There’s no doubt that doing our bit for climate change is gaining an ever-higher
profile, so here are some easy ideas to help.
When it comes to laundry, use cold water as much as possible and go easy on the detergent – many of us use quite a bit more than we need to without realising. We also tend to wash things more often than necessary – try wearing something more than once. Also, think about using a washing bag for fleecy and acrylic items. The bag collects microfibre particles released during the wash, so they don’t go into the water.
It’s surprising how many of us automatically put clothes from the washing machine into the tumble dryer using electricity when we don’t necessarily need to. Of course, there’s always going to be that thing you need quickly but try hanging clothes on an airer indoors or outside in warm weather. Not much beats pegging out!
When it comes to cleaning the house, have a look at how many one-use plastic bottles of cleaning products you’ve got. You could consider ditching the chemicals and hack them by using baking soda, vinegar and lemons, or just choose more environmentally-friendly products to buy.
By organising your recycling and re-using or reducing what you get, you’ll waste far less ‘stuff’ and spend less money – just don’t go buying unnecessary organising supplies to actually organise! You could even have a go at fixing things that are broken rather than simply replacing them.
When you do buy new, you might not initially consider the materials involved, but by choosing natural fibres such as jute, sisal, sea grass, wool, felt, alpaca and linen, or natural rubber backing, it all helps your household’s carbon footprint.
Fast furniture – made of plastic or particleboard – is often not a good investment either financially or ecologically as it tends not to last. You could consider refurbishing furniture that you already have or looking for pre-owned pieces that you can re-upholster or update.
They’re just little steps but keep the environment – not to mention your home or office – a bit cleaner and greener.
