Is the cost of energy getting you down?  Is your water bill almost as high as your fuel bill?  The economic slowdown has everyone feeling the pinch, and with commodities like oil and water growing scarcer, prices just seem to be going up and up.  The good news is that by going green you will be able to ease the squeeze on your pocket, and do some good in the process.

1. Change your lightbulbs to energy saving lightbulbs

The outlay on these is so well worth it, because they will save up to 70% of the electricity that incandescent bulbs use, and in the case of CFL bulbs they will last for around 10 years.   Buy LED and that stretches to 30 years, and your electricity savings are higher.   These days low energy bulbs come in “dimmable” too, so no excuses.

2. Use an energy saving kettle

Believe it or not, your kettle is one of the most energy hungry appliances in your home.  If your existing kettle has lots of life left in it, by all means keep it, but be sure only to heat the amount of water you are going to use.  If, on the other hand, your kettle is on its last legs and needs replacing, consider a product like the Kenwood Energy Saving Kettle.

3. Invest in a chest freezer and cook in bulk

You will save energy (and time) by cooking in double quantities and freezing half.  This is a little trick that my mother taught me, it means that you can have a night off without forking out for take-aways and you don’t need to resort to disgusting, preservative and additive rich ready meals from the shops.  Just grab something out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave (because it uses less energy than using the cooker hob), and voila, you’ve got dinner.

When buying a freezer, remember that a chest freezer is much more efficient than an upright one.  That’s because in the case of an upright freezer, all the cold air “falls” out when you open the door, whereas with a chest freezer, the cold air stays where it should be, around the frozen food.