Go Green!

As a family I think we are quite an eco friendly family. Sometimes I think it can be hard but I always think its nice to do your bit for the environment. We do the usual green, silver and black bin recycling.

I try and sell things on ebay as much as I can. If I think someone else could make use of something instead of throwing it away I just list it on ebay for 99p. Most of the time it will sell for more than 99p. I buy off ebay aswell and instead of throwing away the packaging I save it and reuse it. I never have to buy envelopes or postage bags. The same goes when I win something in a competition, the prize usually comes in an over sized jiffy bag with a small sticker on the front.

We have the heating on when really need it on, but never on full. We have throws on the couch that we can use if we are cold. When the radiators are on I always out wet washing on them too. Our house is well insulated so when the heating has been on it tends to hold the heat a little longer. I do have a dryer and only use it when I absolutely need to, I have a maiden in the kitchen that gets lots of use.

When I go shopping I take my own re-usable bags. They are much sturdier and much bigger. I always feel so guilty when I forget them or just nip in for a couple of things and end up coming out with half a trolley full. Also while shopping I try and choose things with a lot less packaging. I have noticed companies do try and keep the packaging down now which is great.

The one thing we aren't to good at in our house is recycling water. Our garden is a bit small to have a water butt and recently we have been using the hose pipe to water the newly laid turf. Once it is bedded in properly we won't bother watering it and I feel really guilty about it, luckily the rain has arrived so we haven't had to do it for the past few days. The kids use the same bath water so that's not too bad. But I when you think about it you do use an awful lot of water in the day, for washing, toilet flushes (we do have a small flush option), doing the pots, washing machine, showers, baths, brushing teeth, washing hands. After thinking about it I suppose we just take water for granted.

So that's how green we are. Are you a 'green' person?