My big green agenda - your opinions

balijay

Having spent the last few weeks working my way through of this board, my head is filled with ideas for things I would like to try to implement in our lives. I have really assessed our lifestyle and listed some things we already do and things I would like to begin doing in the near future. I am however aware of trying to do too much at once, so am taking it one step at a time. Below is my big green agenda - I would appreciate your advice and comments. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children. I guess my main reasons for doing this are as follows; I would like to bring up my children in a toxic-free home (my partner also suffers from allergies and I am hoping this will help and I want to do 'my bit' for the planet. Money also comes into the equation, as far as things such as gas/elec/water etc are concerned I need to save some money, I have a budget of around £60 per week for food/toiletries - i don't want to lower this necessarily, just get the best for my money.

Thanks in advice for your comments

The items in green I do already - the items in red I am trying to implement as I go along. (This is a work in progress and a place to keep all the ideas in my head, which is why there are some gaps! )

MY BIG GREEN AGENDA

1.FOOD AND DRINK
Meal planning
Free range eggs from own chickens
Fruit and veg from parents' allotment
Rocks organic squash
Less use of tesco, begin by using butchers and greengrocers in town and/or try local
farm shop.
More home baking
Less meat – aim for 2 vegetarian dinners each week to start
Fair trade tea and coffee only
2.ENERGY
a.*GAS
Learn to set heating controls

b.*ELECTRIC
Only boil the water I actually need to use.
Switch lights off when not needed
Don't leave appliances on standby
Replace bulbs with energy saving ones (2 out of 10 so far)

3.WATER
Tap off when brushing teeth
Children use same bathwater
Quicker showers (now 6-7 mins, aim for 4-5 mins)

4.TOILETRIES & COSMETICS
Get rid of all potentially toxic/harmful products
No anti-perspirant – now using Pitrok
Replace with natural products (so far: shampoo/soap/hand wash/moisturiser)
Try homemade recipes for skincare
Organic cotton sanitary protection from Natracare or similar

5.HOUSEHOLD (products / cleaning)
Change to Ecover or similar cleaning products or
try lemon juice/bicarb
Investigate a more natural washing detergent – Ecover?

6.TRAVEL
Using 1.2 Renault Clio
Fully investigate public transport
Have a number of no-car days per month?

7.RECYCLING
Council recycling box for paper/glass/tins/cans/aerosols
Plastic cartons and cardboard to recycling bank
Reusable bags for shopping – no plastic carrier bags

8.TOYS

9.SPECIAL OCCASIONS (Christmas / birthdays etc)

10. CLOTHING
Charity shops for new clothes (and donate old ones)

(Preparing for Winter)

Candles and matches
Thick curtains for bedrooms (currently have blinds)
Foil behind radiators
Front door curtain and draught excluder

Ronaldo7_2

I think what you are doing is excellent, having done alot of the things myself, but the big issue is always, how can I save money and make things better for the environment. I would be a bit wary of Ecover products, whilst they are an improvement on the general cleaning stuff on supermarket shelves, they still contain some toxic stuff. Try looking at other ranges that are organic/natural which may be more expensive but are concentrated so that the cost per use is actually lower - for example AlmaWin (German but very good quality). Also on your energy usage, I have used a spreadsheet & energy meter to see where our consumption is, this is quite enlightening! Other suggestions, composting? Buying gifts/presents for family and friends that are recycled - look for grolsch glasses as an example.

Good luck

balijay

Thanks Ronaldo. I will check out some alternatives to Ecover before I buy anymore - thanks for the tip. Re my energy usage, my (free) energy monitor should be on its way from Southern Electric, I do keep a close eye on our usage by taking a reading once a month, and a spredsheet may be a good idea instead of my scibbled workings out! Christmas is going to be a major focus over the coming weeks. I already have some handmade projects underway for the children in our family, but I am going to be trying really hard to keep things sensible this year re spending and packaging. Any tips on this welcomed.

A_fiend_for_life

Some things are worth buying too eg slow cooker. A bread maker saves money too and they are apparently surprisingly low on energy (might be worth checking this with gluten intolerance too if that is an issue). A+ energy rating?

Electricity tumble dryer and dishwasher use if relevant and wash on 30C if possible with allergies. A flask for excess hot water and water collected from cooker residual heat is good too

On the transport side, switching between weekly ticket deals followed by the car should be a little more cost effective.

Ecover and Bio-D is another highly regarded eco brand. Last time I checked this had the highest ethiscore rating.

On the shower lowering the temperature as much as you comfortably can should save some on the cash.

Sledge_2

I always take long showers, but always take 'navy' showers. They're a little like switching off the water when you brush your teeth, wet yourself, the switch off the water, soap yourself down, then rinse and repeat. It's amazing that you can have a shower, and probably only use 1/2 the water!

Racheblue

Hi Balijay et al,

Here are some green tips I use:

These homemade hair products feel strange at first and the results may not be instant but but give it a few weeks and you'll love it! I use them in conjunction with Green People organic haircare products.

Shampoo: Rub a small handful of bicarb of soda (BoS) into the roots of wet hair, massage thoroughly, rinse with water. Also works well if organic/natural bar soap used first. This is good for clearing up dandruff or dry scalp.

Conditioner: Mix 1 part white vinegar with 2 parts boiled (cooled) water. Store in glass bottle for conditioner use. Simply apply a small amount to the hair, massage in and rinse (shutting the eyes is helpful!). Vinegar cleans away all soap/BoS residue and softens hair.

Moisturiser: Mix organic oil (vegetable or sunflower for general use, olive for extra dry/winter skin) with a few drops of essential oil in (I use organic lavender but there are plenty to choose from or you could go unscented). Great for after shower body and face when still damp - delicious! And unlike conventional bought products, a little goes a long long way.

Sanitary: Natracare products are good but the Mooncup is a better investment. Costs around £17 but you only have to buy one (unless, like me you leave it unwatched on the disinfectant boil until it burns the pan, changes colour and fills the kitchen with a lovely burnt smell - whoops! - won't be doing that again!) It saves heaps of money, time and hassle (once you get used to it) and means you don't have to send sanitary waste to the landfill and waterways every month - bleugh!

I'm currently using Ecover for washing up too but will make my own when it runs out. I have tried a vinegar, BoS and water combo before which worked really well.

I am hooked on salvaging: recycling, charity and other pre-loved shopping, markets, freecycle etc. It becomes a fun challenge hunting for the perfect item(s) and even my DH loves to come charity shopping, particularly when we visit 'posh' areas where stock is good quality and often barely worn!

Living 'green' is addictive; once you start, you just want to keep getting better and better at it, constantly improving. It's great for you, great for our planet, great for us all - enjoy! :j :A

CravingSaving

Balijay - this is a great post. A brilliant idea of working out just where you are on your green journey and setting yourself targets. You can't do it all overnight. Bit by bit, replacing old products with eco products (but not the eco-kettle!), in fact you seem to have a good idea of what you want to do and on these forums you will certainly find all the advice you could ever want on how to implement them. Keep this post updated, and lets see all your reds turn to green!

Rachblue - some great tips, especially about the haircare! Thanks!

Ken68

Hi Bali....my biggest saving is the garden, all free, hard and soft fruit, veg , salads beans and either freezing or drying the surplus.
Next is foraging, amazing what is out their, combine it with daily walk.
Next green saving is cold water clothes washing, as long as it's soaked overnight. Soiled stuff has a 30 degree wash.
Also use rainwater a lot, especially for the loo.
Then courtesy of HM Guvmint, free buses, packed up the car, what a saving.
This site ranks high, especially this board and gas and electric and the home/diy board and old style saving.
Next project is to seriously research how to avoid food (and any product) miles.

Volcano

Get rid of all potentially toxic/harmful products
No anti-perspirant – now using Pitrok


Pitrok contains aluminium as well as some dodgy preservative. You'd be better off with something like: http://www.thursdayplantation.com/cmsv1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=41

which is aluminium free. Beware any anti-perspirants that list 'alum' in the ingredients, it's just another aluminium-containing chemical, and is actually a skin and eye irritant!:
http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Aluminum_Ammonium_Sulfate-9922848

balijay

Hello everyone and many, many thanks for all your helpful suggestions – keep them coming.


Fiend : Yes I have a slow cooker. I will check the SC recipe index later for inspiration. I have also lowered my water temp from 55 to 50 degrees. Just out of interest what temp does everyone else set their water at?


Rachelblue : Many thanks for this – I will certainly try using BoS for shampoo (plus I am a massage therapist so don't have any problem on the moisturiser front!)
I have looked at Natracare and intend on ordering from there when I next need supplies. Am still umming and ahhing over a mooncup for some reason.
I LOVE charity shops – you can pick up some real bargains.


Ken68 : My parents have a huge allotment which provides the majority of our fruit and veg – we would love to devote more time to this but it proves difficult as we all work during the week.


Volcano – Thanks, I will check this out.


I did my weekly shop yesterday in my local shops instead of getting everything from Tesco as I would normally and I have tested my heating. In the coming weeks I am going to test if it is cheaper to adjust the heating using the thermostat or set the timer on the boiler.


Plans for this weekend include sorting out the foil behind the rads and a front door curtain and draught excluder. I also plan on having a no car day.


Have a great weekend everyone!

A_fiend_for_life

You might have seen the fife diet:

http://fifediet.wordpress.com/

It's quite a difficult one but a good challenge.