what simple basic things can/ should i be doing to help the environment?

[juicychops]

I dont really do anything at the moment recycling wise except i dont throw carrier bags away, although i use way too many.

i need to start recycling paper as i dont at the moment i have no paper recycle box and i dont have a car so cant take it to recycle thing.

what simple basic things can/ should i be doing?

only buy recycled paper when possible - toilet paper, kitchen towels, enveloppes ...

Juicychops, if you don't have a car you are about 100 times greener than an awful lot of people in this country.

Always assuming you don't fly to the library like Auntie Mabel in Come Outside.

Also, what about 'green' options for renters and people in flats or small places?

From reading MN, you'd think most people in the UK live in detached houses with large gardens.

Cali- I am in rural Wales and we don't have recycling boxes. They do int he village but we're out in the sticks. I try to recycle by going tot he paper/can/bottle bank though

we started recycling aluminiun cans for part of a scout badge, we only had to do it for a few weeks but now I can't walk past a can flattened in the road without picking it up much to the embassasment of my ds's.

green options for renters and those in small flats expat? Not that much different to those in semis weith gardens I don't think. Ok so I don't have a veg patch and can't do anything about insulation etc.

But, ds is in cloth, I don't tumble dry I bought an airer instead. It can be a pain but if you put stuff to dry overnight it doesn't anoy you by taking up valuable floor space in the day. i use cloth bags and mostly buy local. Don't have a car so walk everywhere. You can still use energy saving light bulbs just take them with you when you move (I move every year at the moment).

I'm in the process of making my home chemical free so for cleaning I now have a couple of spray bottles (old flash bathroom ones, recycling? ) waiting to be filled with vinegar/tea tree and water. Add a box of sodium bicarb and a couple of micro fibre cloths and that is that. For the laundry- eco balls.

We are also signed up to the council green box scheme although recycling here is pretty limited and lack of car means we can't take stuff the council doesn't pick up to the big recycling bins. Still, if we all do what we can, no matter how little it will make a difference.