These are very sexy little gadgets and will make a great gift for both women and men who like their gadgets and wish to save energy, money and the planet.    The Wattson shows how much electricity you are using and helps you work out how to reduce it and it’s super easy to use - no electrician required.

To get the Wattson up and running, all that is needed is to clip a sensor to the outside of your mains electricity cable.  The sensor then tells the Wattson how much electricity you are using.  The Wattson shows this to you using colours and numbers. Switch something off and watch them change!  You can also connect Wattson to your computer to download energy usage and compare with fellow Wattson users.  Around £100.

Internationally renowned designer Orla Kiely and BRITA water filters bring us the Wottle, - the world´s first designer reusable water bottle.  Instead of buying expensive and eco-unfriendly bottled water, your lady can have water from her water-filter (or from the tap) with her while she’s out and about. The Wottle is great looking and stylish and made from 100% recycled materials. The capacity of the Wottle is 500ml. £7.99

Giving eco-friendly gifts shows that you care not just about her, but about the bigger picture.

Is your man the rugged outdoors type whose idea of a perfect holiday is trekking up Kilimanjaro before the snow at the top is gone for good, or volunteering on the Galapagos Islands?  This will be the perfect gift for him.  The Freeloader solar charger makes it possible to recharge handheld devices while away from home.  That includes phones, iPods, sat navs and handheld gaming consoles.

The Freeloader gets its power from fold out solar panels, but it can also be charged via USB for when that is more appropriate.  The internal battery can power an iPod for up to 18hours, a mobile phone for 44 hours or a PSP for 2.5 hours. This gadget is impact resistant and made from lightweight aluminium.  It can top up its own battery in as little as 5 hours, and hold that battery charge for up to 3 months. It comes with a range of adaptors to fit the device you want to power. £24.93 including postage.

Give the lady in your life a pink Roberts solar DAB radio, it’s one of a kind, just like her.  It’s the world’s first solar DAB radio.   She can use it in the garden, the conservatory, the greenhouse, or anywhere in the house where there’s a bright windowsill.  It will also come in handy when she’s at the beach, up a mountain or away camping.

The Roberts solar DAB radio has a solar panel integrated into the top of the radio that charges a battery while in direct sunlight.  A full charge will last for 27 hours. £72.99

Mineral make-up has completely changed the way that I feel about make-up.  I still don’t wear it every day, but I do enjoy dressing up and putting on make-up when there’s an occasion. The best bit is, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t take your make-up off before bedtime.  That’s because mineral make-up doesn’t clog your pores the way regular make-up does.  Also, because it’s not chock-full of fillers, binders and fragrance, it’s less likely to upset sensitive skin, and it has sun protection qualities.

Check out the range of mineral make-up available at Pricegrabber.

If you live in England or Wales (except for inner London) you can make a formal application to your local authority for an allotment.   Any group of six adults listed on the electoral role make an application together in writing to their local authority asking for allotment land, the authority has to, by law, provide it. There is no formal rule as to how and when the authority must respond, but they do have to.  You can get more information on how to go about getting an allotment from the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners.

This is the perfect time of year to be planning next summer’s vegetable garden.

Next month will see the opening of Havering’s new Elm Park Library, near Hornchurch.  It is one of Greater London’s greenest buildings.  The library scooped a Sustainable Design and Construction award in the Havering Business Awards and is the first low-Carbon Library in Greater London.  It is also Havering’s greenest building.

In these economic times, it makes sense to build green (or renovate green) to save money in the long run as fuel prices sky-rocket.  You could install low energy lighting, a wind turbine or solar lighting to make your house greener, and save you money.  Or make your own natural paint for decorating.  Esprit Cabane, one of my favourite blogs, has recipes for all sorts of paints and finishes.

Working in the city usually brings with it expensive take-away lunches and plenty of disposable  packaging.   So, here’s a tip that will save you money and make a huge difference to your carbon footprint:  Make your own lunch.

Get yourself a lunch box, like this fruit-friendly “Food for Thought” lunch box from Concentrate.    This lunch box has been specially designed to hold fruit and protect it from bruising or overheating. Getting more fruit in while you’re at work will help you achieve your 5-a-day target for optimal health.

It  comes with 2 plastic pots, to hold grapes, nuts or diced fruit and a unique, colour changing thermo-spot on the underside of the box to indicate when food has overheated.  It’s also dishwasher proof.

Be even greener by giving up clingfilm and wrapping your sandwiches in a home-made reusable sandwich wrap.

You’ll also need a water bottle that you can refill from your tap or water filter, thus avoiding bottled water and the carbon footprint implications that brings with it.   Sigg bottles are made of aluminium that has been hygienically coated inside to help alleviate contamination of contents.  The internal coating is resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks to help prevent decaying and it’s taste-neutral so your drink will taste as it is meant to!  Another fantastic thing about Sigg bottles is that they are almost unbreakable, something that my children have proved time and time again with their Sigg drink bottles.

As part of a series of posts on reducing waste in 2009, here’s a look at how to cut down on bathroom waste.

1.  Instead of tubs, bottles and tubes of scrubs, try using a loofah or natural fibre wash mitt.  It will last longer than scrub in a container and so reduce waste.  Another advantage of natural fibre mitts is that they’ll biodegrade, making them a good green choice.

2.  As soon as you’ve showered, hang your towel out over the bannister or on a radiator to dry.  Towels dried like this don’t get smelly, so you don’t have to wash them as often, saving electricity and detergent.

3.  Look at and smell your clothes before throwing them into the washing basket.  Wearing something for an afternoon doesn’t mean it needs washing.  Use your common sense and save energy, water and detergent.

4. Have an organic waste bin in the bathroom.  Hair, loo roll tubes, tissues and light paper packaging can all go into your compost.

5.  For the ladies: forget disposable tampons and pads and give the Mooncup a go.  I’m happy to recommend them to all of my friends (or buy them as gifts for my friends) and haven’t met someone who doesn’t love this hygienic and waste-free alternative.

Photo credit: cote

The way we live isn’t very good for the environment. The consumer goods that we buy are made of many different kinds of raw materials, and the process of manufacturing produces a lot of waste that pollutes the environment. We can help reduce the amounts of raw materials manufactured by recycing and buying recycled.

Teach young children about recycling with this family board game from Wonderworld. It is a memory game that makes it fun to learn about recycling. Wonderworld make a series of toys and games that have an environmentally friendly concept to teach children about their daily activities that have a direct impact on our eco-system.