Hints and Tips
Ideas for Sustainable and Healthy Living
Welcome to the Green Essentials Tips and Hints pages
We've only just started these pages, so it's a very small list. We will be adding tips and hints all the time. When the list reaches a reasonable size we will index it so you can easily browse for ideas and advice. In the meantime check out the following topics on this page.
If you have a good tip that you'd like to share, then PLEASE share it with us. The easiest way to do this at the moment is by leaving a review or comment against any of the products listed in our catalogue - we'll pick it up and place it on this page.
If you have a good tip that you'd like to share, then PLEASE share it with us. The easiest way to do this at the moment is by leaving a review or comment against any of the products listed in our catalogue - we'll pick it up and place it on this page.
Thank you for contributions so far: Diana; Lucy; Richard; Julia; Erik, Peter, Wendy.
Green Your Roof
Did you know that all the flat roofs in London add up to 24 times the size of Richmond Park (which, by the way, is one big park). Green roof supporters say apart from providing fresh veg., they improve air quality in cities, increase local biodiversity, conserve energy by providing extra insulation., give green space in dense urban environments and by capturing rainwater that evaporates back into the atmosphere, they decrease storm water runoff.
What to plant on your roof –
Low-growing vegetables like beetroot, carrots and salad crops which don’t need deep soil (not cabbages and potatoes).
Herbs adapted to cliff conditions like thyme, chives and marjoram.
Grasses with shallow roots, garden pinks and sedums.
Annuals and bulbs, such as California poppies and toadflax. Also crocuses and tulips, but in pots with deeper soil.
Pots are generally better for small rooftop gardens.
Low-growing vegetables like beetroot, carrots and salad crops which don’t need deep soil (not cabbages and potatoes).
Herbs adapted to cliff conditions like thyme, chives and marjoram.
Grasses with shallow roots, garden pinks and sedums.
Annuals and bulbs, such as California poppies and toadflax. Also crocuses and tulips, but in pots with deeper soil.
Pots are generally better for small rooftop gardens.
For more information on building green roofs go to livingroofs.org. For what to grow try RHS (Helen Bostock).
Limescale
Limescale in loos:A litre-bottle of coca cola (can be flat and not the Real Thing) poured into the loo and left overnight entirely gets rid of any limescale deposits. Coca-cola not completely green - but preferable to chemical limescale removers ....
And from your kettle:
Another limescale removing tip: pour a cup of white vinegar into your kettle, leave overnight then in the morning boil up with water. Pour out water and limescale, refill kettle, boil again and kettle will be completely limescale and vinegar free.
And from your kettle:
Another limescale removing tip: pour a cup of white vinegar into your kettle, leave overnight then in the morning boil up with water. Pour out water and limescale, refill kettle, boil again and kettle will be completely limescale and vinegar free.
Furniture
Polished stuff
Rub a half walnut into scratches on dark polished wood furniture - removes the mark completely.
Paintings
Oil Paintings
Rub half a potato on dirty oil paintings to remove grime (but check a small area first on your Caneletto)
Stain Removal
Party Stains:
White wine on red wine stains works a treat!
Windows and Glass
Smear-free glass
Put white vinegar and water into a spray container for cleaning windows. Use sparingly combined with a special Glass Cloth for amazing results.
Tyre pressures
Keeping your tyres inflated to the recomended pressure reduces friction and drag significantly and this in turn will significantly reduce your fuel consumption - as well as keeping you safer.
Light foot
Don't press the accelerator, caress it. Slow acceleration and ultra smoorth driving reduce your fuel consumption, increase passenger comfort and improve traffic flow.
Reduce speed
Obvious really, but keeping at a steady 60 rather than 70 or 50 rather than 60 can slash your fuel consumption.
Slipstream
Use the slipstream from larger vehicles travelling at your speed (or a little less). Watch it though - keep enough distance to be safe. Of course the slower you go, the closer you can safely get behind another vehicle and the more efficient the slipstreaming can be. On a motorway, reduce your speed from 70 to 60, tuck in behind a coach or HGV and see your fuel consumption drop by up to 50% - that's saving a lot of money and a lot of CO2. Remember to keep the safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front.
Milk Pans
2 ideas that work:
1. To stop milk sticking to the base of the pan, wet the pan with cold water before adding milk to heat.
2. If you have forgotten to do this and it's all stuck on, put only enough cold water in to just cover the base of the pan (no washing up liquid). Leave for a few minutes and it will have disolved the stuck-on milk which you can easily brush off.
Scrambled eggs
One of those simple quick meals that can leave you with a pan left to soak (i.e. avoided) for days. OK microwaves avoid the problem but microwave scambled egg ain't the same thing at all. Try this instead. When soaking, don't pour tons of water in but only just enough to cover the base of the pan (no washing up liquid) and leave this to soak for a few minutes or more. The eggy solution created is the best eggy cleaner.
No Detergent
None at all:
The most effective method is to use EcoBalls. Good value too.
Getting a nice smell:
Try adding a couple of drops of essential oil (lavender works well) to the softening compartment of your machine when using Ecoballs. We're testing Tea Tree as well and will let you know the results soon.
White whites with no detergent
Try adding a desertspoon of Ecover Laundry Bleach to the detergent compartment of your machine when using Ecoballs to keep your whites whiter. This also boosts the washing power for heavilly soiled clothes - colours or whites.
Stains
Tar:
Eucalyptus oil to remove tar stains picked up on the beach (check on a very small area first)
Moths
Balls:
Keep old bars of soap among your woollens - they are a moth repellent.
White vinegar in the softener compartment of your washing machine softens laundry beautifully.
Lighting
Any Old Bulbs?
Probably the easiets way to save serious amounts of electricity is to use low energy light bulbs. This is old advice, but what's new is the ability to install very nice low energy spotlight bulbs and low energy dimming bulbs. The technology for these has only just arrived.
Strangely enough, despite improvements in technology we now use more electricty for lighting than ever before - the old 100 watt bulb dangling from the ceiling has been replaced by a multitude of 20, 30, 50 and 80 watt bulbs.
The really nice thing about switching is that you save energy and money at the same time.
Fridges and Freezers
Any Old Fridges?
If you have an old fridge or freezer it is probably worth changing. Probably the most energy-hungry devices in our homes because they run 24 hours a day, they become less efficient with age and are now built to a much more energy-efficient standard. To work out if you need to change you can measure how much your fridge or freezer uses with the Plug in Power and Energy Monitor. This accurately adds up the power used as the fridge cycles on and off over a number of days.
Working Out Power Use
Using the Plug In Power and Energy Monitor, leave it plugged in for a week, multiply by 52 and you've worked out how much it uses each year (if you are in a hurry, plug in for 24 hours and multiply by 360). Now compare it with the information given about a new one (annual consumption in killowatts should be available for all new devices) and see if it's worth changing. It is worth spending a bit more money (if you can) to get a AA rated freezer or fridge - though these are harder to get hold of. Make sure you buy one that's just big enough and not too big (see below).
More research on the best value fridges and freezers will be appearing here soon.
Keep-em Full:
Full freezers and fridges are more efficient. In effect this means buying one that isn't too big (not stuffing your big one with things you don't need!).
Guilt Trip:
Energy conservation is as much about changing behaviour as anything else. It would be great to have a display in the kitchen that said "Hey you in the T shirt, your house is using 10 kilowatts right now". Might make us check to see if anything could be turned off. A silent version of this is the Electrisave Meter which we keep on the kitchen dresser - the display, thank goodness, doesn't shout at us, but we can now look and see how much we're using. It's a good idea to move it around rather than fix it in one place where it will soon become part of the furniture and be ignored. Indications are that most people achieve around a 20% saving in their use (and bill) in the first year. It's very easy to fit.
Insulate
Draft Proofing:
The Old Chestnut but none the less valid for all that. If the air's getting in, the heat's getting out. You don't have to spend money - a nice rag-filled cloth sausage under the door looks good (more on this soon).
Cavity Walls:
This has to be the best value and most effective measure. Most Energy Supply Companies run grant schemes and even if you're not eligible for these, Cavity Wall Insulation is cheap to install. The payback time is quick. If your house or an extension has been built in the last 50 years or so, check it out by looking up insulation companies in the Yellow Pages or contacting your energy supply company who should arrange a free survey. The old style cavity wall insualtion wasn't good and sometimes led to damp problems. The new method doesn't.
Air-Dry Clothes
Indoor Drying:
Use your landing and stairs: These are often very effective places to dry clothes because there's lots of air circulation and spare heat from your rooms. You probably don't spend a lot if time here either, which is a bonus if you don't like staring at your washing. You can drape things over banisters or get serious about eco drying and install a Pulley Dryer or Wall Dryer - both rather attractive.
Outdoor Drying:
Not to be forgotten if you have the means! A designer garden should always have a washing line designed-in.
Housing
Off the shelf House
Barratt Developments has unveiled a zero-carbon house with a new kind of concrete walls, which combined with super insulation and triple glazed windows, means its heat requirement will be minimal as it is airtight. Fresh air is brought into the house through a heat exchanger, which extracts heat from outgoing stale air and puts it back into the house. Gas is not used. The air source heat pump is powered by electricity produced by the photovoltaic cells on the roof. Hot water comes mainly from a solar thermal panel on the roof, backed up in winter by the heat pump. Automatic shutters slide across the windows to prevent the house getting too hot, but can be overridden manually.
New homes must be zero-carbon from 2016. Code level 6 is the topgrade awarded to a completely zero-carbon home, and Barratt have already achieved this. The first site for 200 homes will be near Bristol, and a third of them will be available to low-income buyers.
Cheap DIY House
Scotland is also leading the way in pioneering projects. Michael and Dorothy Rea have built a £2,200 off-the-shelf timber framed zero-carbon house on Britain’s most northerly inhabited island, Unst, which has become a test bed for living ‘off grid’. On the same latitude as Southern Greenland, it will have lemon trees, grapevines and peppers in its greenhouse, an electric car powered by wind and floors heated by warmth from the air. The Scottish executive is using it as a benchmark for new sustainable housing rules, and Chinese officials are studying its innovative technologies for a new 5,000home eco-town in Guangzhou, southern China. The Reas website – www.zerocarbonhouse.com is the fourth most popular site world-wide on Google.
More Examples of Off-Grid Living
Other pioneering off-grid projects in remote areas of Scotland include the islanders on Eigg in the Inner Hebrides. In February the islanders switched on the UK’s first independent ‘green grid’. It provides power to all 45 homes and 20 businesses by combining electricity from wind turbines, solar panels and two small hydro-electric dams into a single supply. Islanders can now run fridges, electric kettles and satellite TV’s without using unreliable oil-powered generators.
On Scoraig, which is only accessible by boat or a 5 mile trek overland, 80 people power their homes and businesses chiefly using small hand-made wind turbines, designed by a local resident Hugh Piggott. Solar panels and diesel generators supplement the turbines.
Although isolation forces self-sufficiency, observers such as Nick Rosen, author of How to Live Off-Grid, says that these communities prove that micro-generation and home energy schemes are viable UK wide, and lessen reliance on sudden energy price rises, strikes and crises.
On Scoraig, which is only accessible by boat or a 5 mile trek overland, 80 people power their homes and businesses chiefly using small hand-made wind turbines, designed by a local resident Hugh Piggott. Solar panels and diesel generators supplement the turbines.
Although isolation forces self-sufficiency, observers such as Nick Rosen, author of How to Live Off-Grid, says that these communities prove that micro-generation and home energy schemes are viable UK wide, and lessen reliance on sudden energy price rises, strikes and crises.
Flush Less
Cut square plastic bottles in half (e.g. 1.5 litre mineral water bottles) and sink them (Upright!) to below the water level in your cistern. When you flush, the bottles will stay full and replace water that would otherwise go down the drain. Put between 1 and 3 bottles in - experiement to check you have enough water in the cistern to do the business.
Cost - free.
Saving - 1000's of litres each year and a fair bit of money if you're on a water meter.
Eco Firelighting
Nice Fighlighters
Keep your old citrus peel (orange, lemon, grapefruit). Spread them out on a baking tray or rack and dry them in a low-ish oven (when you next have it on anyway!!). Use to help you light your fire or BBQ - the citrus oil flames nicely (if briefly) and it all smells rather nice. A good one for Aga owners with a conscience (leave them to dry overnight in the bottom oven).
Packaging
Cereal Packets:
Cereal Packet Inners are the best ever bags for keeping your cakes and bread fresh. They also make bomb-proof sandwich bags.
Megaman Lightbulb Packs
Thanks to Erik for this tip about how to re-use the annoying unsustainable packaging from our otherwise excellent Megaman Energy Saving Lamps:
The packaging is completely reusable if you don’t cut it and do the following:
With thumb or finger, poke down one side of the clear “washer” around the screw fitting so that you can pull the washer out. It will reform.
Then wiggle the bulb out of that opening.
Then the bulb it is replacing can be packaged in to that space instead and the washer replaced in to hold the bulb safe.
Or use the plastic enclosures as a mini greenhouses for seedlings.
Cereal Packet Inners are the best ever bags for keeping your cakes and bread fresh. They also make bomb-proof sandwich bags.
Megaman Lightbulb Packs
Thanks to Erik for this tip about how to re-use the annoying unsustainable packaging from our otherwise excellent Megaman Energy Saving Lamps:
The packaging is completely reusable if you don’t cut it and do the following:
With thumb or finger, poke down one side of the clear “washer” around the screw fitting so that you can pull the washer out. It will reform.
Then wiggle the bulb out of that opening.
Then the bulb it is replacing can be packaged in to that space instead and the washer replaced in to hold the bulb safe.
Or use the plastic enclosures as a mini greenhouses for seedlings.
Storing compostable waste
With home composting and council compost / food waste collections, the need for effcient, smell-free storage of compostable waste at home has become important.
The VERY BEST way of storing and disposal have been developed by a small company in Scotland called Biobags. They have very good biodegradable bags in many different sizes and the best bins and caddys. Their systems are simple, clever and good value. They work by allowing moisture from food waste to evaporate - no need for airtight containers with fancy carbon filters. Nice people who really know their stuff in biodegradable waste disposal systems for home and commerce (they also do other stuff including a brilliant camping toilet). Their stuff is now being copied by others but Biobags are still best.
Community village shops
A year ago in the village of Blockley, the village shop and post office were about to close. Now there is a thriving new shop selling groceries, newspapers, beer, wine, seasonal vegetables and meat from the local farm shop. A postal service is provided 15 hours a week, and there is a café, which also provides free broadband internet access. VILLAGE SHOPS ARE IMPORTANT TO MAKING RURAL LIVING SUSTAINABLE IN EVERY SENSE OF THAT WORD.
Last year a co-operative was set up, a move into rented premises, and within a month £25,000 had been raised by £10 membership fees and additional donations from individuals and local businesses. Blockley was then eligible to apply for a £20,000 loan and matching grant through the rural shops unit of the Plunkett Foundation.
To learn more access blockleyshop.com but here are some tips –
In the planning process people in the community can help with their expertise. Blockley saved £10,000 by free legal and accounting expertise, IT, engineering, retail management, design, joinery and many other trades.
The café was crucial to the viability of the project.
Talk to funders before applying for grants.
Get local businesses to help with signage, photography, printing , worktops, design, joinery and IT.
It takes 750 photocopies when applying for a liquor licence.
Fridges, freezers give out heat so £700 was needed for fans.
The local co-operative society provided free shop fittings, fridges and advice.
Put a dog hook outside the shop.
Keep introducing new things, such as a book store, loyalty cards, shopping bags, local calendars and cards, local seasonal produce and flowers.
Skin
Cleanser:
Rosewater from the chemist (about 2.95 for a medium sized bottle) is a great face cleanser and the cheapest. And you can simply take the bottle back and get it refilled. The same goes, moisturising-wise, for almond oil.
Rosewater from the chemist (about 2.95 for a medium sized bottle) is a great face cleanser and the cheapest. And you can simply take the bottle back and get it refilled. The same goes, moisturising-wise, for almond oil.
Eyes Right
Eye Fresh:Cold peppermint tea-bags as eye fresheners.
Laundry:
The best option we've found is to use EcoBalls which are detergent and soap-free. No-one we know has reacted to clothing washed in this way.
Sun Cream:We've found the Green People No Scent Sun Cream to be tollerated best by those who react badly to other sun creams. With natural mineral sun-blocks, no man-made chemicals and very high proportion of organic ingredients, this is least likely to cause adverse reactions. The Children's version is good for the same reasons.
Do you lie awake early in the morning wondering how you're going to pay that bill, tackle that job, overcome that problem, sort out that relationship? Getting up feeling stressed before the day's begun?
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Don't lie there! Sneak out of bed and get out on your bike, go for a run or a brisk walk (some form of aerobic exercise that will moderately challenge you and could last anything from 15 minutes to an hour). It helps to be alone and outside.
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Don't try and blank off from the worry but as you exercise, start to think about the problem again. Are there any other ways of looking at things? You may find that you have a very different view from the one you had in bed.
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It's not a bad idea to write down or share what you have worked out and then go and have a shower and a healthy breakfast.
Why does this work?
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The endorphins released during exercise help us to be alert and solve problems - a chemically-induced positive mindset
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you prove to yourself that you can be proactive and in control of how you feel
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you're back home before breakfast and look what you've already achieved!
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you'll be knackered enough to sleep better.