For the very first Christmas blog post for this year at Blog Green UK, I have a Christmas money/planet-saving tip for next year.

How about growing your own Christmas tree, which will save money (the kit costs under £3) and will mean that from next year on, you won’t have to drive anywhere to buy a Christmas tree, and you won’t have to dispose of your Christmas tree ever again.  You’ll have a Christmas tree that will grow with you, and your family, and become a tradition in itself.

If you’d like to run a more energy-efficient home, the laundry is a good place to start.  These days most of us have plenty of clothes, never wear them more than once between washes, and then tumble dry them.   There are greener ways to keep yourself and your family in clean clothes.

1. Just because something has been worn doesn’t mean it can’t be worn again.  Instead of throwing it straight into the laundry basket, give it a sniff.  If it still smells clean, fold it up, put it away, and wear it again.

2. Only run your washing machine when you have a full load.

3. Wash at 30′ for everyday washes.  You only need a warmer wash if you need to disinfect things like baby’s nappies.

4. Forget the tumble drier and dry your clothes on a clothes horse or washing line.  If the weather is cold and wet, a clothes horse near a radiator will get your clothes dry.

5. Use a phosphate free, eco-friendly and natural washing detergents and fabric softeners like Ecover, Bio-D and Soapods soap nuts.

6. If you need to replace your washing machine, consider buying a steam washing machine (like the one pictured) that saves water and energy.

The EnviroVac

A greener vacuum cleaner is now being manufactured by Electrolux.  It’s called the EnviroVac and it uses 50% of the electricity that other vacuum cleaners use.  The EnviroVac is bagless (less waste) and has an upholstery attachment (so you can clean your sofa and curtains effectively) and a dusting attachment included.  This vacuum cleaner also has a HEPA filter (for the allergy sufferers amongst us), a 7m cable (to prevent you having to switch sockets) and a stretchy hose (to reach all the way up the stairs).

£99.95 from John Lewis.

Steam Cleaners

Steam cleaners clean your home without any chemicals, so are a very good option from an environmental and from a health point of view. A steam cleaner holds water in a tank where it is heated to make pressurised steam.  The steam is applied to the area to be cleaned with an attachment at the end of a hose.  With one of these you don’t need to use chemicals to clean tiled areas, bathroom suites, carpets, garden furniture, upholstery, hard to reach areas, grills and decks. Steaming eliminates odours and disinfects.

The steamer pictured is the Simac Vapor Steam Cleaner. It costs £124.99 and comes with an assortment of attachments.

To cut your carbon footprint in the kitchen, there are some little things you can do to make a difference, and some big things that make a big difference.

Little things

1. Cover your pots while you’re cooking to prevent heat loss.
2. Keep your hob clean and shiny to reflect heat better.
3. Use small burners/plates for small pots.
4. Make one-pot meals like soups, stews and casseroles to conserve energy use.
5. If you’re cooking with electricity, turn the burner off a little while before the end of cooking.  There’ll be enough heat to continue the cooking process.  (Or even better use a hot-box to cook with).
6. Double your recipe and freeze half to eat another day.  Home made ready meals are far healthier than commercial ready meals too.
7. Use a pressure-cooker when cooking pulses, grains and meat.
8. Use the eco-setting on your dishwasher.
9. Always run your dishwasher full.
10. Scrape plates rather than rinse them.
11. Let your dishes air dry by opening the dishwasher door after the final rinse.
12. Regularly defrost your freezer.
13. Cover liquids and wrap foods in the fridge.
14. Vacuum the coils on the back of your fridge every so often to keep them functioning efficiently.
15. Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight.

Big things

1. Become a vegetarian.
2. Buy A-rated appliances for your kitchen and dispose of your old appliances properly.  Freecycle, eBay and your local boot sale are all good places to encourage them to be reused, or your local authority recycling site will take it and recycle it.
3. Give your kitchen a green revamp.

The ghostliest night of the year is over and what are you going to be doing with the pumpkin that you carved to delight the trick or treaters in your neighbourhood.  You can let it fester on the front doorstep until it turns into mush and is rather difficult to scrape into a plastic bag or similar to put it into the bin, or you can put it in your composter and make it into nutritious compost for your garden.  It wouldn’t be a bad idea to smash your pumpkin up a bit (Smashing Pumpkins, I always wondered where that name came from) before putting it into your composter to increase it’s surface area exposed to the air which will help it break down faster.

Don’t own a composter?  Here are your options:

1. Dig a hole.  Put your smashed pumpkin in it (and other compostable material).  Cover with soil and plant something over it.

2. Try the Berkley Thermophilic Compost method for super quick compost.  Watch the video for how to do it.

3. Make a composter.  Here are some plans to get you started.

4. Take your pick from the great range of composters available to buy.