With a New Year in sight it’s the traditional time to reflect on your life and make resolutions for the coming year. So whatever your goals and ambitions for the next year, why not make a few green resolutions too. You never know they might save you some money and energy too.
Here are our suggestions for some Green New Year Resolutions for next year.
Walk More
Let’s be fair the majority of us go into the New Year wanting to lose weight and get fitter. Walking is a perfect healthy start to a life style change and it can be environmentally friendly.
If you are sensible you can add walking into your life style relatively easily. For example, replacing the car trip to the local shops or the lunch time trip to McDonalds with a walk will all save not only money on the fuel and food, but get you healthier and more active. Small changes and within a short time you’ll be walking everywhere and fitting into those old clothes you want to!
Change Your Heating Habits
With the end to cheap utilities prices and the utility providers pushing prices up, now is an excellent time to evaluate your home heating habits. Take a little bit of time and look around your home.
Are you using your heating sensibly? Are you heating empty or little used rooms? Does the programmed heating times actually match your needs now? Could you turn down your heating by a degree or two?
Look at your insulation levels. Are they sufficient? Is there anything else that could be done? Every little you can do will save a bit more energy and you some money. And remember, if you make a permanent reduction to your bills, that’s a permanent money saving.
If you don’t know where to start with your home consider getting an Energy Performance Certificate carried out. This will give you a great starting point from which to proceed.
If you are sensible and periodically evaluate the needs of your household you can save energy and fuel on your utilities, and save yourself money!
Watch your Energy Use
Try to watch how much energy you are using in your house and try to manage what you do use. Consider investing in an Energy monitor to help you manage your electrical consumption. This will help to tell you what energy your household appliances use and how you can manage your usage to reduce the amount you actually do use. For example, reducing the time spent in the power shower, remembering to turn lights off or even realising that you have left a charger on by mistake.
You can buy various Energy Monitors from Amazon here
Amazon also hold a good range of meters including the popular wireless OWL ranges. You can currently buy from Amazon the OWL Micro + 2 II Energy Monitor CM180 Wireless Electricity Usage Smart Meter, New!!!
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Also remember to actually check your own meter readings and read your utility bills. Don’t go with estimated readings. You might think you are saving money, but sooner or later it will cost you. Make sure you are being charged for what you actually use.
Recycle More
Get into the habit of recycling as much as you can. Not only is it good for the environment but it could potentially save you money. Many councils and government departments are looking at ways to encourage more recycling within their communities and this includes the possibilities of rewarding people financially for recycling, or taxing households on the amount of rubbish they put out.
If you get into the habit now you should be well placed whatever way the decision goes.
Grow Your Own
If you have a garden then you should think about setting aside a vegetable patch. Not only is the gardening itself good exercise, but by growing your own vegetables and produce you can be healthier and save yourself some money. Not to mention you can also reduce the carbon foot print of what you eat. And nothing tastes better than fresh food!
A vegetable garden is a great way to utilise your compost bin so that it is working for you and helping your garden bloom. If you don’t have much space or a garden, then think about what you can do. Growing herbs in containers is a good starting point, for example. Many root vegetables can be grown in pots or bins too. All you need is a bit of imagination and effort!
Follow these suggestions and you will have a healthier, more environmentally friendly and cost effective 2011.
Happy Green New Year!
