While combatting climate change continues to make global headlines, individual households are quietly continuing to make small but powerful behavioural changes which contribute towards the international push towards net zero.
We’ve highlighted some of the best ways you can make those small but essential changes to your every day domestic habits. These changes will compound into a really powerful movement towards improving the environment and protecting the earth for future generations.
- Turn the heating down a notch (or two)
By simply turning your heating thermostat down a degree or two will save a significant amount of energy consumption and is much more ecologically friendly. We all know that the prices have gone up significantly this winter too, so it will help you to be more cost efficient and avoid soaring bills too.
2. Wash clothes in cold water
Running cold water washes through your machine will keep your clothes fresh and clean and save the planet. Don’t use a dryer either – invest in an air dryer which can be folded away when not in use, and make sure you take advantage of any windy days, even in the middle of winter, to get your washing dry. If sending bedding and towels out to laundry cleaners, make sure that they work to ecological standards.
3. Take showers instead of baths
Invest in a modern water saving showerhead, as this will drastically reduce your water usage by up to seventy five per cent. Try and avoid the multi headed high end luxury shower configurations as they can considerably increase your usage.
A conventional bathtub will normally hold about 36 gallons of water – as a minimum. A modern, water saving shower head uses about 2 gallons per minute. While a recommendation is to shower for just four minutes – you could even treat yourself to five minutes and still use considerably less than if you were to take a bath.
4. Ditch single use plastics
Our use of plastic creeps into every area of life. It’s there in clothes, household goods, packaging. The problem is, plastic actually takes up to 300 years to decompose, so the continued dumping of waste plastics into landfill and into our oceans is a rapidly growing concern for all the nations of the world.
By some estimates there are currently 18 billion pounds of plastic finding its way into our seas – annually. Supermarkets are responsible for producing more than 1.2 billion plastic bags for fruit and vegetables, 1.1 billion single use bags, and 958 million bags for life.
If every individual made a concerted effort to drastically reduce their own consumption of single use plastics – using their own shopping bags at the supermarket, avoiding plastic wrapped fruit and vegetables, supporting supermarket led initiatives for more ecologically sound initiatives, then significant inroads will be made to reducing thee figures and working towards avoiding the frightening forecast that 2050 could see more plastic than fish in our oceans.
5. Re-acquaint yourself with shank’s pony
Shank’s Pony is one of those old fashioned phrases that has got lost over the years. It alludes to using your own legs as a means of conveyance – or in other words, walk!
Walking is probably the most ecologically sound form of transport you can take. It uses none of the world’s resources, it makes sure you get fit and healthy, it’s good for your mental health and it doesn’t pollute your environment in any way. While we appreciate that there are many journeys which will require a car, encouraging your family as a whole to walk more will do the world significant good.
