No Waste Like home

miacat

Gingham_Ribbon wrote:

It depends on how big the drum in your machine is too. I used to do at least one or two loads a day but my new machine holds twice as much so I only wash half as often.

Does anyone know if you can put coloured delicates in with white delicates? I never have enough of them for a full load. I end up putting towels in that just need freshening up but then they take ages to dry because it's not as big a spin.

my DS football gear is synthetic, i put these in with the whites wash, as these are the only delicates i have.

elona

I have just found out that the book from the series is being sold by www.thebookpeople.co.uk at £3.99 - a saving of £9.

Curry_Queen

miacat wrote:

my DS football gear is synthetic, i put these in with the whites wash, as these are the only delicates i have.

I wash my son's kits in with the normal non-fast coloureds wash at 40C and they're fine, but you must remember never to use fabric conditioner on the kits as this damages the transfers and they eventually crack and peel off. I only ever use white vinegar as a softener anyway and this is ideal for these

ajmoraal

culpepper wrote:

seems like so long as you have a few thousand pounds knocking about,you can be ecological without much effort.
They featured a washing machine that cost £1000 which could weigh the load and adjust the water/time of wash to suit.
In previous progs
£17000 for the dual fuel car.
£2000 for a solar panel
etc....

I think the program tries to be inspiring for everyone, but not all the tips work for everybody. The expensive appliances are not possible if you don't have the money for it, but composting or growing your own vegetables doesn't work if you don't have a garden or allotment. And getting your fruit&veg at the local market doesn't work if you don't have a local market, or if it's only open while you are at work.

The most important message is about changing your mindset. Don't take waste or energy for granted.

At least it makes people talk about the subject. :T

squeaky

That's a ggod point. If only one percent of the people who watch that program turn their heating down by one degree, or time it by less than one hour they WILL see a saving. An easy thing to do, and one which should encourage them to try others.

My heating isn't on yet - the proper thermometer I have in the front room says that it's at 19C so since that's the temp I'd be aiming for with the heating on - there's no reason to do it.

I'm feeling a bit cool from sitting here too long typing so I'm going to do something energetic like hoover the stairs or mop the kitchen floor...

bunking_off

I'm sympathetic to the aims of the programme, and try to do my bit, eg have a wormery and recycle more waste than goes in the conventional bin. However, I do find the programme somewhat sanctimonious, and there are some things I'm far from convinced on;

- Spending £1000+ on a washing machine that's more energy & water efficient is daft, ecologically and economically. Was the old one broken? No. So although the unit may be more efficient, what about the damage to the environment of binning a serviceable machine? £1000? That's 4-5 times the price of a typical washer. I reckon the payback period for the energy savings would be 30+ years...

- I could have mis-heard, but I'm sure the voiceover told us that a TV on standby uses as much as 80% as one powered up. This sounded dodgy to me, so I dug out my manual. My TV is hardly state of the art (5 years old), but on standby it burns 1.5W versus 160W in use. 0.8%, perhaps; 80%, I doubt it.

- Much emphasis was put on water efficiency. Now, I stress that I'm not wasteful - have a water butt for the garden, and since my dentist insists a dry toothbrush should be used, I don't sin by leaving the tap on while cleaning teeth. However, although there might be some truth to warnings of water shortages in the SE, I don't really buy it for the family this week, who live in Lancashire. Our water comed from Cumbria. Believe me, with family up there, I can attest that at this time we're not suffering from lack of rain...

Liney_2

Since watching this proramme I have made an effort with the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle rules. I had recycled before watching it but it's the Reduce and Reuse options that really have made me think. I have been reusing plastic tubs from the takeaway - great for the freezer, glass jars from shop-bought desserts for making my own desserts in (even going to try making my own jam). I have been taking a jute bag to the shops to get my shopping in so I have hardly used any carrier bags. And I kind of feel really pleased with myself - my hubby is making a real effort to so I am chuffed about that. I have been buying veggies loose from the wholefood shop instead of going to the supermarket and I have even been on my bicycle a few times instead of taking the car. Probably saved a few pennies in the process and hopefully having a little less impact on the environment. Just need to tackle the leaking tap and try to save some water now...(I like the tip on using a dry toothbrush)

Gingham_Ribbon

Liney wrote:

Since watching this proramme I have made an effort with the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle rules. I had recycled before watching it but it's the Reduce and Reuse options that really have made me think.

I was the opposite. I have reduced significantly, and reuse where I can, but I'm not very crafty or talented so I'm not as good at it as some people I know. (My friend made me a beautiful handbag out of her jumper!) But I was spoilt where I used to live because they picked up the recycling every week. We only have paper and card recycling here.

So I decided to focus on the recycling. The reduce, reuse thing must be working because all that was in it after 10 days was a wine bottle, 2 jars, 3 plastic milk cartons and 4 tin cans.

It was a good feeling to know how different it would have been a few years ago (when both my recycling and landfill wheelie bins would have been full to the brim and there was only me in the house.) Now with 3 of us catered for, the composter is slowly filling up, the paper bin has room in it at the end of the month, the landfill bin is less than a third full at the end of the week and I hardly have anything to recycle. To think I was going to buy some bins to put the recycling in! I only need a carrier bag on a hook in the cellar head!

I think it's in no small part a result of the tips I get on MSE. I've a long way to go though. The next step is learning to sew. It's filling me with a slight dread as I'm pretty ham fisted but worth a shot!

competitionscafe

Because I hardly ever shop at Tesco anymore (and it's where the recycling bins are) I have a huge backlog of newspapers and glass. I don't have a car so would have to make (lots) of trips on foot carrying heavy bags. If only Edinburgh council would get sorted and have street collection bins in my area. I have written to them but they take about 2 months to reply to a letter!! (They kept sending me someone elses council tax bill and took 2 months to reply to my letter saying that I had already paid).

I really don't want to throw all this paper and glass out with the rubbish but will have no choice soon, due to lack of space!

Gingham_Ribbon

That's somehting that bugs me and kind of defeats the purpose - needing a car to recycle! It's okay if you're going there anyway, but making a special trip in the car isn't the best environmental choice!