Green Services Direct

You don’t have to give up your Home to live in a mud hut in the forest to live a more Eco-friendly lifestyle.  There are lots of different things we can all do at home to make a difference.  The added bonus is that some of these changes will even save you some money, something I think we all are interested in right now!

In many ways to be more environmentally friendly is not about adding things to your lifestyle; it is about simplifying it.  Thinking more economically is key when wanting to make changes that mean we are being kinder to our Planet.

Below are some home tips that you can put into practice to make your home and lifestyle more environmentally friendly.

Recycling and Composting

Let’s start with the obvious, recycling stuff!  To make this as easy as possible I would recommend having Bins for rubbish and recycling in as many rooms as you might need them in.  Do not just limit them to the Kitchen…this is a mistake.  Lots of recyclable materials are thrown way to landfill at home because the recycling bin is too far away.  We are lazy at times so put a bin dedicated to recyclables in the Bathroom, Bedroom, Lounge….wherever you might need one!

Also recycling furniture, does it really need replacing because it doesn’t fit in with your new room colour?  Why not give that Chest of Drawers a sand down, a lick of paint and change the handles?  It can be quite fun and it can also give you a nice warm feeling inside (when you can’t afford to put the heating on) to know that you’ve made something beautiful again.

Now let’s think about Composting.  Did you know that 50% of Household waste comes from food scraps?  Investing in a compost bin will allow you to get rid of leftovers and will provide you with free fertiliser that can be used for your Plants.  Compost Bins for the kitchen are much better than they used to be, you can get some really stylish ones that will fit with your Kitchen décor and are odour-free.  You can buy these for as little as £40 in some places cheaper – you can obviously pay much more but it depends on your needs and of course budget.

Always make sure that any Compost Bins that you buy for outside – these are usually much larger than the ones you keep in your Kitchen, have a secure tight fitting lid and a secure hatch for removing the fertiliser – you don’t want to be attracting any pests!

Turn off your lights

I now know why my Dad stomped around the House shouting at us all “do you think this place is Blackpool Illuminations?” whilst switching all of the lights off when we were kids.  If you’re not in the room or there is some day light – switch it off!

You should also consider switching to LED light bulbs.  Lighting accounts for about 9% of a typical homes energy use.  A cheap and simple way to reduce your energy bill is to opt for these bulbs.  They use at least 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lighting.

Install a smart heating system thermostat

Smart Heating Thermostats can be a real money saver.  They’re not too expensive to buy, ranging between £110-£220 depending on the make and model that you opt for.  Obviously it depends on the size of your home, how many people live there and how well insulated it is, but you can control your Thermostat from your phone so you can switch it on and off at will.    As your heating won’t be on unnecessarily you won’t be wasting energy or money!  You can turn your heating on and off from your Smart Phone and set it to come on just before people start arriving home/waking up.  You can also set the Temperature from the App used to control it or just switch it off when that person in the house that needs to feel like they’re living in Barbados starts mucking around with the Temperature on the control (we all know one!).

I know we are all used to using Timers on our current Heating systems but with a Smart Heating system you can have different times for different days as well as controlling it when you are away from home.  We all lead busy lives and plans can change from day to day.

Use eco-friendly toilet paper

Here’s a fact to think about – it requires 17 Trees and 90,921 Litres of water for a Ton of Toilet Paper Rolls to be made.  That sounds like a lot of trips to the loo but the average person uses 21,000 sheets every year!  So why not switch to eco-friendly toilet paper made out of Bamboo?  Bamboo grows rapidly – some species can grow 36 inches in a 24 hour period.

Swap to organic cleaning products

Household cleaning products are literally rammed with powerful Bacteria killers.  They are engineered to destroy everything in their path – I guess that’s what we want them to do huh?  The problem is these chemicals are devasting to our environment, many have toxic effects on animals and plants once they enter our waterways.  Choosing organic products will reduce toxicity.  You could even consider making your own – this will certainly earn you some Brownie points.  If you have Vinegar, Bicarbonate Soda and lemon juice you can create your own products.  Making your own will cut down on packaging, reduce the release of household chemicals and save you some cash as well.  What a win!

Energy Efficient Appliances

When considering a new appliance look at its Energy Rating Label first.  This label will tell you how much energy the appliance will use compared to others, also consider the size of the appliance that you need as this can have an impact too.

The labels show a rating on a scale of A to G, A being the cream of the crop of energy saving and G being the appliance that will drain your bank balance whilst using it.  If you live in England, Scotland or Wales you can find more information about Energy Labels on the Label 2020 website.

Avoid leaving your appliances on Stand By is a good call too.  This can save you up to £65 a year and obviously use less energy.  If you’re not using your TV, switch it off completely.  Even consider switching off your Internet Router if you’re not using it throughout the night, does it need to be on if you’re not home or the whole house is asleep?

Renewable energy for electricity

Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations convert the sun’s energy into electricity, using photovoltaic cells or solar panels as we know them.  Installing these to your roof will allow you to generate your own reliable, sustainable and low maintenance source of energy.  This can save the average UK household one tonne of carbon per year, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Solar Panels do not emit any emissions in their lifetime, and they do not make any noise or produce any air pollution.  You can also combine Solar PV with an electric heating system like a Heat Pump so you can potentially run your heating and hot water entirely from renewable sources.

If you install solar battery storage to go with your solar PV system, you can store energy and use it any time of day and during power cuts.  This can provide you with independence from the oil and gas fuelled power grid – imagine being the only house on the street with wifi in a power outage (watch out for all the Teenagers that might knock your door!)

Insulation

Your loft is where it all goes, heat that is, and actually it’s about 25% of the heat in your home that disappears up there.  You can stop the heat from escaping by laying down blanket loft insulation.  You can do this yourself, it’s pretty simple, you lay it down between the joists in the roof and it can be easily down to fit without any specialist tools.

Fill your floorboards

Gaps in older floorboards are inevitable as the wood expands and contracts because of varying levels of humidity in the air.  This can cause draughts which will waste your home’s heating energy. 

You can fill these in using acrylic fillers, wood filler strips, resin which you can buy in most DIY stores.

Finally, buy a house plant

Simple eh?  Bringing a plant into your home can help to absorb harmful organic compounds (VOCs – Volatile organic compounds).  The most effective is the Bromeliad, this removes over 80 per cent of nasties in the air – they’re really quite pretty too.  Snake Plants also make a fantastic choice.  Every house needs a house plant…they cheer the place up and they could be cleaning your air as well. 

See you don’t have to live in a Mud Hut after all!!