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Ethical living

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How to be more environmentally aware around the house

5 replies

Sunny345H · 08/05/2020 17:09

I'm trying to make an effort to really reduce my environmental impact and I'm looking for tips/ideas on how to reduce my carbon footprint at home. Not looking for product replacements as there is lots of info on that online but more little things you can do around the house to use less energy/resources. Some examples of the kind of thing I'm looking for:

-Turn off the internet when leaving the house and overnight

  • Shower a few degrees cooler than you normally would
  • Collect the cold water that come out of the tap before you get the hot water and use it to water the garden.

If any one has any tips in a similar vein I would really like to hear them.

OP posts:
peajotter · 08/05/2020 19:52

Get a smart meter and find out what really uses power.

Personally I don’t worry too much about water usage, as we live in a very wet place and I try to focus my energy on the max carbon stuff. But saying that, hot water is a big use of energy.

My top tips are to reduce the amount of stuff you do. Also because I’m lazy!

Hoover less.

Wash clothes only when needed, especially outer layers. Wash bedding and towels less. Air dry outdoors if possible, even for an hour.

Have a strip wash in the bath rather than a shower if you don’t need one.

When you’re using the oven, cook other food like roast veg for a soup or roast chicken to eat cold for the next day.

Experiment with heating settings. At this time of year try turning it off but having a small heater in your bedroom on a timer for the mornings. The rest of the house will heat up soon. Use curtains to keep the heat in - open on sunny days and closed in shade/dark.

Close doors for unused rooms. Stop off draughts. Only heat the room you are using (I grew up with open fires!).

Dressing gowns! If you can wander around in your pjs in the morning then you’re probably using too much heat, or you’re tough like my kids.

This has been good for me- realised how many of these I have let slip over the years. Following with interest...

AintOverUntilTheCatLadySings · 08/05/2020 20:38

We've got a really powerful shower so I put a bucket in with me and use the run-off water to water the garden.

Bath gets drained with buckets to water plants.

Aim to be zero food waste - even if you 'cheat' by having a compost heap or chickens to eat the scraps

Turn old worn out clothes into cleaning cloths

Pour soapy washing up liquid infused washing up water onto plants to kill aphids

Save invoices and receipts that come with online orders (and cardboard packaging) for drawing paper for kids

Family cloth?

Northernsoullover · 08/05/2020 23:16

I had pre payment meters in my last house and coin meters for a time growing up. It really does make you think about your habits and I have carried them on even though I don't have them any more. Obviously thats extreme and not a tip but here's my top one.. if you have a combi boiler wash your hands in cold water. As we have learnt with Covid soap breaks down nasties, and washing for 20 seconds physically removes them from your hands. I started doing this when I realised that by the time hot water had run through I was done washing them.

Sunny345H · 09/05/2020 12:53

Some great tips on here thanks. I lile the idea of collecting water from the shower but I don't have a very big garden so wouldn't beed much to water it. Is there anything else I could use the water for? Don't have a car to wash either which would have been an other option for it.

Two more things that occured to me:
-turn the oven off 10 minutes before the reccommended cooking time and let the food finish cooking in residual heat
-leave tbe oven door open after cooking to let the heat warm the house

OP posts:
tryingzerowaste · 18/05/2020 18:09

Once they break, have you looked at replacing your kitchen and Homeware products with more ethical or sustainable products?

There's things like beeswax wraps instead of cling film or refillable Nespresso pods.

Instead of getting them from Amazon or eBay we try to go direct to the small shops. Places like www.sustainablehomeware.com

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