Running a Green Family Household

Reducing the fmaily Carbon Footprint. We are all aware that we need to do our bit to help preserve the environment for future generations but with so many different ways to be ‘green’ it can all be a bit confusing.  We’ve put together these simple and cost effective ideas that you and your family can do straight away, some you may do already and some you may not have thought of.

Recycle, it’s easy!  Not just seperating your rubbish but see if some of the things you normally throw away can be re-used, keep all the packaging you get sent in the post so next time you need to send something you don’t have to buy a new jiffy bag.  Our granparents would always do things like this but we seem to have lost this art and tend to throw things away.

Be carefull what you buy.  The Uk is one of the worlds largest importers of unsustainable wood which contributes to deforestaion and accelerates global warming.  Make sure any product containing wood is from managed forests or FSC certified.  When in the supermarket check where the fruit and veg is from, anything in season should be grown in Britain, it doesn’t make sense that apples come from South Africa at this time of year!  Buy things that are built to last, if something seems a little more expensive but is better quality it will more than likely last longer thus saving you money in the long run and reducing you carbon footprint at the same time.  We as consumers have huge power, if we stop buying unsustainable products, they’ll stop making them!

Save energy. The simplest thing you can do is insulate your home, it’s now free to people on low incomes and 50-70% off the costs for everyone else see www.freeinsulation.co.uk for more info.  Change your light bulbs.  Use your car less, most people are doing this already because petrol has gone up so much, it’s nicer, healthier and cheaper to walk short distances.

Use washable napppies.  The benefits of washable nappies are obvious, save money (you can do the calculations yourself), lower your carbon footprint (just think how all those disposables are produced and distributed around the country) and reduce landfill waste.

Often small changes like these have a bigger impact than some more costly green projects.  For example changing your car to a ‘green’ hyrbid will lower your petrol consumption but how much carbon has been immited to produce that car, it would be better to prolonge the life of your current car and try to lower your petrol usage by changing your driving stlye. If we all made these little changes we can make a big difference.