It’s now widely regarded that looking after the planet should be one of our top priorities. However the common problem for many people is it’s difficult to make inexpensive changes to our lifestyle that won’t inconvenience our already busy lifestyles. Fortunately there are some simple ways you can actually save yourself some money and do your bit for the environment!
Wash Your Clothes in Colder Water and Air Dry Them
Clothes do not need to be washed using hot water every time.. Try washing your clothes at 30 degrees, you’ll still end up with clean clothes, but without spending loads on energy to heat up the water! If you have extremely dirty clothes that are contaminated or unhygienic, try using an antibacterial washing detergent instead of using a hot wash.
Take an Old Bag Shopping
How often do you get caught out with the 5p or even 10p charge for a plastic bag? Keep a few scrunched up plastic bags in your car or at the bottom of your daily bag just in case you do dash into a shop for a few supplies.
Get Yourself a Reusable Takeaway Cup
7 million takeaway cups are used in the UK every day, but shockingly, only 1% of them are recycled! Make sure you’re not contributing to this by getting yourself a reusable coffee cup — these travel mugs are made using sustainable bamboo instead of plastic, and can be recycled too. Large cafe chains like Starbucks and Costa Coffee offer a 25p discount for using your own mug!
Book Worm? Join the Library
Reading is a very popular pastime across the world, which means that the publishing industry must harvest hundreds of millions of trees a year for printing. You could use ebooks instead, but you’d have to read around more than 22 books on the device before it has less of an environmental impact than an actual book. The solution is to join your local library. This is a really cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way to read all the books you want!
Stop Buying Bottled Water
7.7 billion plastic water bottles are used every year in the UK, and each one takes 400 years to decompose! For every litre of water you run from your kitchen tap, you’ll pay less than a penny. The average price of buying a 1 litre bottle of water is 65p, so unless you’re desperate, fill up a bottle at home and take this out and about with you. Water from your kitchen tap is just as good as the bottled stuff, just cheaper!
Grow Your Own Food
Having your own produce means you won’t be buying food that’s been flown in from the other side of the world or been treated with lots of harmful chemicals. Even if you start off with a small selection of herbs, growing your own fruit and veg is a cost saver and is environmentally friendly.
Switch Off at the Socket
A study by The Energy Saving Trust estimated that an average household will spend between £50 – £80 per year powering appliances left on standby. The worst culprits were wireless routers, printers, phone chargers, games consoles, and set-top boxes. The most common reason for taking out a payday loan in the uk is to cover living expenses like utility bills, and you can easily save yourself money on your energy bill by switching them off at the wall when they’re not in use.
On Your Bike!
One of the simplest ways to reduce your carbon footprint and save yourself money every day is to walk or ride to work. The other advantage is that it’s a great way to get fitter, and you won’t have to get stuck in pesky traffic! If you’re not close enough for that to be convenient, perhaps getting a bus may even be cheaper than driving and also means that the emissions are still lower.
Sell Your Old Electronics
Have a dig around through your cupboards, you’re quite likely to find a couple of old smartphones, cameras and iPods that are collecting dust. You can get money just for recycling them, even if they’re not in the best condition. Use a recycling comparison site to see which company will give you the most cash.
Get Rechargeable Batteries
Empty batteries release harmful chemicals like mercury when they are taken to landfill sites.
Rechargeable batteries cost a little more outright, but they can last up to 1,000 charges. This will reduce the number of finished ones going into landfill and saves you money in the long run.
These are just some of the simple everyday changes that you can make that will reduce your environmental impact and also save you money.
