going greener - any energy saving or other eco friendly advice?

[bossykate]

hello everyone

i would be very grateful if anyone can help me with energy saving tips or other tips to save costs and help the environment at the same time.

thanks in advance for your help

hi katherine, good for you, and thanks for re-starting the conversation.

we've just switched to moltex oko dispos, better green credentials than nature b&g (will do clothies for the next one, whenever s/he appears) also going to buy some of those ionising laundry balls - you don't need detergent or fabric conditioner apparently. anyone got any feedback on these?

thanks for that, batters. hmm, perhaps i will get the £7 lakeland version rather than the £30 kit advertised in "earth matters"... has anyone got a lakeland one recently?

I have a string bag! From Lakeland - also the 2 big square plastic shopping bags (blue and yellow) from there, and one of those strong bags from Sainsburys; that was only 75p, the string bag I think was about 6GBP and the big blue and yellow ones 10GBP??? It would take years to pay for them even at 9p a bag (what I think they're charging in Ireland?) but the nice cosy glow when I use them is some recompense.

(The only thing you have to watch is when you load the big bag in the trolley and you have lots of bottles and then find you can't lift it out!)

I use them so much I occasionally run out of empty plastic bags and have to make a point of getting some more (this is for school swimming kit etc rather than bins, have never used them in bins, they have holes in.)

I keep 3 or 4 supermarket wine bottle carriers in the kitchen for the empties and that includes all the empties, salad dressing bottles, mustard jars etc, and broken glass if it's neatly broken! Also have a bucket for the aluminium cans and another for plastic - there is a plastics recycling point at a tip near DH's work so he takes it there - and I squash all my cardboard into a big square basket and he takes that too.

(Have just flicked through previous messages and discovered I mentioned my lovely bags before but never mind.)

BossyKate, I bought a lakeland eco washing ball - it seemed to clean but I didn't like the smell of the clothes once they had dried - maybe, I had just got used to washing powder smells. Anyway, don't use our eco ball anymore.

Ditto sis - clothes seemed clean enough, but didn't smell as fresh a couple of days later. I've stopped using it too.

thanks for the replies, sis and kmg1.

don't know what to do now! maybe i will give it a go and spray with linen water to get the nice smell?

thanks again

Love this thread. We use ecover brand for everything, toilet cleaner, washing up liquid and clothes etc. Found 2 ikea bags have lasted last 3 years of supermarket shopping, not sure what will do now in NZ and no ikea if break. Here they tell you to use a car wash or wash on grass not in roads to stop cleaning fluids entering sea or water system (personally think this is great excuse and just leave out when it rains, live in country and only get cow pooh on it 2 minutes down road anyway!!!)
Use white vinegar for cleaning glass and showers. The power companies are also trying to get everybody to save 10% electricity usage over winter so are giving 10% extra off your power bill if do (not green motives but good idea anyway). Means can drive Dh more mad by turning everything off at mains and not leave on standby (except video, takes me ages to get my head around getting it up and running again). Can't think of anything else not mentioned but will keep checking for new ideas.

We use a nappy laundry service which is the best of both worlds - no nasty disposables but I don't have to wash nappies. The company delivers as many nappies as we can use for a fixed fee (£45/month ish) collecting the dirty nappies and delivering clean ones once a week. Check out www.realnappy.com for laundry sevices in your area. It might cost more money than disposables, but I think it's worth it. According to our local council 2% of household waste is nappies - our kids are going to be wading through them if we don't change our attitude to waste! The nappies are lovely and they are also really useful for mopping up spills, sick etc.

If you contact the mailing perference service (www.msponline.org.uk) they will reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. Fantastic.

Love this thread. Having children should encourage everyone to think about the impact our lives have on the environment. I'm always on my soap box about this kind of thing...

hello everyone

i just found this at the guardian website. it's a special report tracking the progress of a family as they try to live more ethically. interesting reading, i thought, and not too pious either!