Saving money and the planet is in your hands
There are many ways you can save some cash whilst doing your bit for the environment, and you don't necessarily need to make dramatic changes to your lifestyle. A few small alterations can make a huge difference. Greener can also be cheaper so read our top tips and start saving now.
1. Save money with your fridge
Try to keep it full so that it stays cold and runs more efficiently. Lots of stores like Comet, Currys, Dixons run take-back schemes where customers buying a new fridge can offload their old ones.
2. Wrap the back of your radiator
Put aluminium foil, shiny side out, behind radiators to reflect heat back into the room rather than out through the walls.You can pick up some specially-designed radiator foil from Wickes for less than a tenner.
3. Use energy-saving light bulbs
Switching over to energy-saving light bulbs means saving money on expensive electricity bills. The bulbs themselves are roughly the same price as conventional ones, but they last much longer and are cheaper to run. Tesco have a selection of cheap options and you can find other best buys here. 4. Avoid tumble dryers
These sap energy quicker than daytime TV shows drain you of the will to live. A clothes line, if you have space, is still the most efficient option. If you don't have outside space, get an indoor airer like this one.
5. Get double glazing
Small chinks in windows is responsible for up to 20% of a home’s heat loss. The cost of installing double glazing will be recouped in the next few years' heating bills.
6. Wash at 30 degrees
Higher temperatures use more energy and cost you more in the long-run so don’t wash any higher than 30˚. Together.com reports that electricity prices have gone up 12% since this time last year and they are set to rise even more. Running your washing machine at 30 instead of 40 degrees can save you money and it’s better for the environment.
7. Fill your washing machine
Washing with a half-full machine costs you about the same as washing a full load so make sure you only put a wash on when you have enough to fill the drum.
8. Keep the lid on
When you're cooking keep all lids, covers and oven doors closed. More than 20% of heat can be lost each time you open the oven door. Similarly, water boils up to 6% faster with a lid on the pan, so making this tiny change will cut your energy bill on a daily basis.
9. Use the ‘off’ switch Leaving appliances (e.g. TVs, PCs, DVD players and set-top boxes) on standby is believed to waste an estimated 15% of the world’s domestic electricity per year - so make sure you turn things off when you aren't using them. 10. Clear out the boot
We all have stuff in our car boots that doesn't really need to be there. This means you use more fuel and is an unnecessary waste - so clear it all out.
11. Get a water meter
If you live on your own or use very little water you will probably find your bills going down anyway. If not, you will soon see how much water you waste each month and will be forced to cut back.
12. Ride a bike
Riding a bike is much better for the environment than driving and it costs a great deal less. You can get a cheap bike at police auctions or on eBay and then when you’re ready to brave the British weather, you can start saving money. Remember to lock it up safe and get insurance in case your bike is stolen.
13. Install cavity-wall insulation
About 40% of all heat loss is through the walls of the average home. Insulation usually costs less than £500 and the average energy saving per year is £130-160.
14. Join a car sharing scheme
Save money by sharing a car to work with another person, it's so much cheaper than owning your own vehicle. Look at Liftshare and National Car Share. Gumtree often has lift-sharing opportunities, too. Liftshare lets you register your journey and see others who are traveling the same way. Then all you do is contact them, organise to catch a lift and then share the costs. It’s like a 50% discount and you get to reduce CO2 at the same time. Here are some more ideas on getting about in a green way.
15. Buy loose fruit and veg
Loose produce is nearly always cheaper and better for the environment because there is no packaging.
16. Buy online
Buy as much of your shopping as you can in bulk (which is much cheaper) and online and get it delivered. One van can then drive around with several people’s shopping rather than lots of shoppers driving round tow. For a really ethical online shop, try the Ethical Superstore.
17. Cavity wall and loft insulation
If you have cavity walls (meaning you have a hollow gap between the two walls of brick that make up your outside walls) you can save hundreds a year by getting the gap filled. Professionals can be hired to pipe in the insulation through the outer wall and it won’t cause any mess or damage to your property at all.
18. Bring your own shopping bags
Don’t use the free plastic bags offered - bring your own instead. If you shop regularly at Tesco, you'll earn one green Clubcard point for every bag you re-use.
19. Use up those leftoversIn the UK, 6.7 million tonnes of household food waste is thrown out every year. If you’ve cooked too much, save the extra in the fridge and use it up the next day. Recipes like stews, bubble and squeak, stir fries, curries and omelettes are great ways to use up leftover vegetables and cooked meat.
20. Keep food fresh for longer
Keep your leftovers in airtight containers and try klippits and stayfresh bags from Lakeland which will keep your fruit and veg and packets of crisps or cereal going for much longer.
21. Make a food shopping list
When doing your weekly shop make sure you have a list of all the meals you’re going to cook that week and don’t buy anything you won’t use. Also check use-by dates to make sure you use things before they go off. Shopping like this will save you a lot of cash.
22. Grow your own food
Save on travelling costs to the supermarket and get the pleasure of watching your food grow. You can buy seeds at online stores like Greenfingers. For more tips on growing your own food you can read up on it in the RHS recommended Grow Your Own Veg and read our full article.
23. Service your car
Driving isn’t exactly the green way to travel but if you need your car then make it as eco-friendly as possible. Get it serviced regularly and check the tyre pressure. It can actually cut fuel costs.
24. Use rechargeable batteries
These batteries cost a little more than normal batteries initially but they're much cheaper in the long run because they can be charged hundreds of times. Go for a larger capacity battery (check the milliamp hours) which won’t need recharging as often, and try Amazon to grab yourself a great deal. 25. Insulate your fireplace
Whatever you do – don’t try this if you actually use your chimney. If you don't use your fireplace, all you need to do is stuff the opening in your room with newspaper or cardboard to stop draughts from creeping in.
26. Go for locally-grown foodIf you live in a city try to go to farmers' markets near you - you can save up to 30% off your bill. It supports small farmers and cuts down on pollution caused by transporting food from other countries. 27. Switch your energy provider
Switching could save you hundreds of pounds a year. Try our independent comparison tool to find the best value green energy tariff. 28. Get thermal curtains
These are special curtains that make it virtually impossible for heat to escape. You can make them yourself by simply lining your curtains with an insulating material. A really cheap way of doing this is to sew a cheap PVC shower curtain (these cost about a fiver) to your existing curtains, and then sew some lining over the top. For added insulation you can replace the shower curtain with foil insulation from Wickes.
29. Insulate your windows and doors
Use a draught excluder seal (available from Wilkinsons) around your windows and doors to get rid of chilly draughts running through your home.
30. Drive more efficiently
You use more petrol when you start and stop. This is because it takes more petrol to start the car moving from a stationary position than to keep the car going once it’s got up momentum. Driving smoothly means less need for acceleration so you consume less.
31. Don’t drink bottled water
Britain’s tap water is very good quality and costs next to nothing, so why not use it? We use 2.7 million tonnes of plastic to bottle water each year and only about 10% of the bottles are recycled. Most go on landfill where they take 450 years to break down.
32. Use a lemon to clean your house
Lemons are great for cleaning surfaces, or try cutting one in half and leaving it in the fridge to absorb smells. You can also mix it with salt to clean copper and brass, or with water to whiten whites and brighten colours.
33. Cheaper and environmentally kinder stain removers
Chocolate stains can be removed by mixing egg yolk with lukewarm water and rubbing it on the stain. To remove coffee stains from cups or counters, rub with baking soda paste. Cold soda water is ideal for removing pesky wine stains and if it’s a red wine stain try pouring some white wine on it. For mildew pour strong soap and salt on the spots, or spray with vinegar and place in sunlight. Keep the spots moist and repeat as often as necessary.
34. Swap your clothesGet all your friends round and tell them to bring any clothes they don't wear anymore. Save on your new summer wardrobes by swapping clothes with each other.
35. Make use of your old clothes
Cut up your old T-shirts into squares and use them as cleaning cloths, or washable painting rags. Resist the temptation to just chuck everything out when it gets a hole - get the sewing kit out and mend, mend, mend.
36. Recycle your printer cartridges
Make huge savings and do your bit to avoid the estimated 57 million cartridges that end up in UK landfills every year. You can either go to a store like Cartridge World and have your inkjet cartridges refilled for about half the price of a new cartridge, or sell your used ink cartridges to a company such as Cash for Cartridges. Find out more here.
37. Send an e-card
Save some trees and your money with e-cards. They don't have to be naff - go to Jacquie Lawson for some really lovely cards. For £5.25 - the price of about two shop-bought cards - you can send as many e-cards as you like from the entire gorgeous collection.
38. Bring your own lunch to work
Save hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year by bringing your own lunch to work. You'll also find it much easier to be healthy and you'll be saving on packaging and waste.
39. Turn the tap off
Never shave or brush your teeth while the tap is running. If your water is metered this will save you a lot of money over the year.
40. Recycle your mobile
Don't chuck your old phone away - you can get paid to recycle it! Go to an online seller like Envirophone and see how much money you can make with your mobile. Read all about it here.
41. Only fill the kettle with what you need
It's so easy to just fill the kettle up to the top without thinking, but if just 15 families filled their kettles with only the amount of water they need they would save one tonne of carbon every year.
42. Make your own compost
Get a wormery - use up kitchen waste and feed it to some worms. They can then eat it, digest it and hey presto you've got some free compost! You can buy a compost bin from your local council and then just fill it with your vegetable peelings, tea bags and grass cuttings and let the worms at it!
43. Holiday at home
Reduce your carbon footprint and your holiday costs by staying in the UK this summer. Okay so the weather can’t always be relied on to stay sunny but there are still plenty of fun things to do. Get some ideas from our full article on great days out.
44. Leave the car at homeUsing public transport is much kinder to the environment and with rising petrol prices it's more expensive than ever to drive a car. Make big savings by booking train tickets as early as possible - check out The Trainline, Railsaver or National Rail to compare deals, and read our full article on rail travel.
45. Be a Freegan
This involves rifling through bins at the back of supermarkets to get a hold of munchies destined for the scrap heap. Supermarkets chuck out about 5% of their food each day because they’re required to by law, not because it's bad or harmful. Most of the stuff thrown away is perfectly alright to eat, just past its sell-by date - so why not save on waste and your food bill? See our article on foraging for more ways to eat for free. 46. Insulate your loft
With electricity prices on the rise you can’t afford to be paying for heating that you are losing out of your roof. Loft insulation can save you hundreds a year and is better for the planet because you won’t need as much heating to keep you warm. Together.com gives you great discounts on insulation as part of its 'go green' initiative. Insulate up now and start saving. 47. Recycle your cans and make moneyIf you can't get enough of the fizzy stuff go to Thinkcans.com to find your nearest recycling centre who will pay you a small amount (around 40p) per kilo. If you're a business (say a restaurant) with a lot of cans they may well send a van round to collect the cans. 48. Get cheap books and save trees
Go to Green Metropolis where all the used paperback books sell for just £3.75 with free delivery. They will donate 5p for every book sold to the Woodland Trust's 'Tree For All' campaign. You can often get new releases and bestsellers so have a look now. 49. Use washable nappies
According to Women's Environmental Network the average price per disposable is 16.9p and with six changes a day that's £7.10 a week or £922.74 over 2.5 years. You can buy all the reusable nappies (including waterproof covers and fastenings you need) that you need for 2.5 years for under £50 so it's a really huge saving. 50. Get a washer ball
By using one of these balls for extra scrubbing power you can reduce the amount of washing powder you use by 75% and save both your money and the environment. For an added bonus there will be less powder residue in your clothes! Go to Lakeland now where you can buy a set for £13.99. You can also get these dryer balls from Amazon for the tiny price of 34p - just put the balls in your tumble dryer and they will help to dry your clothes quicker and soften them so need to buy any fabric softener. Related articles
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