Category: Sustainability

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8 Tips To Reducing Your Electricity Bill

Simple tricks

  • You might remember your mother telling you to put an extra layer on, or get your bed ready with a hot water bottle and an extra blanket. These are simple tricks that cost nothing but make a significant difference to how much energy you use to keep your house warm. Consider investing in some winter staples for your family; a few good woollen jumpers and socks, some warm woolly boots and a hand-knitted water bottle cover for cooler nights.

Zone your home

  • Most of us use only a few rooms in our house most of the time. Section off areas that you are not using  (such as bathrooms, kitchens and spare bedrooms) to generate heat and maximise energy efficiency in the other rooms.

Draught proof

  • Cold air travels through wall cracks, glass panels and under doorways and air vents in your home. It is worth investing in a few fuzzy door snakes to block floor draughts and seal gaps and cracks on walls, floors and ceilings throughout the house. Also consider checking fans, vents and other outlets as possible outlets for wind and draughts throughout the home.

Get cosy

  • Warmth can be generated in any interior environment with the right furnishings intact – keep soft, woollen rugs on the floor, opt for wall hangings – bookshelves, mirrors or even a hung piece of fabric or tapestry and it will provide an extra layer of insulation to your room.

Heat with the sun

  • Sunny days are a great opportunity to let sunlight and radiant heat pass through your windows. North-facing windows in particular will be a great source of sunlight and warmth, so try to keep them uncovered during the peak periods of the day, and close them again at night.

Place a timer on your heating system

  • Try to choose a heating system that is as energy efficient as possible. If you are using plug-in heaters, make sure that they are appropriate for the area that they are heating.
  • The key aspect of home heating systems is that you maximise their heating output by retaining the heat that they produce within your home, and turn them off or down when they are not needed. Many heaters come with an automatic timer that can be used to switch off, or reduce the heat overnight. For stand-up, plug-in heaters, you can also purchase a simple timer from a hardware store, which will attach to the power outlet.

Use less hot water

  • Hot water use can account for up to 18 per cent of the energy consumed in your home.  You can cut back on hot water use by opting for shorter showers, washing clothes on a cold cycle and installing an energy efficient showerhead. A cheap and cheerful shower timer has worked wonders in our household.

Check your home appliances

  • Wherever possible, try to choose energy efficient appliances for your home and make sure that you are using them effectively.  Appliance use can account for up to 30 per cent of home energy use, so it is worth checking that they are being sourced and used correctly.
  • Energy wastage often occurs when appliances are left on standby, or are used at a higher velocity than necessary. Try making it a habit to always turn them off at the switch and check that they are being used for maximum energy efficiency.

Keep your blinds drawn

  • Up to 40 per cent of the heat escaping from your home is from uncovered glass windows. Opt for heavy blinds and curtains (or a combination of both) which can extend fully over the window frame.
  • South-facing windows, and those that are single-glazed, can be particularly frosty. Try to keep blinds and shutters drawn as frequently as possible during wintertime, and always remember to close blinds at sunset throughout the house.
  • Check that your home is well insulated
  • Winter is an excellent time to check that your home is properly insulated. A well-insulated house can use as much as 45 per cent less energy for heating and cooling throughout the year! Check that your home is properly insulated and consider installing or updating batts in your roof and flooring.
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How to Have a Sustainable Christmas

Indulge in all things home-made

There is nothing more treasured that homemade gifts. Get your children together to make their own Christmas decorations, drawings and gift boxes. In our household, the home-made Christmas cards are a family tradition. We also indulge in home-made chocolates, biscuits and gift-boxes.

Wrap with love

Rubbish volumes increase by up to 30% during the festive season. But it’s easy to reduce waste volume by re-using old wrapping paper or opting for recycled newspaper, magazines, or even some drawings from your children.

Also consider the traditional Japanese method of fabric-wrapping. This is where you wrap gifts in fabric and tie it with string and then pass it on to the next person to re-use.

Give mindfully

Christmas is a time of abundance, so try to think carefully about the gifts that you buy, with an emphasis toward locally-sourced, quality goods. Most people tend to overspend during the final days of retail sales. But if you plan in advance, you can purchase gifts from local Australian companies, which will also benefit our local economy.

Make sustainable food choices

It’s easy to get carried away with the traditional turkey and ham at Christmas lunch. Just be aware that unless you are buying your food from local, free-range farms, it can carry a hefty carbon footprint. A cheaper, and more sustainable option would be to look for local produce that is in abundance during this time of year. A roast chook or pork belly is often cheaper and more sustainable than the traditional cuts, as they are less popular during the festive season. Also make sure that you make use of the leftovers and prepare your meal so that nothing is wasted.

Decorate with nature

Christmas tables are often decorated with an abundance of tinsel and colour. But this year, in a view to creating a sustainable table, consider sourcing your decorations with local found objects; some pinecones from a local park, leaves that your kids have collected from your back garden or an assortment of wild flowers that you can pick from your neighbourhood. This will not only add a touch of colour to your table, but it will reflect the beauty and identity of your local area.

 

Arabella Forge – Brand Ambassador & Household Expert

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5 Ways to Waste Less & Save Money – Christmas

While this season it might be considered the ‘silly season’, Australians are predicted to spend up to $10 billion on food during December and January, with up to 35% going to waste. Read More Here…

Much of this food ends up in landfill, where it will decompose over time. But during this process, it releases a potent greenhouse gas known as methane. Methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide and has major implications for global warming and climate change.

The good news is that there are many, basic things that we can do to reduce food waste during the festive season. Here are some tips:

TIP# 1 – Plan ahead.

People tend to over-cater for events during the festive season. They often buy food in a mad rush and take extra measures to ensure that there is an abundance of food available for everyone.

Instead, try making a list, calculate portion sizes and plan ahead for the use of leftovers. By making a list and following a basic plan, there will be less excess food purchased, and minimal food waste.

TIP# 2 – Store food correctly.

Food will last much longer if it is properly stored. Make sure your fridge is set between 3-4 degrees and invest in some good quality storage containers. You can label food items clearly with masking tape and a pen so you know how long it will last. 

TIP# 3 – Celebrate leftovers.

Our parents and grandparents knew how to make good food stretch further and last longer; they transformed it into delicious leftover dishes. At Christmas time, it’s really easy to do this.

Leftover tips:

Plan ahead by considering how you will use food to make leftover dishes.
Use the celebration days following Christmas to use up your leftover Christmas meals.

Leftover dishes:

Use your turkey carcass and leftover meat to make stock and soup. 

Use leftover ham and turkey meat for sandwiches, curries or stir-fries.
Leftover vegetables go brilliantly well in omelettes, sandwiches and cold-roast salads.
Christmas pudding is delicious layered with cream, yoghurt and fruit in a Boxing Day trifle.

TIP#4 – Reduce food packaging.

Rubbish volumes spike by up to 30% over Christmas. Choose items with less packaging and try wrapping your Christmas presents in re-useable material such as fabric. You can also re-use and recycle old paper wrapping if you store it correctly, or use butcher’s paper and get your kids to do some drawings on it. 

TIP#5 – Make 2015 the year of the compost bin.

For every person that gets a compost bin and stops throwing food waste in the trash, it reduces the burden on landfill by 1 tonne, per person, per year. A simple compost bin, worm farm, bokashi bucket or any other food waste recycling system (chickens are my mother’s favourite) will significantly reduce your yearly waste output.

Ask at your local council for any composting systems that they might sell. They often offer incentives for people to start recycling their food waste.

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Top 10 Ways To Reduce Plastic Waste

Here are some tips to make it happen:

  • Store food in recycled glass jars or glass storage containers with removable lids. This avoids the use of plastic wrap or plastic storage containers and limits exposure to plastic.
  • Look for glass baby bottles and drinking containers, or find a plastic one that is BPA free.
  • Use metal or wooden cooking utensils and chopping boards.
  • Make sure you recycle! Plastic containers and packaging are clogging up landfills and flowing into our groundwater.
  • Switch from plastic nappies to re-useable cloth. Modern cloth nappies are much easier to manage than their primitive forbearers. Visit a good cloth nappy shop or attend a free cloth nappy education session to find a style that works best for you.
  • BYOB to the shops! Take your own cotton, linen or recycled mesh bags when you do your shopping! This cuts back on plastic bag use.
  •  Choose food and cosmetic products with minimal packaging, and look for laundry and washing machine detergents that come in a box.
  • Re-use paper bags to pack your school lunches.
  • Choose wooden toys over plastic (they last longer as well. And kids love them!)
  • Buy products in bulk and store them in your own recycled jars and containers. This saves on money as well!
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Creating All Purpose Homemade Green Cleaner Guide

Here’s how to use them safely and effectively in your home:

Vinegar:

Vinegar is a rich source of acetic acid – this is a mild, natural acid that can kill bacteria and mould as well as breaking through soap scum and dirt. Most types of vinegar are excellent cleaning agents – look for white, distilled or apple cider vinegar, but avoid balsamic (unless you want black, streaky stains on your benchtop!).

Vinegar can be used for a variety of purposes – air-freshener, multi-purpose spray or bathroom disinfectant. Some people choose to use it on its own, but you can also add essential oils and natural perfumes to take away the mild vinegar smell.

Vinegar surface cleaner: Mix 500ml distilled vinegar with 10 drops of essential oil (lavender or rosemary). Shake well. Pour into spray bottle.

Bicarbonate of soda:

Bicarb soda, or sodium bicarbonate is made from soda ash – a compound that can be mined or processed from sodium chloride. It’s an excellent cleaning agent because it has alkaline properties, which cause dirt and grease to dissolve easily. It also works well to neutralize odours, and doesn’t have the strong, distinctive smell that vinegar carries.

Bicarb soda can be used almost anywhere throughout the house. It can be scattered on carpet prior to vacuuming to neutralize carpet odours, or interspersed through the bathroom, and then wipe clean with a hot wet cloth. It’s also an excellent replacement for a cleaning cream cleanser on your stove top or oven.

Oven cleaner cream cleanser: Simply mix bicarb soda with hot water to make a thick paste. This can be spread over the stovetop, oven or benchtop to remove grease and grime. Leave to rest (for tough stains, let it rest overnight), then wipe clean with a fresh cloth.

Lemon Juice:

Lemon juice is one of the most refreshing scents to enjoy in the home, it also works as an excellent cleaning agent and is environmentally friendly as well (especially if you grow your own lemons!).

Lemons are naturally high in citric acid, which gives them a low (acidic) pH. They also contain natural antibacterial properties, which work to kill germs on most surfaces.

You can use lemon juice as an air-freshener, surface cleaner, dish detergent, rinsing aid (in your washing mashine or dishwasher), or even to clean and shine metals such as brass or copper. Mixed with baking soda and vinegar it makes a superb all-purpose cleaner.

All-purpose cleaner with vinegar, lemon and bicarb soda: Mix together ¼ cup vinegar with 2 ½ tablespoons baking soda and 4 cups of hot water. Squeeze in the juice of 1 small lemon and allow to cool. Pour into spray bottles and label clearly.