green/ethical challenge

Steel_2

I'm going to start cutting down the amount of gas I use by putting lids on all of the saucepans when I cook.

Last night while I was cooking I did a little test. I got everything cooking without lids on, then put lids/plates on all of the saucepans to keep the heat in. I was really shocked by how much I had to turn the gas down to prevent things boiling over or burning!!! Some of the rings I turned down to their minimum.

I sort of always knew that I should put lids on to save energy but until I saw the evidence for myself it didn't sink in.

thriftyjo

Def if you don't want the wine don't let it go to waste - if you don't know anyone you could post it to me!

Also I've bought lots of eco-friendly things and alot of items from charity shops and from ebay ... buying ppl jumpers is a good energy saving idea - if they wear them they can knock the heating down a notch!

Wiggly_Worm

Oo, this is a good one. Green living on a tight budget - welcome to my life I'd rather do green living on an enormous budget, but there you go.
I nearly always do home-made Christmas pressies - more for the cost than the eco-ness, but now you mention it, it feels very 'green'
Um, this year people will be getting poshly wrapped biscuits (make own boxes from shiny card, tie with fancy ribbon), plants in nice pots (from cuttings I only got round to taking in October - yay for geraniums lol), luxury bath sets (nice basket, home-made oaty bath bags, some posh choc, a small candle and a couple of posh teabags), bizarre books from charity shops. My family is very 'booky', so luckily have no objection to receiving a dog eared old tome providing it's a good read and shows you're thought about them You can find some amazing founts of knowledge in charity shops, especially in the travel books section.

Also: have (thank goodness) been given an artificial tree from Freecycle, will get the kids to potato stamp brown paper for wrapping paper, and have made a load of decorations from old cardboard.

General (oops this post is getting long, sorry): make own compost and recycle everything possible to stop it going in landfill. Freecycle or charity shop unwanted junk, for same reason. Get stuff off Freecycle - saves other people throwing stuff in landfill, and saves me money . Don't have a car - believe me when you start walking places you realise they're not all that far away! Have green electricity - Ecotricity, btw, which is the only one worth having for reasons too long to explain here. Buy Fairtrade, get my Ecover laundry & washing up liquid refilled locally so saving packaging and money, use vinegar, etc to avoid chemicals (and it's cheap)...

Coo, I feel pretty good now! Thanks for making me list stuff

If you want making-pressy ideas, this site rocks: https://www.craftster.org

So, what else can we do that's easy eco and cheap? yay for us! :T

nethesi

hi wiggly,

wow! go yousound like you don't need my challenge :T but feel free to join in! - Home made biscuits sound yummy, wil definately think of that in future for visiting relations: so much better than flowers...

My cast came off today but apparently 'elbows don't like being broken or surgery' (thanks for that mr doctor, i'd kind of noticed!) so got possibility of doing a bit more crafty stuff over next few week... will try to follow the example bungle girl and make some home made sewing bits. I'm going to try with making a bag for the free wine I got and give it to mr MG

Agree totally with the free cycle plug! so true that one mans rubbush isanouther mans treasure.

Anyways this weekend we're going away with oh family. driving so not very green but we're all taking it in turns to cook and planning on some walks which is MS and not UN-green

take care you-all!

nethesi x

nethesi

Hi All,

Firstly December challenge updated:
My Christmas was not as green and ethical as I'd have liked due to buying a few presents that were overpackaged and probably polluting as well. Also our present to each other was a hot airballoon ride in Egypt.... We also ate far more meat than normal.
However we travelled by train to visit relatives (with one exception see below!) and also gave some lovely fairtrade and charitable gifts as well as eating lots of homegrown or locally sourced organic food - which was a treat as we don't have a garden. However I now have a guideline for what to do in future for Christmas and birthday pressents and will write up the guidance in a word document for future use: after all this is all about long term changes.

JANUARY's CHALLENGE

Thanks to the poster who suggested reduction in car use as the January challenge.

I'm taking a broad view and decided that the challenge is:

Reduce your costs and carbon/greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

Ranking in order I believe that the emissions rate is:

Walking (some tiny emissions though as you have to breathe more!!!!)
Biking (because the tires wear out/punctures etc)
Bus (full)
Train
Bus (almost empty)
Efficient car
gas-guzzling car
Airoplane

It's also approximately in cost order - although trains have a higher cost in some areas to cars in terms of additional miles, but when you take into account that you have to own the car in the first place it's probably not so bad.
So basically the challenge for me and anyone else who wants to play is to move journey's up the ranking. Also the top two save on gym fees....

our big effort is that my OH has decided that we don't need a car any more and since it si him that drives to work I agreed (much more efford for him to give up!). In someways it's not a big change as we only got a car temporarily in October but it was surprizing how quickly we got used to it. Hopefully the same will apply in reverse!


Happy New Year all and wish me luck!

Ken68

Good for you Net..
Hav'nt spent anything in 2007 yet,only what was in the house. Walked to the library today, instead of car.
Visiting someone in hospital tomorrow so THE BUS,freebie for oaps's, first for years.
Try and get thru the day without spending!!!

Dustykitten

Not seen this challenge before. Like you I think I am quite green/ethical but could do better. I like the idea of less car usage, I don't use my car too much but sometime do journeys which I could walk cycle so will try to cut it out a little more.

My own aim is to reduce packaging rather than recycle - little example, I was in ASDA with DS2 and DS1 and had promised a cake/bun each as a treat. DS2 choose some brownies in a plasic box, I explained that whilst they looked great the box would take 500 years to decompse and that the noughnuts were in a paper bag which we could compost but the choice was his - he made the right choice and I was proud of him for it.

Other aim, we are measuring how much our appliances use to see what really happens when things are on standby etc.

Good luck to anyone else on a challenge DK

jellycat40

I will have a go at the Jan challenge, I try so hard to be greener but family seems to have no interest. DD1 (22) is quite good but DS and OH are c**p they leave lights on and OH is quite capable of walking off and leaving the gas still lit for hours. Yesterday I asked him to take something out of the oven and when I went into the kitchen 2 hours later the oven was still on!!! DS goes from room to room switching on lights but seems to forget to switch them back off.

My main challenge therefore will be to try and get them to do better!!! OH says he can't see that it makes any difference to the scheme of things if the mob charger stays put!

I will also make more effort to compost, we have a composter but made the mistake of putting it at the bottom of the garden so we have a muddy journey down there to put the scraps in - consequence it rarely gets done. I will put all compostables in the composter for the whole of january.

I will also take a bag shopping with me - started yesterday to do this and in every shop they had got the stuff into a carrier before asking - I had to take it out and say I have a bag thanks, got strange looks in New Look and patronising one in Clintons but will persevere.

Louise

nethesi

Hi Louise,

It's hard having a family who have other 'priorities'! My OH has come round to the idea... he still laughs at my Money saving/making schemes and this challenge but when he saw how much we've managed to save and reduce our mortgage on a very tight budget (he's a student and I've been a trainee accountant - but have now had a promotion!) it's changed his tune: maybe get your family to agree to be efficient with electricity

I know what you mean about the funny looks you get in shops. We get that atWaitrose (not the most MS thing I know but it's the only large supermarket in town, and without a car the out of town Tesco is too far.)
The regular staff at Waitrose seem to have got used to us now though, although we do get comments sometimes.

Good luck to you with your efforts though!

nethesi

Hi Louise,

It's hard having a family who have other 'priorities'! My OH has come round to the idea... he still laughs at my Money saving/making schemes and this challenge but when he saw how much we've managed to save and reduce our mortgage on a very tight budget (he's a student and I've been a trainee accountant - but have now had a promotion!) it's changed his tune: maybe get your family to agree to be efficient with electricity for a month and see how much you save in energy bills, that might focus their minds (especially if you split some of the savings with your kids)!

I know what you mean about the funny looks you get in shops. We get that atWaitrose (not the most MS thing I know but it's the only large supermarket in town, and without a car the out of town Tesco is too far.)
The regular staff at Waitrose seem to have got used to us now though, although we do get comments sometimes.

Good luck to you with your efforts though!