to use as disposables but without the environmental impact. Save hundreds of pounds and give your baby the latest fashion look with real nappies.
5. SNUB
Since an average plastic carrier bag only gets used for 3 minutes why not SNUB (say no to unwanted bags) them and opt for re-useable natural cloth bags. Just smile nicely and say 'no thanks, I don’t need a bag' and see how many bags you can save.
6. Who says nothing is free in this world?
Take those kitchen and garden scraps that were just destined for your black bin and put them on a compost heap, wait 9 months and you will have compost for free! Don’t worry if you only have a small garden or even no garden at all - you can still make compost with a wormery.
7. Create a wildlife haven in your garden.
A great project to do with your kids is to build a small wood pile to be a home for insects or plant a wildflower corner to encourage butterflies and hedgehogs into your garden. It doesn’t have to be big and you’ll see the benefits too, such as ladybirds eating those pesky aphids or hedgehogs taking care of that slug problem. For more wildlife ideas, visit our biodiversity page.
8. Help your local school benefit through your recycling.
Just sign a pledge to recycle as much as you can for your local school and they’ll reap the benefits. The more you recycle the more money they receive for environmental projects, sports or musical equipment. Recycle for the future!
9. Think you’ve insulated your home – did you put radiator panels behind your radiators?
Radiator panels help to heat up your rooms quicker by encouraging the heat back into your room rather than into the wall. Easy to install, these panels will help save you energy and money.
10. Check out the latest fashion for labels, the EU energy rating kind.
Find out if your fridge or dishwasher is a healthy A rating or a sluggish G rating. The better the rating the less energy and water they use, saving you money in the long run. Next time you’re replacing your old appliance check the label.
Don't forget, you can always contact our 'Green Doctor' for answers to all your green questions, details below!
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