Seven easy ways to go green

Ways to go green. Due to the current economic climate more people are becoming aware of their waste and their finances. Here are 7 ideas on how to reduce your utility bills, become more eco-friendly and easy substitutions that will make a difference on your finances.

1. Switch it off. Switching off electrical equipment at the socket is a great way to prevent electricity drainage. LED electrical equipment is often referred to as ‘electricity vampires’ because when they are on and not being used they are continuously draining electricity.
2. Paper. Although we live in a technology era, paper wastage is still an issue. People are still wanting and giving paper receipts, paper invoices etc. A great way of preventing paper wastage is by writing all your notes down into a notepad/note book. This encourages you to use every patch of paper and also enables you to section areas for each topic/to do list. Then once used, unless you need to keep it for reference, you can recycle every bit of the pad.
3. Recycle. Recycling is one of the easy ways to go green that requires little alteration to your daily life and yet helps to reduce the amount going to landfill. One idea is to have small bins for each type (paper/plastics) which you can empty at the end of the day into the appropriate bins or recycling bags. By choosing small bins you can stash them away under desks or in cupboards so you don’t have to look at ugly big bins. If you can place the bins in convenient locations in your home makes using them easier and less hassle so there is no excuse not to use them.
4. Smart meters. Smart meters are a new technology that the UK government is hoping to have installed at every property in the UK by the end of 2020. A smart meter is a clever device that displays your electricity and gas usage in real-time and the cost in pounds and pence. This way you can make informed decisions on energy saving measures to save you money because smart meters show you when during the day you used the most energy.
5. Renewable technology. Investing in a renewable technology is a great way of reducing your carbon footprint and generating your own electricity or heating for your home. This will reduce your utility bills and can even earn you money. If you are considering in installing a renewable technology at your property it is worth researching the types of funding available to you to help cover the initial installation costs and on-going running costs.
6. Hot drinks. We are all guilty of over-filling the kettle and re-boiling the same water that boiled when we left the room a minute ago. Reducing the volume of water in the kettle and the number of hot drinks you have throughout the day will help to decrease your electricity bills and is another of the easy ways to go green. Making a pot of tea or putting your hot drink in a thermal mug is a great way of ensuring you have a hot drink available to you for longer without the need to keep re-boiling the kettle.
7. Invest in good quality clothing. By investing in good quality, hard wearing clothing and accessories ensures that you save money in the long run. Why buy a shirt for £10 that will only survive 3 washes when you could buy a £30 shirt that will last for over a year? People are often put off by the initial cost of a more expensive item of clothing, but this is why you should view it is an investment and not an initial saving! The same can be said for women’s accessories, if you invest in a practical, stylish, waterproof oilcloth handbag instead of a handbag that isn’t robust enough for continuous use then you will have saved money by the end of the year.