Summer time brings with it the bugs that bite, and we reach for the bug-spray. Whether you’re away on your holidays, going camping for the weekend, or just spending some time in your back garden, instead of going for the usual toxic DEET option, try something more natural, and just as effective.

DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, also known as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) has been shown to have adverse effects on people, especially in children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. The effects range from skin irritation to more serious problems like dizziness, disorientation, and difficulty concentrating.

These days there are many natural insect repellent options available to us, and they’re proving to be just as effective as DEET, although they may need to be applied a little more often. That’s not a bad price to pay for a less toxic product.

Try Lifesystems natural insect repellent, formulated from a derivative of the lemon eucalyptus plan; Bug Geroff Essential Oil Insect Repellent, for application on bedding, on floors or to be used in aromatherapy burners; and Mosi-guard Natural Aerosol, hailed as nature’s most effective insect repellent.

Named after the Icelandic moors by the wise old woman whose herbal expertise brings us this amazing 100% natural and organic balm, Moa is considered by some to be a miracle in a jar. It’s healing properties are highly thought of by many, including mountaineer and adventurer Jake Meyer who keeps it in his first aid kit.

Here are some of the uses of the green balm:

• prevents and treats frostbite
• helpful with skin conditions such as dry patches, rashes and burns
• helpful with the after-care of burns and scarring to promote healing, reduce itching, nourish and soften
• may help to soothe eczema and mild cases of psoriasis
• protects chapped and cracked skin on elbows, knees hands and feet
• use as a facial cleanser to remove make-up, whilst conditioning the eyelashes and balancing the skin
• softens cuticles
• revives dull looking hair; comb through to condition and restore lustre and vitality to tired looking locks
• helps to prevent nappy rash and soothe cradle-cap
• warm between the fingertips to use as a massage oil
• mix a teaspoon of móa with hot water and a little honey and gargle to ease a sore throat

The key ingredient in the balm is organic yarrow, which is combined with tea tree oil, Icelandic water, beeswax, coconut, sweet almond and soya bean oils to make up Moa - the green balm.

21. Say no to ATM receipts and save trees.

22. Set your PC’s energy settings to hibernate when you’re not using it. Here are instructions on how to make best use of your PC’s built in power saving features.

23. Join your local library and read to your heart’s content without having to buy new books. Think of all the trees you’ll save.

24. Reuse packaging materials like padded envelopes, bubble wrap and packing peanuts to keep them out of landfill and to save you buying them new.

25. Choose the electric hand dryer over paper towels to save energy. Seriously, it takes less energy to dry your hands with the electric dryer that it takes to produce the paper towel, and there’s less mess left to dispose of afterwards.

26. Turn your cars engine off when stuck in traffic. It uses less fuel to start the car than to idle for more than 30 seconds.

27. Instead of sending out paper invitations to your party, make your life a whole lot easier and save resources by using a free online service like pingg or mypunchbowl.

28. Volunteer. Get involved with the BTCV or other volunteering organisation to make new friends, get some exercise and do some good.

29. Save loads of money and energy by breastfeeding (or encouraging your partner to breastfeed) your babies.

30. Compost your fruit and vegetable peelings to make free compost for your garden.

11. Choose the eco-cycle on your dishwasher. If it doesn’t have one, just open the door when the dryer cycle starts and air dry to save energy.

12. Don’t go shopping next time you fancy something new for your wardrobe. Instead, have a clothes swapping party. Here’s how.

How To Host A Clothing Swap Party

13. Move in together. If you’re other half lives on the other side of town, you’re generating carbon emissions just going to see each other. Living together saves electricity too.

14. Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight. This helps the fridge keep itself cool, as well as saving the energy that your microwave would use to defrost it.

15. Get your bank statement online. Save trees.

16. Wash your clothes at 30′C and save energy.

17. Pick up a piece of litter every time you go out.

18. Have a “no lights night” to save energy and inject some romance into your relationship. If you aren’t in a relationship, it can still be lots of fun.

19. Swap books instead of buying new ones.

20. Walk short distances instead of driving your car. It’s better for your bod as well as the environment.

1. If you use a tumble dryer, clean out the lint filter and the machine will run way more efficiently. If you want to save even more energy you could give up using the dryer altogether. (Spend £10 on a set of dryer balls to save energy by reducing drying time. They also soften fabrics and reduce creasing, meaning you won’t need to use fabric softener.)

2. Wash you hands in cool water instead of waiting for the tap to run warm and save energy, water, time and money.

3. Freecycle your unwanted stuff instead of putting it in the bin.

4. Boil only the amount of water that you need for that cup of tea. (It’s even easier to do that with an Eco-Kettle. I swear by mine!)

5. Take your own mug along instead of taking a disposable cup when you buy coffee on the way to work in the mornings. (A small investment will buy you a travel mug so that you don’t spill.)

6. Sign up to the Mail Preference Service and cut out junk mail and the wasted paper that goes with it.

7. Read your favourite newspaper online and save trees.

8. Take your own reusable bags to the shops, or just reuse plastic bags that you’ve already got lying around at home.

9. Take a bucket into the shower with you and use the water you collect to give your houseplants a drink.  Water saved!

10. Watch less television.  Switch of the noisy little box in the corner of the room and read, chat, go running or open a bottle of organic wine.

People power is pretty under-rated, so take back the power and be green. Reduce your carbon footprint by thinking muscle-powered, and burn a few calories in the process.

Now, you may not be ready (or have the space) to commit to something quite as spectacular as a bicycle powered washing machine (like the one pictured above by Homeless Dave), but there are plenty of more manageable power-your-own gadgets just waiting for your input:

Vivotion Easy Store Manual Treadmill - so much cheaper than the plug-in version of the same thing, and it makes so much more sense, seeing as you’re going to be doing the running anyway.

Einhell HRM40 Manual Lawn mower - keep your lawn under control and give yourself a workout.

Easy Health Juicer - a little bit of elbow grease will have you sipping the freshest juice with your breakfast.

Eco Friendly wind up/dynamo AM/FM/SW Radio Flashlight and mobile phone charger - perfect for the intrepid traveller or allotmenteer, there’s not much that this clever gadget doesn’t do. Just add muscle.

Draper 69260 Hand Operated Paper Shredder - shred your sensitive documents by hand.

It’s the time of year when many of us head off on our summer holidays. Before you jet off, here are some tips to make your holiday more environmentally responsible and friendly.

1. Cut back on plane journeys. Choose destinations that you can take the train to or drive to if that’s not possible.

2. If you are going to be flying, take less luggage and offset your flight.

3. Choose greener holiday destinations.

4. When you buy yourself a new bikini, go organic.

Vermiculture, or worm farming, is a method of composting organic food waste into an excellent, organic liquid plant feed and rich, crumbly compost to feed your garden. The type of worms used in vermiculture vary, with the most popular being the tiger worm or red worm, and dendras.

This 3 tray garden wormery from Natural Collection comes with worms included, but if you’re making your own DIY wormery, you can usually get worms from your local nursery or garden centre.

What to feed your worms:

Worms are omnivorous (they eat both plant matter and meat), so they can be fed most types of organic waste. They do particularly well on fruit and vegetable scraps or peelings and shredded paper. Include paper towel, teabags, bread scraps, cereal, ice cream, biscuit crumbs, meat, fish and dairy products (meat, fish and dairy only in tiny quantities or the worms won’t be able to eat it fast enough to stop your worm farm getting smelly, some worm farmers prefer to omit these altogether) in their diet. DON’T feed your worms onion, garlic and other spicy foods. Citrus fruits should only be given in small quantities.

Worm accommodation:

Buy yourself a worm farm ready-to-go with all accessories including worms, or be frugal and creative and make one yourself. Here’s a video to show you how:

Once your festival experience is over, clean up your camping area with Biosense 100% degradable refuse sacks.  They will degrade to just CO2 and water after 3 year, as will their packaging.  These bags are much kinder to the environment than regular black plastic refuse sacks.

Once your solar shower has done it’s job, you stand a far better chance of getting up close and personal with the object of your affections.  Be sure to have packed some natural protection in the form of Condomi lubricated, teat-ended condoms made from 100% natural latex.  They’re the only condoms currently available that are biodegradable and are approved by the Vegan Society. Condomi condoms are free of animal derivatives and meet or surpass all global and domestic quality accreditations, giving you complete peace of mind.

That’s a real green commitment!