Easy ways to becoming greener.

Easy to follow ideas and steps I have started to take.... and some of my reasons..

We recycle all glass bottles and jars; here you have to take them to the bottle bank our nearest is within walking distance.

The green recycle bin is collected by the local council every second week. Food cans also go into it and magazines and junk mail with (with our address removed from it). All paper and cardboard is put in a recycle bin (or if suitable composted). The range of plastics that are collected locally is rather limited but I do re-use containers where possible.

For me being greener it is not about being a green zealot it is about finding a balance and doing what I can to lessen the 'negative impact' I may have.

Global warming is far to complex a subject for me and anyone who has seen my holiday photos will know that it is unlikely that I will stop visiting the place in Europe that I have come to love. But I am not a selfish person so I do try to lessen my impact (call it my carbon footprint if you want to; but I do not think of life in terms of 'catch phrases' ).

My being greener is more of the old fashioned attitude of 'waste not want not' and luckily the things that are now considered green also sometimes save me money.

If I can turn part of the rubbish that once would have been discarded into something usuable like compost what harm am I doing ? And the bonus is at the same time I am improving the quality of the soil for my plants and not having to pay for commercial produced compost and mine is mostly organic compost.

I grow as much as possible of the fruit and vegetables that we eat. I have a vegetable plot that provides us with plums,raspberries, strawberries, next year hopefully blackcurrants,and gooseberries. Also potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, peas and beans. Obviously we have to cook and eat what is in season and sometimes I have to buy at the local shop to fill the gap. This reduces 'food miles' i.e. miles your food travels from where it is grown until it reaches your plate.  Salad and many other foods can be grown in patio pots successfully.

So far I have not managed to feed us on our own grown vegetables all the year, but I am trying to work towards that.

I re-use any fruit punnets to collect the fruit I grow and also yogurt pots for starting seedlings of in.

All vegetable waste and peelings ,teabags, coffee grounds, used kitchen paper towel (unless it has been used on meat or is otherwise unsuitable) goes into a kitchen caddy. It is then put on the compost heap and composted to eventually be usedreplenish the soil on my vegetable patch. Also all garden waste such as 'prunings' and plant waste from the garden go in the compost heap. Rabbit and guinea pigs bedding hay  (and their poop) can be composted and it is very useful in the compost bin.

Conserve water, we turn off the water flowing from the tap while brushing teeth saves money as well if you pay for what you use.

Do not over water plants little and often is not good. It is better to water the plants in the garden only when neccessary rather than out of habit. It is better to give them a good soaking when they really need it than sprinkle water on them everyday.

I put any clothes that are no longer wanted into a bag and give them to a charity shop to resell. If it is something that I can alter and re-use I do so. I also have a friend who gives me clothes she has bought and does not want ;they are like new so I either alter them to suit me or wear them for a while then pass them onto a charity shop. I am trying to stop any impulse buying of clothes and only buy when I need something rather than as a 'mood lifter'. If desperate chocolate is cheaper and does not take up wardrobe space.

If you like vintage clothes then you are buying green when you purchase them.

We try not to leave the television and other electrical items on standby it saves money and power to switch them off when not in use. Also we try to put the light off when we leave the room. We have insulated the house as make it as heat efficient as we can, thick curtains are useful to keep the heat in.

One day when I am no longer here I want to leave this world a better or at least not a worse place than it was when I was born. Though I may not achieve great things in this life I would like to be able to answer a question from a child of the future with honesty and say that I did my best not to use up resources and pollute and spoil. Some ancient cultures believed that we did not own the earth we are just guardians of it and I think I agree with them.

If my walking down the road with my shopping in a reusable cotton shopping bag rather than a plastic carrier bag (that falls apart before I reach home) makes someone think that I am a fool, then so be it. If I am wasting my time on these attempts at being green, well at least I am doing it with good intent, I am saving cash and I feel better than if I stand by shrugging my shoulders and do nothing positive.