HAPPY HOME ECO-TIPS
A wise man once said every great journey starts with a single step. And who are we to argue. If you think there’s little you can do to help combat climate change, think again. We can all take small steps to help lower our global energy footprint as well as save money.
Here are just a few things you can start doing today:
Put lids on saucepans – it reduces heat loss and energy consumption
Turn off the hob a few minutes early – the residual heat is enough to keep food cooking, and it’s free energy
Don’t wash clothes at 60ºC – a wash at 40ºC uses 1/3 less energy whilst at 30ºC it uses 50% less, and either way your clothes will be as clean
Compost fruit and veg peelings for a lovely rich soil improver or ask your council for a green cone to decompose raw and cooked food
Change every light bulb to low energy ones – they use less electricity and last ten times longer; it’s a no brainer
Insulating your loft can reduce your heating bill by 30% - and choose sheep fleece for the ultimate green option
Bye bye stand-by – TVs, PCs or anything on standby still uses 90% of the electricity as if it were switched on, so switch it off at the plug
Don’t keep chargers plugged in – your mobile phone charger still draws electricity even when the phone is fully charged
Unwelcome visitors at home? Use mothballs, peppermint, garlic or other strong smells to get rid of mice rather than poison
Save water – apart from sharing the bath, other things you could do are putting a brick in your cistern, use bath water to water plants and get a water butt (not as much fun as sharing a bath admittedly but just as effective at saving water)
Turning down your heating by 1ºC will reduce your heating bill by 10%; turn it down three degrees and you will still Take Good Care of Yourself (we’re showing our 60s soul side here), and taking even better care of our planet