Money Saving and Green?

Judi101

Like alot of people these days our money is tight but we do call ourselves green and would like to do more. So I got to thinking what can we do that doesnt involve more financially (that we cant afford)?

We currently:

refuse or reuse carrier bags
have low energy lightbulbs in all rooms except the 3 with inset spots.
compost and use water butt.
use washable nappies
try to dry outside as much as possible (struggle with this due to winter weather and cant dry inside due to condensation)
cavity wall insulation and plugged gaps, curtains up at doors.
the heating is not on in the bedrooms.
OH cycles to work in the summer, bus in the winter.
use freecycle, charity shops and car boot.
recycle cans, glas and plastic bottles and paper.
try not to subscribe to the consumer society - even succeed sometimes;)

What we could do:

use the car less - I really struggle with this, one reason being 2 children under 3.
cut down on cleaning chemicals. I struggle with replacing bleach to clean the toilet and sink. Any ideas?
grow our own veg (the time needed and problems with cats in our garden put me off!)
while having some loft insulation it isnt enough but most of the loft is boarded and I'm not gonna pull them up to add more insulation underneath. Any ideas?


What we cant afford to do:

Buy organically or chose the more expensive products that have less packaging.
upgrade our boiler (its about 10 years old)
upgrade our windows so better ones (they are at least 10 years old but are double glazed)


But the purpose of this post was to ask for any other ideas? We are a two adult two children one cat household.

A_fiend_for_life

Soda crystals are a good alternative to bleach. They are about 50p to 60p for 500g. Ecover do a toilet cleaner you can sometimes pick up for less than a pound. The washing up liquid is good too and lasts a lot longer imho.

Flasking excess boiled / warm water is also a good one as is a slow cooker if you can get one off freecycle. Turn off the hob or oven 5 minutes finishing cooking. Heat water on the residual heat.

Might be worth adding how much loft insulation you have so other posters can advise. You might be able to get a top up through your gas / electric supplier if you haven't done so already.