Life can get very busy and hectic, especially when you have a family to look after. It can be easy to overlook the little things, like turning out the lights, or turning down the heating at night. It’s not easy to keep track of your energy or water usage either. But it could be costing you a lot of money if you don’t. And any wastage could be harming the environment.
So how can we make light work of being cost-efficient and environmentally friendly in the home? Routines can help us remember things because we do the same thing each day. Setting up routines to help minimise our waste is a great way to avoid spending more money on our utilities than we need to.
Good habits help to forge good routines. Most of us know to compost or recycle food waste, but there are times when it’s just easier to clear a plate into the bin. Setting up your food waste bin in a convenient area will help make it easier to choose that route instead of creating more rubbish.
Leaving the tap running is hugely wasteful. We do while we wash up, while we brush our teeth, or shave. Most of us run the tap for a while before we fill our drinking glasses. If your tap water is less than palatable, why not buy a filtered tap fitting for your drinking water? This could save you a lot of wasted water, and makes every drop taste good.
You can use lots water saving tips in your home by noticing how you use the water. Economy flushes on toilets can save a lot. Some houses can be converted to reuse rainwater or even waste water for the toilet flushes. Water harvesting can keep your garden green all year, and a pump in your water butt can provide you with enough water to power-wash your patio.
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Turning off the lights is something kids seem unable to do at times! Why not have a timer switch or a PIR device that automatically turns lights on and off? Leaving electrical items on standby can also be wasteful. Make switching all your wall sockets off at night part of your bedtime routine. It may only save a couple of hundred watts each week, but that certainly adds up over the year.
Going ‘off the grid’ at home is one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do. But generating your own power requires some startup cash to get going. You also need to factor in the production of the solar panels or wind turbine you are purchasing. All factory production and the materials used will impact on the environment in some way. It’s worth finding out more about this before you commit to a supplier.
Batch cooking has become very popular among busy, working mothers. It saves so much time in the week. It is also a much cheaper way of preparing meals. Microwaving for a few minutes is usually a lot cheaper than preparing a meal from scratch each day. And it helps reduce food waste when you divide it into portions. Can you save more at home?