Eco Friendly House And Garden

Make some time to go to a show to get some top tips for your eco friendly house and garden!

The whole show doesn’t have to be uber green – just on the right theme, and then you can go and pick out the bits you like and put pressure on the companies that are not offering what you want!

Many tips and tricks for home redecorating or garden landscaping don’t have to be new-fangled and complicated – there are many things that we can do that are eco friendly without even trying!

Also at shows, you get to see products that aren’t found in supermarkets due to their ‘rules’ on listings, like biodegradable toiletries, organic foods and fair trade supplies.  You just won’t find these on the high street – so they bring them to the shows so you can get hands-on experience with them rather than blindly ordering things off the Internet!

1) The National Home Improvement Show - Earls Court, London
With over 18 exhibitors being from energy efficiency companies and talks and seminars from environmentally active lecturers and TV presenters – you know you could be on to a good thing here!

Take your pick from all the departments including renovations, kitchens, bathrooms and gardens as see if you can get some great advice on using the right resources, getting eco friendly appliances and other homewares as well as sustainable produced garden furniture and buildings.

2) The National Wedding Show – NEC, Birmingham
If you are even remotely thinking of getting married – then you must consider a trip to a wedding fair.  Weddings can cost at least £20,000 for a simple affair – so if you are after an eco friendly wedding, then you had better plan in advance to make sure that you get the best products and services booked up in advance – rather than have to settle for second best when you run out of time!

And, there are bound to be things involved with a wedding that you hadn’t really even considered looking in to like car hire and tablecloths!  At a show like this – they have already done all the thinking; just turn up with a notepad and pen and comfy shoes!

3) Mind, Body & Soul 2010 - Olympia, London
Take a day out to unwind from the stresses of life – and try out some of the great relaxation remedies, complementary therapies and practical sessions.

Find yourself surrounded by experts on stress, therapy, yoga and many other well known and well used techniques that could help you realise your potential and make some serious changes in your life, your work or your free time.

Raised Garden

4) Grand Designs Live – NEC, Birmingham
Covering everything from food to flowers, lofts to landscaping and from sash windows to sustainable sheds!

Seriously, it’s not just about buying a plot of land or derilict church and building a massive monstrosity on it like the earlier Grand Design TV Shows – its all about making things better, more eco friendly and long lasting – and not just for 1 home – but for whole communities.  

5) The Baby Show - Earls Court, London
Come here and find out about everything you will need for your little one before they arrive – and for your growing ones who need some new inspiration and equipment – or for yourself to help cope with the new lifestyle that is shaping your every day life.

Not only will your get the chance to try out all the existing products that are new to you – there will also be innovative products and companies out there with something new to the whole world!  Whether it’s a new eco friendly material, new biodegradable toiletries or organic baby foods – you can bet that it is all here!

So, what are you waiting for - make some space in your diary….

I know we don’t like salespeople calling us at home - but you might like what you hear these days!

Double & triple-glazed replacement windows are really looking like one of the most effective ways for your home and business to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint.

It’s all very simple really – stop heat escaping from your home and reap the rewards – both environmentally and financially.

Why Triple Glazing?
Well, double glazing works by trapping a layer of gas in between 2 panes of glass and so stopping the air from your home escaping into the outside world. 

Now, the atmosphere likes to balance itself out if it can so the cold air will be wanting to creep into your home anyway it can, and as a result will make your home cooler.

This double-pane approach will make this movement of air very difficult, and so keep you home on average warmer than a single glazed room.

This transfer of heat across a surface (the glass panel – from outside to inside) is called the ‘U Value’ and the lower the better in terms of energy loss from your home.

Single panes of glass have a value of around 5.8, with curtains pulled it drops down the 3.6!  And if you add secondary glazing you could drop as low as 2.9.

However, if you switch to air-filled double glazing  - this figure can get as low as 1.7 – and all the way to Argon-filled triple glazing can drop your U value right down to 1.4 – that’s 75% more efficient at retaining heat. 

Fitting The Windows:
Obviously, the first thing to do is decide what type of replacement windows you want – maybe have taken photo’s of neighbours windows for reference.

Then make sure you contact an agent that is a member of a recommended guild of association – like the Glass & Glazing Federation in the UK, like Everest Windows; or the Master Builders Association in the US, like Penguin Windows.

This way you can make sure that not only have the installers passed certain certification and are up-to-date with all current regulations – but that you will be getting a 100% effective Guarantee for the works carried out, something that you can pass on to the next owner of your home.

You can of course fit new windows and doors yourself, but you must fulfill certain criteria that you will have to find out for yourself first.  For example, to change any external windows or doors in your home you will need to apply to your local building regulations office for approval, as there are minimum requirements for the performance of the material used and thermal qualities!

And of course, if you fit them yourself you will have no guarantee of any kind.  The work and it’s lifespan are totally resting on your choices and your handiwork!

Some simple tricks can stop your heating bill spiralling out of control and wasting all that energy!

Remember visiting you grandparents house and there were a few things that you didn’t have at home that you thought were funny.  Well some of them were totally eco friendly and we never took them on board.

Nans had these funny things as there wasn’t such a thing as central heating, so all of these were used simply to keep warm and stop cold draughts blowing aroundthe house.

Now of course, they can save energy, money and the environment too – so maybe I can take you on a walk around my nans house and see what you can do today.

Plastic Sheets: 18% of heat is lost through your windows.
In the colder rooms that weren’t used so often had tight plastic sheets taped over them on the inside.  Double glazing was unheard of so putting in your own secondary ‘glazing’ was the way to go.

If you didn’t want to open the windows through the winter, then why not seal them up for the colder months.  These days of course you can buy actual double glazing, retro-fit secondary glazing – or even buy an eco friendly equivalent of the old plastic sheeting called Eco Glaze which is acrylic sheets that are attached to your window with magnetic strips so you can put them on or take them off when you want!

Maybe even consider triple glazing in bad areas or just the leakiest window!

Giant Velvet Curtain: 15% of heat is lost through doors.
My nan had the most amazing thick red curtain on the back of the front door.  It was on a great big rail and it was more than twice as wide as the door and at least a foot too long – great for hiding behind!

By making sure that there was more than enough curtain to block any breezes made it all the more worth having.  I mean if you are fitting a curtain in the first place, it’s a bit pointless if it is too short or too thin.  Spend the extra pennies and get it right first time.

Maybe consider fitting a simple porch to buffer the outside and inside spaces.

Long Tube Of Socks:
Along the bottom of the lounge door when we were all sitting inside was a handmade tube of old socks and rags.  I suppose it could be made into a comedy sausage dog if you sewed ears on!

It was the perfect way to stop draughts coming under the door when you were heating just the one room.  Just like today – when you have the log burner on the go in the one room, keep all the heat in there too.  Modern equivalents can be plates you screw on to the bottom of you door with a furry edge – but I quite like the idea of making my own sausage dog!

Over-Patterned Rugs:  8% of heat is lost through floors.
Now, you don’t have to go an buy a bright swirly rug or a heavily-pattered dark red rug to stop cold air coming through your floorboards!

These days you can fill the gaps on old floorboards with man-made natural fillers, buy nice plain rugs in all sizes, or fit carpets with thick underlay to make sure that your home stays warm!

Maybe consider fitting underfloor heating if you are having other work done in your home.  This is a much more efficient way to heat your home than traditional central heating and means you can put your furniture where you want it rather than having to fit it around huge radiators…….. 

So, go round to your great aunts house or your friends nans and check out their energy and money saving tips!

Did you find that you got better at identifying any birds because of it?

I can now tell the difference between a house sparrow and a tree sparrow, and my little niece can now identify a magpie!  I know about the different stripes on the greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers and the different ‘spots’ on the breast of the song thrush and mistle thrush.

And I found out how much easier it was with binoculars and a small guide book!

I had great fun doing the bird counts with my family.  I helped my mum in her tiny urban garden (12 species), my niece in her huge suburban garden (7 species) - and helped myself in my woodland garden! (9 species).

We saw great spotted woodpeckers, pied wagtails, wrens, song thrushes and bullfinches – as well as the more common blackbirds, robins, magpies, crows and starlings. 

However, to my suprise, the tiny urban garden had the most different species of all 3 sites, with the huge garden not having any unique species – they shared half of their 7 species with both the other sites!

And it didn’t even have the largest number of 1 type either – mum’s got 26+ starlings in hers!

I was glad to see the wrens and the house sparrows at my mum’s as well as they are not common where I live at the moment.  And the starlings chirping away in their ‘alien’ fashion took me back to my childhood!

However, I’m not too bothered about them being ‘missing’ as I get all sorts of other amazing species like red kites, buzzards, jays and woodpeckers here – and I even saw a woodcock the other day!

How did your counts go – and have you entered your results on the RSPB website yet?

Planning to lose weight and give up smoking – 2 perfect eco friendly resolutions!

Every New Year there are thousands of people vowing to give up smoking and lose weight for the new year – so why not do it for real this time rather than just putting in a little bit of effort in front of the friends!

We know the reason we manage to eat a bit healthier in January is because we have eaten so much junk over the winter that we would rather not face another strawberry trifle or fried leftovers! 

And the symbolic start of the new year makes us decide that it’s a good time to be a bit healthier – but when you go back to work and the month end bills start to come through after the longest month of the year – it virtually always has 5 Fridays – you are stressed enough to just keep on smoking!

So why not make these 2 count seriously towards your new eco friendly lifestyle for 2010.

Losing Weight:
This has 2 sides to it’s eco benefit; eating less and exercising more, so lets look at these in detail.

Eating Less – we all know that we buy, cook and eat much more food than we need – and much of the food isn’t nutritious enough to make a difference.  So by restricting your meal size and number of meals, you can reduce the pressure on farmers and local stores to grow so much in the first place.

The food has to be grown and transported to the stores too which uses valuable energy and petrol or gas as well.  In a larger scale example the advantages become clear: if the average person buys 20 sprouts from the store, and a lorry from the farm can only fit in 1000 sprouts in it’s hopper - that means one journey feeds 50 families. 

But what if each of your 3 dinner guests only really eats 5 sprouts each and you throw the leftover 5 away?  That means that that lorry carried 250 sprouts for nothing.  And if people only brought what they actually ate – that original lorry could have fed nearly 67 families (17 more than before).

And who says we should be eating until we are stuffed anyway?  Buy less, eat less, waste less.

Exercising More- Clearly, if you are exercising more then you may well be walking or cycling a lot more than before – both of which have massive eco benefits.

By spending more time out of your car, you are saving on fuel and emissions – but you are also making your local area richer.  If you visit local parks and other amenities you are making them worth keeping and maintaining – and you could become involved in local projects.

And by taking a bit longer to get somewhere or exploring somewhere in closer detail you could become a bit more knowledgeable of local species and habitats – and even see places, buildings or wildlife that you haven’t seen before (as you fly at 50 mph down the link road!).

Also, more exercise will make you a healthier person, delaying the signs of aging and reducing your need for routine medications and treatments – all saving you and the community money and energy.  Which leads us on to the other resolution….

Stop Smoking:
Not only is smoking bad for your health on it’s own, it is also bad for your health in terms of the reduction in exercise your may well be having due to being so out of breath.  It has been scientifically proved that smoking causes lung damage – and your lungs are what helps you to be active and exercise more.

However, buying you cigarettes is a never-ending job.  Unless you are a very light smoker or stretch out your roll-ups beyond the meanest student – you will be having to visit a store several times a week.  Smokers never seem to buy them in bulk, they go back and forth all the time, just buying another 20. and I bet the don’t always walk there?

The packaging, the transport, the ingredients – all bad for the environment and your body.  So make an appointment with a hypnotist and get over it!

There are many other ways to help improve your eco friendly lifestyle – so maybe instead of New Year resolutions – have New Month resolutions where you can improve your lifestyle throughout the year!

How can a plant seeds when I can’t even see my garden!

Like many people, I am hoping to start planting some seeds in my garden shortly – but the ground is frozen, and under about 3 inches of snow!

I also have some plants that I want to tend to as well, but they are still covered in the white stuff!

It has been several weeks now since I have been able to even think about getting back out into the garden to check on things already out there and getting ready for the new seasons crops and plants.

Just before the ‘big freeze’ there was a period of wet weather, and primroses, daisies and buttercups were all flowering in my garden at the end of November – I dread to think what they will look like when this snow all melts – and whether they will have the energy to flower again by March!

Problems In The Garden:
Well, I should be out there pruning back some of last years branches and shoots as well as clearing old leaves but that is going to have to wait - as is turning the compost!  I tried to do this before the new year, but it was too heavy with all the snow, and then clearing it a bit actually melted the snow turning it into a huge pile of slush – washing away some of the nutrients I had packed inside!

The thought of digging out the beds for the early potatoes is not sounding too appealing either – and I have been putting off adding the manure as I can’t face driving all the way to the stable yard in this terrible weather.  My driveway is still snowed in – so I am sure the access to a private yard won’t be faring much better!

The weight of the snow on my greenhouse has moved some of the panes downwards into the gutters leaving gaps in the roof – and I noticed a new crack in one.  I can’t attempt to slide them back into place when the temperatures are so low as I may well end up cracking another!  And my footing isn’t going to be the best!

My ceramic water butt has all but frozen over, so I am relying on my plastic one on the other side of the garden to keep things going.  I have had to completely rearrange my porch and spare room window sill to take on all of my early seeds and delicate plants.

Cold Weather Gardening Tips:
There are however, a few things you can do to take the edge off the worst of the weather for your seedlings and garden plants, and they include making things warmer (or not as cold as usual), changing varieties and changing locations.

Use a mulch to keep the ground from freezing.  If you have built up a nice layer of mulch (possibly using the leaves that you are only just starting to clear up), the actual earth your plants are going to be sown in will be just that little bit warmer than the ‘new’ surface, which should help them start out.

Use heat lamps or heat pads if the temperature is too low for your plants to get started.  I have just begun to use a low level low-energy heat pad in my porch where I can have many plants resting part on it and therefore giving them that extra warmth they are not yet getting from the sun!

Sow less seeds at a time to increase your chances of germination.  By only sowing a few seeds every few days, you are staggering your growth needs and therefore giving each seed more of a chance to do well. 

If you sow 50 seeds at the same time they will all need care and attention – and heating – at the same time almost guaranteeing a heavy loss if conditions don’t improve.  Whereas sowing only 5 every 3rd day or so will mean that each batch will get 100% of your attention as it grows.  The first 5 will be nice a warm and germinating before you move them aside to start the next batch.  This also means that your flowers or vegetables won’t all flower and fruit at the same time – perfect for a longer season!

Change varieties to make the most of the cold.  There are many varieties of flowers and vegetables that will do better in these cold and wet conditions (when the snow melts there is going to be a lot of water in the ground).  Make sure that you use these instead of particularly fussy varieties that are going to take up a lot of your time and energy growing – if they don’t fail you.

The Next Few Months:
The weather isn’t looking like it’s going to get much warmer over the next few weeks – so be prepared for a hard time through to February.

And, if your garden plants aren’t doing so well, then why not consider planting some wildflower seed this year.  By selecting native and local wild flowers for your garden – you will be giving them the best start in life.  They are hardy little things and will no doubt look great in the spring – just as they will carpet your local woods and parks in the wild.

Nature has a way of getting things moving – and plants that have evolved for years to live in your area will be no exception.  They need little help to grow, will suit your garden perfectly and will attract plenty of birds and insects for the summer!

With the recent bad weather across most of the northern hemisphere – should we stay home?

I haven’t left my place apart from to go for a great walk through the woods and a walk to the local store – so what did you do – and could it have caused problems for others?

There is an argument for both sides really, but which is more eco friendly?

The Case For Staying Home:
For a start, you will be one less car on the road in the way of other important people or vehicles that need to use the roads.  Many people like doctors, vets, firemen, police, grit lorry drivers, petrol tankers, grocery vans and ambulances that need to use the roads all day and at any time. 

So what would you do if you had got stuck on ice on a slip road and were now holding up one or more of the above people?  Stopping valuable staff from doing their job when you were only off out to do a bit of shopping or to visit a friend?

You would also be one more person that local services would have to worry about.  For example on 1 road in the UK earlier this week, there was a reported 25 mile tailback in the snow.  All those people were stranded in the freezing cold and the emergency services, local hotels and recovery drivers were now having to work overtime and through the night to help them all – and I bet all 25 miles wasn’t filled with doctors and food supplies?

And talking of medical care – if you went out and injured yourself on ice or through a car accident – you are adding to the pressures that emergency services are already facing.  If you can’t get to town in the bad conditions – what makes you think that nurses can either?  So more injuries and less nurses is really only going to mean longer waits and over-worked staff. 

The same goes for any other business as well.  Just because you managed to get yourself to a store, it doesn’t mean they will be able to offer you their best service, as they may also be short-staffed or have deliveries that cannot make it to the store due to accidents etc.

The Case For Going Out:
If you are one of the services that keep everyone else going then yes, you should try to get to work.  Hopefully all the non-essential journeys have ceased and so the roads should be clearer and safer for people like yourself to get through.

Also, many small businesses couldn’t function without their staff, and so struggling in to work could be the only option for some people. 

Imagine if everyone stopped going to work on the same day – countries would come to a standstill as no energy would be available, no need food would arrive in stores - and if it did, there would be noone there to sell it.  No gas, no gritters, no ambulances……….

People need to go to work in these terrible conditions – but think about who you are before deciding, as it’s not about how important you think your journey is, it’s about how important you know your job is.

Many eco friendly people will live near to where they work anyway – so a walk to work in the cold is going to be a million times better than a drive anywhere – and less of a drain on society during these hard times!

The Answer:
Stretched resources or reduced services? Neither is better than the other if you have to get to work – but there is a clear winner if you are not needed anywhere.

People not working, on a day off or who can work from home are the ones that can make a real difference in this whole thing.  By limiting their impact on the outside world during this stressful and very cold time, they can make all the difference to those who don’t have a choice.

So wrap up warm and go visit your elderly neighbours today – or snuggle up in front of the TV and watch a good movie instead.

It’s as simple as sitting in your own front room with a cup of tea watching the birds!

What could be a better way of finding out if your efforts to create an eco friendly wildlife garden are working than to record the wildlife that visits it?

Starting with the birds is the best way to start your surveying as they are the most obvious and easy to identify of your garden visitors during daylight hours!

Yes we can all identify a hedgehog and a fox, but you have to stay up late in the cold to do that! Birds come out when the sun is shining and you are wide awake! What could be easier?

Why Count Birds?
The RSPB survey takes place every year – as it has done since 1979.  Joining in this survey will not only help you to identify more and more of your garden visitors, but it will also allow you to take part in national efforts to record and protect our native species and migrant visitors.

It will also help you to gauge the avian diversity of your garden and local neighbourhood – and help you to choose your feeding sites and foods better; for example blackbirds generally feed on the ground, robins would like a bit of animal protein in their diet and blue tits would love some niger seed from a feeder!

If you know which species are around your garden, you can tailor what you offer them.  Not only will this help you attract those birds that you like to see, but could help you see a much wider variety of species throughout the year if you make a few changes.

The Survey:
Added to your own pleasure of watching the birds, you could also be helping the RSPB to extend their knowledge of species distribution and to watch out for serious changes in species number.  Some birds are key indicator species for certain habitats, so watching their numbers increase or decline could make a big difference.

And, the RSPB can’t be everywhere at one time – they rely on people like you and me to spare them an hour of their day at the end of January 2010 to count everyday birds. 

You don’t have to be an expert like Chris Packham or Bill Oddie - you just need to be able to count the most common birds in your garden.

The RSPB offer a guide to identifying some of the species that you are likely to see on their website - and a review of these and a few practice watches should help you to get the basics under your belt.

If you can tell a robin from a blackbird and a blue tit from a magpie then you are good enough!

And, if you want to get the kids involved at school, then check out the details for info packs and guidelines for schools!

Posting something isn’t just about getting it totally wrapped up in paper – it’s about sending with love!

What I mean is, that the actual packaging and size of the packaging you use can have a huge environmental impact when sent through the post – and also the item you are posting could be better selected if you really want to save resources!

The Packaging:
Starting with the materials you choose for wrapping, it would make sense to avoid non-recyclable materials in the first place as they can only be thrown in the trash upon receipt.  And wrapping something up and then putting it inside an envelope or another layer or wrapping for posting seems to be just a waste of resources.

Bubble-wrap should be used inside the packaging rather than as part of the wrapping so that it can be re-used at the other end in both parts.  I mean, if you send a gift wrapped in a sheet of bubble wrap and then put inside a normal envelope or sheet or parcel wrap – then both parts can be put to use again by the recipient or the envelope recycled!  However, using an envelope with it’s own bubble-wrap concealed within cannot be recycled - only reused as a whole.

And, you don’t really want to use heavy packaging – like loads of sticky tape – as this will make your entire package heavier to post and therefore it will use more fuel and energy to move from your post box to the recipients!

The Size Of It:
Many, many, many people use the wrong sized packaging when posting an item.  It makes sense to find out the categories for your countries postal charges so that you can find out which is the most cost effective way to post it – and – the most energy-efficient way to post it.

Buying or using a larger-than-necessary envelope will take up more room in the postal system than a smaller one – creating more journeys for the postman and their fleet of trains and vans when added to all the other post going the same way. 

And in the UK, the rates charged for packages depends purely on the dimensions – so folding a pliable gift a certain way could save you a lot of money!

Anyone who sells things over the internet will know all about the best way to package something!  For example sending a ‘packet’ weighing up to 750g (1st class) is £2.65 – but sending a ‘large letter’ weighing the same (1st class) is only £1.77 – with just a few millimetres between them!

It’s worth knowing the small print if you have a lot of gifts to send! 

And why post items that the recipient can get for themselves – for example; toiletries and cosmetics.  Why send weighty bathroom goods through the post when they can buy them in their own stores?  Just use a paper voucher for that store – or make a personalized voucher telling them what you want them to buy with your money.

It’s still going to be the same gift – just from the store 10 minutes from their home rather than your store 500 kilometers away!  The items have already been driven across the country from the factory to the warehouse and then to your store – why get the postman to drive it somewhere else as well!!!!

The Gift Itself:
If you know you are posting something – then make sure you choose wisely.  Why send an item that is going to be costly to post in the first place?  And – are you going to pay the postal service to guarantee it arrives in one piece or more importantly credit you if the item is lost or damaged before it even arrives!

And, would it not be more eco friendly to have the item delivered directly to the person in the first place.  I find it quite funny that the wrapping of a gift is so important.  Some people have a gift delivered all the way to their home (at a cost) then wrap it themselves (at a further cost) then post it back out to the recipient (at even more cost!).

Why not just get it sent directly to the recipient in the first place – and have already told them to expect it and not to open it until you desire.

It’s still ‘wrapped up’ by the company - and it is still a gift from you?  This is even worth doing for overseas deliveries in some instances as the company your order from may well have overseas distribution sites that make posting items direct more cost and energy efficient!

Or better still – buy them an item that is virtual, so you don’t have to post anything!  Why not buy a ‘gift’ that helps others rather than clutters up our homes further, like charity gifts, memberships, or other good causes!

Make a difference with your money rather than making more things for landfill!

The RGS are hosting a fantastic EcoFair on the 5th and 6th of December in London.

They are bringing together some fantastic international eco friendly companies and charities to fill your day with excitement and fill your bags with great goodies!

Stalls include some of the old favourites like the RSPB selling wildlife gifts, memberships and information for your gardens and great days out and the CO-OP will be promoting their eco friendly and fair trade clothing ranges.

There are also products available from around the world, with alpaca clothing from Peru, ethical accessories from Nepal, hand-made silks from Cambodia and Luxury fabrics from India.

There are also creations from the UK, including recycled household goods, hand-made bespoke jewelry, fair trade organic babywear and luxurious oils and soaps.

There is also a free puppet show being performed at the show just after lunch time – called the Forest of Fables, and is performed using Japanese style puppets (made from recycled materials) to African music depicting well known Greek fables!

In addition, there is even a puppet making session beforehand – so your children can make their own recycled puppet like those from the show and learn how the show is put together – including a sneak preview at some of the songs – and they get to keep their puppet!

The whole show is free entry to all – with free fairtrade wine for all RGS members and guests – see the RGS website for more details……..