Start an Energy Efficient Lifestyle: Environmental Change Affects Everybody – Create Your Green Home Now

Making the decision to attempt to lead an energy efficient lifestyle is not difficult and even the smallest of changes contributes to slowing the speed of environmental change. Giving each participating individual the opportunity to create a green home.

For example, electricity is, on the whole, not an eco friendly commodity and is certainly becoming increasingly expensive. A few hints on how to save power by cutting electricity usage in the home, which are energy efficient, leading to both environmental and financial benefits follow:

Kettles – boiling a kettle uses a lot of electricity. Check out the meter whilst the kettle is boiling to see just how much energy one kettle uses. Where possible, use the excess boiled water immediately rather than wasting it. Why not consider filling a vacuum flask with boiled water and using it for coffee making throughout the day? Alternatively, the boiled water can be used immediately for cooking on the hob thus saving on water heating.

Standby – Don’t leave televisions or other appliances on standby, the estimated cost to the average UK household is £30 per year.

Economy 7 – Where this is available take full advantage by timing washing machines, dryers and dishwashers to come on between the hours of midnight and 7am, from a financial point of view, this costs around a third of the day time electricity rate.

Heat and Light

On cooler days keep outside doors closed to reduce cold air and draughts entering the house, also keep internal doors closed where possible to maintain optimum heat in rooms. Consider putting on a sweater before turning on the heating.

Use energy saving lightbulbs.

Free household insulation may be available in your community. Certainly it is an environmental initiative available to a great many families in the UK.

In the Kitchen Modern washing machines and dishwashers are extremely energy efficient, consider using only half of the manufacturer recommended dose of wash tablets and powders, unless loads are extremely soiled. The results are amazing and lead to far less cleaning residue in the water supply.

Always utilise the oven wisely, cook on all shelves for optimum benefits. Doubling up on stews, pies and cakes means there will always be a meal in the freezer when needed. When roasting meats consider using the lower shelf for slow cooking vegetables in water.

After using the oven, leave the door open so the warm air heats the room.

Whilst everybody leads busy lives, attempt not to use the tumble dryer as much, hang washing outside to dry. Even on days when the weather is most miserable there can often be a window of opportunity for the line drying of washing. Indeed, on windy days washing will often dry in less than an hour and clothes smell far fresher!

Minimize food waste

It is certainly not difficult to learn the basics of how to mimimize food waste. Most people in the western hemisphere waste a large proportion of the food they buy. It is sensible to freeze food that will not be used. For single people even the purchase of a simple loaf of bread can lead to food wastage. Try to use half immediately and put half in the freezer. The same can be said for fruit and vegetables, where possible freeze excess amounts, even if it involves stewing or boiling beforehand, in the long run it saves time as well.

Consider the option of different ‘slop buckets’ or containers for the disposal of kitchen food waste. Certainly waste vegetable matter can quite easily be composted and is, indeed, a welcome nutrient for the compost heap. Grains, breads and cakes and even waste meats, pet foods and bones can be fed to wildlife, but consider beforehand what type of wildlife will be attracted to your eco home, for example, most people are happy to see birds, foxes, squirrels and hedgehogs feeding in the garden, however, waste food also attracts rats. A family of rats sitting on the lawn eating food put out for birds is not the most attractive of scenarios, conjuring up visions of illness, plague and even Black Death in the mind of most!

To start to lead an eco friendly lifestyle is not difficult nor does it involve too many life changing activities, just a little more thought and consideration towards how to turn energy waste into energy efficient.