Eco Friendly House And Garden

A Life Stripped Bare: tiptoeing through the ethical minefield - Leo Hickman

I read a lot of books and magazines about the environment and ways to become more eco friendly, but I have at last found one that is really down to earth about the whole thing.  It is full of interesting facts and figures - but entertaining at the same time.

The reasons he gives for his actions and the changes he does and doesn’t make are so ‘real’ that it offers us all a chance to see where we too are choosing how ‘green’ we think we can be - or how ‘green’ we actually want to be!

He shows that you don’t have to go without things or scrimp and save all the time, but that it can be a viable option depending on your life style.  For example, working in a formal environment and having a baby can mean a different set of criteria to those working on a small holding without a family.

Could you really go to work in central London if you hadn’t shaved your chin for a week or were trying to wash your suits less and your whites weren’t that white?

What’s It About?
Well, the author Leo Hickman, has decided to find out how he could become ‘green’ and make his house more eco friendly.  He has recently moved to a new property and has a small baby, but generally he is just like any other average person in terms of ethical living.

He invites 3 specialists in to his home and life to find out what he has achieved so far, where he has gone wrong and what he can do in the future.

The result is a totally truthful account of his life and thoughts - as well as those of his not-so-convinced wife!

He covers everything from holidays to worms, nappies to the NHS, kitchen cleaners to lemon juice - and will have you in stitches along the way.

Why Is It Good?
Well, it allows you to see for yourself how eco friendly your own home is and more importantly - how you judge the actions of others.

There are many things he isn’t doing (or won’t do) that I find quite acceptable - and some things he decided were ‘ok’ that I found myself shocked at.  But basically it’s all about levels of green - as I must shock people who are ‘more green’ than I am with some of the things I think are quite acceptable.

He also gets letters from random people (he writes for The Guardian newspaper) who are what I would call extreme!  There is 1 lady who ‘washes only her stinky bits’ to save water and brushes her teeth with what she herself describes as a foul tasting concoction of salt and bicarbonate of soda to avoid chemicals!

Where do you sit on the green-scale?

How It Made Me Feel:
In general, his words certainly made me feel that I was lacking in certain areas and could really try a bit harder - but I also tended to agree with his comments regarding how ‘little’ it all feels in the whole global picture.

When you hear of all the disasters on the planet and how governments of the world seem to be trying their best to cut down forests, kill off species and pollute the atmosphere - you wonder if washing out your milk carton for recycling or watering your garden with bath-water is really going to stop the planet from falling to pieces?

Leo’s story just makes me feel like the little things do help and that my efforts are not being wasted.  It also tells me that there are many, many, many other people out there doing the same - or better - to help us curb our wasteful habits and make a difference for the future.

More Eco Friendly?
If you do fancy reading this book - make sure that you get this book from your local library to save a whole new one being made - and while you are there check out their noticeboard for some local events you can attend to support your local community!

If you do want your own copy for reference, then check online (there are usually free Internet computers at libraries) for a second-hand one on many of the book trading sites like Amazon, eBay, or Freecycle or search for another site. 

Let me know what you think!

I Checked My Own Toiletries Products To Prove I was Below Average……..

……and the results were a shock to me!

Now, I hardly use any toiletries on a daily basis.  By this I mean that I don’t wear perfume, style my hair or wear make-up every day.  It’s rare to do these things once a month even - but I was still amazed at my chemical usage!

After writing my recent article: 7 Tips For Eco Friendly Health & Beauty, I went to bed as usual and actually remembered to put some night cream on my face (not something I do every night - but that night, I looked at the ingredients:

41 there were in total!  In 1 tiny product.

That is almost unbelievable for what I thought was a simple anti-wrinkle face cream - so I took a good look at everything else toiletries-wise that I had used that day:

Shower Gel:             19
Anti-Perspirant        10
Dandruff Shampoo  35
Sore Neck Cream      13
Hand Soap               28
Night Cream             41

Total:                    136 ingredients!!!!!!

10 more than the average!  I dread to think what my friends use, what with nail varnish, make-up, hair care products, perfumes, body lotions, shaving creams and cleansing products!

Surely, we are just too accepting of the advertising or the packaging on the shelf.  Why have I never wondered why these products need so many components?

I have often wondered why the food I eat - like flavoured crisps or cakes - have so many added ingredients, but never my toiletries which ultimately enter my body through my skin.  And here I haven’t included toothpaste (16) and washing up liquid (10) or the washing powder I use that stays on my clothes (15) amongst others.

But do more eco-friendly products actually have less ingredients, the same number but ‘better’ ingredients, or just less and better ingredients?

The Competition:
Well, I had a peak at some eco friendly products to compare, and here are some of the results:

Ecover Washing Up Liquid: 10
Same number of ingredients but more plant-based ingredients.  But I suppose that even daffodils are toxic to humans, right?

The Body Shop eau de toilette: 5
One of these is water (aqua) anyway, but the first (and therefore the largest) ingredient is described as ‘ethanol which has been rendered toxic!’.  However, we know it wasn’t tested on animals!

Ethical Superstores Lavera Anti-Dandruff Shampoo: 23
Quite a few less, but still quite high I think.  It’s vegan friendly and has some organic ingredients.  All of the ingredients were either plant extracts or not on the ‘dangerous’ list when it comes to chemicals!

Neals Yard Night Cream: 17
Well, it hasn’t got the anti-aging claims of my current face cream - but then I still think I look wrinkly - so maybe it’s not worth all the extra chemicals anyway!  Most of these ingredients are known herbal ingredients to help with skin, etc.  It all looks very nice on the packaging!

Mine has many ingredients that I cannot pronounce and includes a muscle relaxant, several known irritants, an ingredient used in paint solvents, an ingredient used to repair roofs and make basketballs, a lubricating oil and a fuel additive!

Maybe I will think twice when I buy my replacement products!  And a future article will no doubt show my findings on which ingredients to avoid in your own toiletries and cosmetics!

What about you?  What’s your worst product in terms of number of ingredients!  Add up your normal days worth and let us know!

Have you ever wanted to know more about sustainable living, and get advice on converting your house and garden into more energy efficient and chemical-free environments? Well here is your chance.

The Homes For Good show in April this year, is all about offering advice and suggestions for every householder, offering new products and new approaches to old concepts that will make your life more ‘green’.

Why Change?
The choices we make can have a profound effect on the toxins in our home, the environmental impact of our house and garden and the effect on our local community.

Whether you are building a new house, garage, barn or other outbuilding from scratch - or redecorating or modernising an existing room or premises - you can make better choices. However, rather than researching everything from scratch you could always ask the experts, people who have been working in the industry for years.

You will also have the opportunity to talk to others like yourself, who are new to many eco-friendly concepts. We are all here for the same thing, so make sure you are prepared to talk to exhibitors and other visitors to get some answers regarding your concerns or interests.

What’s There?
There will be over 100 exhibitors including Eco Trust (sustainability), Neate (wind turbines), Green Stuff (IT solutions) and many many more covering solar, water, electricity, house-building, architects, conservation of old, lime suppliers and many for the eco garden.

There will also be free demonstrations where you can get your hands on some new and revolutionary technology. There will also be talks from experts and trade workers as well as books for research and products to buy.

All this for only £5 entry fee (£2 for students and senior citizens) and it’s free to anyone under 16 as well!

Check online at www.homesforgood.info for more information and directions.

I’m not a fashion follower and I don’t buy the latest models of everything the minute it changes, but I am planning on buying myself a new laptop.

My current laptop is getting rather tired, and I know that buying new technology can be a waste of resources but I am in a dilemma. I have been using the same piece of equipment for several years now, it is very slow and sometimes doesn’t start up at all! It’s also getting a bit tricky to keep on top of things as often as I’d like.

I don’t want to buy a PC as I don’t really have room for the whole unit and I want flexibility to use it wherever I am - also a PC uses more energy than a laptop AND laptops are designed to run cooler so no need for the great big energy-sapping fans found in desktops.

To send and receive emails, write new articles and research projects and everything else - I need access to the Internet and my current laptop is a bit behind the times. It doesn’t have WiFi, so to become ‘connected’ outside of my home, I would need to buy a 3G stick to replace the cable to my broadband server.

If I use someone elses laptop or PC (and security is not an issue - which it usually is) I already need to use a flash drive (USB stick) to transfer the data back onto mine. My laptop is now so old that it won’t run at all unless it is plugged into the mains, so I am really in the laptop ‘dark ages’.

And working online is always going to require certain technologies and securities, so it’s not like I just want a laptop to mess about on occasionally or to show off to my friends - it is part of my life.

So, What Are My Options?
A) Change the way my life is going and try to live a technology-reduced life. This would result in a complete turn-around for my laptop needs (so I wouldn’t rely on the Internet for day to day things) and the old one will be fine.  Although I might aim for this in the future, I’m not really in a position to do so now.

B) Stick with what I have and just put up with everything taking longer and hope that it doesn’t break down and lose all my important data. This means I will need to buy other smaller additions to make up for it’s age and to keep up with the times! However, if I buy upgrades and other USB attachments and it ’stops working in the next 6 months or so - then I will have to buy another old one (see C), or a new one anyway - and have to sell all the now unnecessary attachments!

C) Buy a reconditioned laptop and hope that it has been completely cleared so no sensitive data or damaging viruses are on it. Also without really knowing how much better than mine it is and for how long it will last is this even a very good option?

D) Buy a brand new netpad - a tiny laptop that only runs programs that I use. It comes with guarantee from the manufacturer that they will recycle it when I no longer need it, removing all the toxic materials before disposal and they will reuse any parts they can. Obviously that won’t be anytime soon, but at least the manufacturers now-a-days have to be more responsible!

So, Where Am I?
I’ve been checking out the options for new laptops, and here are some of the things I will be looking out for:

Efficient Running:
I need the technology to determine when my laptop needs to use less energy. Ideally as a result of this, it will adjust the flow into the machine saving my battery and extending it’s running time and reducing my drain on my electricity supply.

Many machines lose energy as heat when being used and this new technology (already in some laptops) claims to make them more than 96% power efficient.

Reduced Chemicals:
There are many hazardous chemicals currently used in laptop technology. Many companies claims to have removed up to 37 hazardous chemicals - including both lead and mercury - from their products. The current WEEE directives only ask for 6 to be removed.

This step would also make sure that discarded computers would pollute less. And of course that their factories are free of these chemicals too - perfect for retaining the health and safety of their employees!

Eco Friendly:
Ideally the company and their suppliers are sticking to green methods as well. I need to know that the long list of components and added ‘ingredients’ used for new technologies and equipment is not harming others along the way to their finished products. Also that foreign companies are not exploiting the environment or the communities that they rely on for raw materials.

Recycling:
I would like to be reassured that manufacturers are designing their products with their dismantling in mind, so that the components can be reused, recycled or discarded individually (rather than the whole lot just being thrown away).

I have also heard of several companies including Asus who have already collected over 5500 unwanted pc’s from their customers and have been reusing the parts where possible and reclaiming the precious metals and technology from machines that cannot be repaired.

They also claim to have donated over 1000 usable computers to local schools in disadvantaged communities as part of their ‘recycling’ package.

The Results:
I know that shoppers need to talk with their money, so I intend to do just that. If I make sure that I buy from a company that is heading in the best direction - this is not just true for laptops and other technologies, but for kitchen appliances, food, clothes and cars to name a few - then I know I am part of the change.

The more people like us that support the efforts of those companies that are trying to make a difference - the more of an impact they can make. If other companies start to see their designs out-sold by such ‘eco-friendly’ companies - they may well start to be more responsible too and clean their own acts up.

If we keep buying products because of the brand rather than the good they do, we can never expect any changes to take place.

So do your bit next time you buy!

First things first here - I am not expecting everyone here to have all the latest inventions for saving energy, composting your waste and producing all your own food and energy!

This article is just focusing on energy to get the ball rolling, and will hopefully offer you tips and ideas for those little steps that can help you save money and help the environment save itself!  Don’t forget, that the planet can do just fine with whatever we throw at it and will still be here long after we have gone and taken all the other plants and animals with us - it will never just disappear - it will just adapt.  Think of the primordial soup.

What we are trying to do is save the human race.  We need a planet where the human race can survive, not just an actual planet.  Without certain plants and animals, humans will just fade away.  Without certain weather and environmental factors, humans will not be able to survive.

I know it all sounds a bit dramatic, but science has told us that this is where we are heading, we are destroying the very things we need to survive as we are now.

Your efforts can slow this down, between us we can help reduce our impact on the environment and make the world look a bit less bleak for our children and their children.

Electricity.
Electricity is one of the easiest energy source to save money on.  I know that it is really annoying to lean over the back of the PC or the television to switch everything off, but it all helps.

Valuable resources are used to create the energy you are wasting every time you go away for the weekend and leave appliances in a state where they are drawing electricity - and of course it is costing you money as well.  The energy suppliers don’t give you free electricity to keep the light on you washing machine saying ‘READY’. 

Just because you are not actually using an appliance, it does’t mean it is not using electricity.

Water.
Water is a bit trickier as some people have their certain bathroom routines, and I am the first one to opt for a deep bath, but you are still allowing your wages to flush down the toilet every time you do a full flush for a tiny wee, or leave the tap running for whatever reason (cleaning teeth/rinsing plates or veg/having just filled up the kettle but going over an plugging it it before turning off the water!).  These are just little things but they cost you money.

Gas.
Gas is very wasteful.  Try to avoid all appliances (apart from central heating) that use gas because it just runs up the bills.  I once watched the gas meter when I switched on my gas fire - and rest assured I will never use another in my home - go look at yours!.  I have one tip for saving gas, and that is don’t use it!  

If you are using a gas fire - and creating gas does give off less carbon than the creation of electricity - then make sure that the room it is in is well insulated to retain as much of the warmth as possible (curtains pulled/ door closed/ double glazing/ etc).  That way, whatever heat it gives you is controlled and not wasted.

Appliances.
And it’s not just the energy used to run the appliances that is a concern - what about the energy and resources used to make them in the first place?

Now I know that there are now more energy-efficient products on the market, and you should seriously consider buying these when you next need to buy an appliance, but don’t buy one if your old one is still working well.

The reason?  What are you going to do with the old one?  If you are going to throw it away - that is a complete waste of resources.  The old one will end up discarded on a skip, wasting all the valuable metals and minerals that went into creating it.  By all means give it to a breaker who will be able to reclaim any parts that are still useful and recycle them into other machines.

But you are thinking that you will give it to a charity or another person - and this is the better option, but either way, the machine will still be being used by someone.  It is still going to be using the same amount of energy whoever has it, but you would have spent money (and used further resources) to buy your new one as well. 

And I’m sure that if some mathematician could work out the extra energy you save with your new appliance and compare it to the energy cost of making your new appliance, transporting your new appliance, running your new appliance and the running costs of someone else still using your old appliance - it won’t be a saving.

The message I am trying to pass across here, is that jumping on the band-wagon of eco friendly living before you have eased yourself into the whole ‘circle of eco’ could acutally do you more harm than good.  You may have spent a lot of money or invested a lot of time in a new eco-friendly theory or appliance - possibly having family rows about it all, only to find out from someone else that you could have made a different decision in the first place.

Take your time.
Don’t rush into this whole style of living until you have read up on the issues or have spoken to friends, and have drawn the line about your limits.  Making small, effective changes that suit your lifestyle will last longer and give you more satisfaction than some of the bigger changes that you cannot keep up with and end up giving up on.

For example, if you can easily remember to reuse your shopping bags, do that.  If you don’t have a garden or an allotment it would be pointless to collect your waste food for composting.  If you can easily buy (recycled and/or charity) birthday cards on plain paper with plain envelopes then do so.  If you have 2 or more children however, you probably shouldn’t try to swap your car for bicycles!

Be reasonable to yourself and you will achieve more - and feel better about it too.

Hello and welcome to this new, fantastic blog about designing, creating, updating and improving you eco friendly house and garden. It will fill your hearts with joy at the wonders of eco living and design.

Not only are green products and services much more mainstream and competively priced these days, they are also 100 times more stylish and modern. The choice is vast!

This blog hopes to cover all the greatest eco tips regarding your home, the most exciting eco accessories, tips on finding the best eco friendly products and suppliers for your needs, and plenty of advice on planning and creating your dream eco friendly house and designing and relaxing in your equally eco friendly garden!

Choices include designer furniture, energy efficient appliances, stylish home entertainment accessories, fashionable eco-clothing and soft furnishing, environmentally friendly cleaning products and chemicals that won’t damage your health - or the earth. We will also investigate community projects and recycling ideas community-living, wildlife-friendly gardens, great ideas for the kids, fantastic recipes and cooking tips for your fresh homegrown vegetables and fruits as well as tips on keeping eco friendly pets and livestock.

So, from here on in, there is nothing but great house and garden ideas, tips for responsible living, helpful contacts and facts, facts, and more facts!

Enjoy.