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….

Thinking of getting married, but want to try the eco friendly alternatives?

Well, what better to start with first than the photographer?  Not only are they going to preserve your special day for eternity – but they are going to be using the most chemicals to do it!

Yes, all their shots might be digital now, but your printed album and their electrical equipment is going to contain an awful lot of resources.  So why not search for a green wedding photographer that can balance this side of the equation out by being eco friendly as well?

The Benefits Of Digital Photography:
Since the advent of digital cameras there is a lot less waste in the industry – particularly in terms of the chemicals used to process the pictures for you to see them and pick your favorites.

Today it is quite easy for anyone to view all their photographs immediately after taking them on the mini screen on the digital camera itself – or within a few minutes these can easily be downloaded onto a laptop, pc, Mac or even TV screen full size for everyone to see. 

This means that you only need to print out those you really like for your wedding album rather than waste ink, paper and electricity printing out dozens to make your selections from.

Digital cameras also offer the ability of the photographer to check to make sure that the important pictures are gotten right before you move away (something you just had to hope for before) and they can take many, many, many more pictures of your every move without ever having to stop to ‘change the film’!
 
Processing Your Pictures:
Before digital processing, your images would have had to have been developed using many different chemicals including animal-based celluloid, to allow you to see your images – but now it couldn’t be easier and more eco friendly, and many eco friendly companies send out a disc of images for you to browse through for this exact reason.

Many eco friendly photographers are also able to source very ethical and environmentally sensitive products to process your images for you – like recycled and reduced chemical paper – so you don’t need to worry about anything ‘green’ on your big day.

Is It A Green Wedding Photographer?
It is sometimes not clear which services are eco friendly as they want to be (ethically minded); which are eco friendly as they want you to think they are (green-washing) or those who only find eco friendly ‘benefits’ when they know that’s what you want them to be (liars).

However, there are some that stand out.  One wedding photographer in Nottingham, England I recently found actually has a page on their website detailing their ‘Green Pledge’ and detailing the changes they have made (including several of those mentioned above) and making your choice a lot easier. 

Pledges make a big differences as any other company can answer your questions with a green twist if they know that is what you want to hear – but by stating it for all to see – you can tell that they are proud of it!

They also include to buy up and preserve several acres of pristine rainforest for each couple – giving them the certificate or purchase as their wedding gift!  Imagine the feeling of knowing what a difference that could make bearing in mind you are going to have your pictures taken anyway. 

Why choose a wedding photographer that didn’t do that when you have the choice?

So if you want to learn more about Nottingham Weddings, then this is certainly one of the photography companies that should be on your short-list!