Gift Bags from Cereal Boxes - More cool how to projects00

Nice towels are something that people just don’t tend to spend much money on for themselves, but lovely organic towels make a fabulously luxurious gift. They would be the perfect gift for a parent, aunt, or a young person starting out on their own.

These lovely towels from Natural Collection are made from 100% organic and Fairtrade cotton.   The cotton comes from the Chetna Cotton Project in central India. This project is run by a group of farmers from the region who work together to produce cotton which is organically grown.

The towels are available in the following colours:  Pebble, Dusky Rose, Bark, Parchment and Moss (from top to bottom in the picture).

Washing machine manufacturer Indesit is now sourcing the plastic that it uses for the front plates of two of it’s top of the range machines, the Aquarius and Ultima.  The plates are being manufactured from shredded plastic waste recovered from domestic fridges.  The waste is made into a high grade polymer with a similar weight to the virgin plastic it’s replacing.

Buying goods from manufacturers who use recycled materials help to close the recycling loop.

Ecotopia are keen to assure potential buyers of their recycled CD/DVD Christmas decorations that no CD’s from any decent artists were harmed in the making of these products. All CD’s went through a rigorous screening process to pick out the very worst - kind of the opposite of ‘The X Factor’, and without the tantrums and high waist lines. The CD’s are much happier being dangled from Christmas trees.  I like them.  If you’re going to be buying decorations, this is the way to go.

Instead of splurging on lots of cheap Christmas decorations, be kind to your pocket (and the planet) this year, and make your own.  Here are some ideas:

1. Gingerbread decorations:  All you need for this are a gingerbread recipe, the ingredients and a set of Christmas cookie cutters (that you’ll be able to use year in and year out).

2. Popcorn and cranberries: String popcorn and cranberries onto strong cotton thread with a needle for festive strings to wrap around the tree.

3. Natural finds: Pine cones, oranges, holly and ivy, mistletoe, even sea shells, can be incorporated into your Christmas decorations.  Attach some glittery thread to the pine cones to hang them in the tree, or spray them gold and put them in your fireplace (if you’re not using it).  Oranges smell great drying in the oven (cut them about 1cm thick and dry them in the oven with the door open at a very low temperature) and look great hanging from the tree.  Holly and ivy can be fashioned into wreathes, or simply draped over picture frames and mantelpieces.  Sea shells can be sprayed gold and used in table centre-pieces.

Making Christmas decorations is a great craft project for children.

Photo credit: chellinsky

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.

Continuing with the theme of gadgets that help you live more sustainably, here are some more ideas for consideration.

The efergy energy saving meter is a wireless electricity meter that tracks your energy use so that you know exactly how much you are consuming at any given time, what it is costing you and an estimate of your personal contribution to climate change.  The data is stored so that you can track the trends and changes in energy consumption in your household.  Easily installed by complete novices. Costs around £45.

You can save about £50 a year by using an EcoButton on your PC or laptop.  When you press the EcoButton you put your machine into eco-mode to save energy until you come back to it and press the button again to reactivate it where you left off.  Expect to pay around £15 per button.

The Bye Bye Standby energy saving kit works by totally cutting power to the devices plugged into it when they’re not in use, saving power that devices would have consumed on standby.  You get one remote control and three sockets for £34.99 and one remote and two sockets for £19.99.

I’d like to introduce you to Natural House Organic Dish Spa, the first ever dish washing liquid to have Soil Association full certification.

It’s made of only organic and natural ingredients, but Natural House says it works every bit as well as non-organic alternatives.    Dish Spa is made from organic saponins, Soil Association-approved natural cleansing agents and organic Lemon Sfumatrice (a gentle de-greaser with a light aroma of lemon zest).  The result is a low foaming,  high-performing product, that reduces the environmental impact of washing up water going down the drain.

While it’s powerful on grease removal, Dish Spa is also gentle on skin, so no need for rubber gloves when you wash with this stuff.  And no need to worry about dishwashing liquid residue on plates and skin, because it’s people friendly and planet friendly.