Eco home audit

[MidnightFarm]

I'm thinking of doing an audit of my home to see the areas i can still improve on for both energy efficiency and impact on the planet in other ways, anyone got any clues as to the things to look out for?
Thinking cleaning stuff, bathroom cabinet, garden shed.....

[Milims]

You've come to the right place! Cleaning materials - swap everything for bicarb, lemon juice, vinegar and tea tree oil!
Someone else will come along in a minute with another tip!

[Pumpkin&Piglet]

There are all sorts of mixtures like the above - search the interntet or find books giving alternatives to most household cleaners and bathroom cosmetics.
I think i remember learning cracking an egg on your head is a good hair conditioner - or olive oil maybe?

[boboff]

In the houses with Boys under 12 an adult will vacuum approximately £32.64 of Lego pieces in a single year.

Becoming a vegetarian helps reduce greenhouse gasses by a significant amount due to all the gasses produced by animals.

Insulation is the biggest quick fix for home energy use, think lofts, walls, and also thermal blinds, which are cheap.

[MidnightFarm]

yes to the lego all over the floor (i have two of those under 12 boy type items!)- hence the carpet sweeper instead so much easier to remove them from there!
Got the bicarb, lemon juice, vinegar and tea tree oil.

[kit-e-kate]

Becoming a vegetarian helps reduce greenhouse gasses by a significant amount due to all the gasses produced by animals.

Surely an animal that has been turned into dinner doesn't produce as much gas as one that been left in a field to live a long and happy (if rather windy) life, untroubled by murderous carnivores...

And has this study factored in the amount of gas generated by lentil chomping bacon-dodgers eating equivalent quantities of food to that consumed by our farmyard friends?

Maybe be we should conduct an Ish-periment?

Anyway, back on topic;

I'm thinking of doing an audit of my home to see the areas i can still improve on for both energy efficiency and impact on the planet in other ways, anyone got any clues as to the things to look out for?
Thinking cleaning stuff, bathroom cabinet, garden shed.....

Maybe you could do a type by type comparison of cooking methods? For example, whether its more economical to roast three meals in the oven at once (and reheat in a microwave), or to cook three meals (ready for immediate eating) on the hob. And would sticking to one-pot recipes make a difference?

Like the old Home Ec. lesson about boiling a pint of water in a kettle/in a pan/in a microwave, but on a bigger scale?

I think your audit sounds like a very interesting idea, please keep us posted!
Kate

[boboff]

Surely an animal that has been turned into dinner doesn't produce as much gas as one that been left in a field to live a long and happy (if rather windy) life, untroubled by murderous carnivores...

And has this study factored in the amount of gas generated by lentil chomping bacon-dodgers eating equivalent quantities of food to that consumed by our farmyard friends?

Ah but they wear Sandals and no socks you see so that helps with the ummm, the umm, washing and that. We could all go to St Pauls and ask a few of the soap dodgers there?

What would Jesus do? Well I know one thing, he's been a very naughty boy!

[Lost-in-the-Day]

If you have things such as burn gel and itchy bite cream in your medicine cabinet you can swap over to having an aloe plant, I'm not sure if it needs to be aloe vera or if any aloe will do. I'd always heard they were brilliant plants but a month ago I managed to chemically burn my ears (serves me right for being vain) and I put some aloe gel on them straight from the plant and it worked just as well as the cooling gel I had (which did not have aloe extracts in it). I also tried some on my flea bites and it stopped the itching almost instantly, never known a cream to work as well or as fast as that stuff.
Plus they look pretty too.

[Pumpkin&Piglet]

When I used to have my legs waxed in a salon, afterwards instead of a moisture cream they used to use the aloe vera plant on me, I thought that was pretty cool.

[MidnightFarm]

The Aloe Vera sounds like a good idea, I never thought about remedies and potions as part of our self sufficiency. Looks like we'll be adding a medicinal section to the herb garden!

Does anyone know of any other wonder plants to add too?

[Christian]

Peppermint is great.

A few leaves in hot water is brill for upset stomachs.

I believe sage is good when used as a mouth wash.

Have a look at James Wong - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Your-Own-D ... 0007307136 Great book!

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Surely an animal that has been turned into dinner doesn't produce as much gas as one that been left in a field to live a long and happy (if rather windy) life, untroubled by murderous carnivores...

And has this study factored in the amount of gas generated by lentil chomping bacon-dodgers eating equivalent quantities of food to that consumed by our farmyard friends?

Ah but they wear Sandals and no socks you see so that helps with the ummm, the umm, washing and that. We could all go to St Pauls and ask a few of the soap dodgers there?

What would Jesus do? Well I know one thing, he's been a very naughty boy!

Yeah, but if everyone was eating beanburgers with spinich and soya yoghurts then we wouldn't need all that space for animals and it would be turned into giagantic housing estates and that just can't be good for the environment. Vegis are bad for the planet, whichever way you cut it.

It's amazing how clear things become when you think about it. This is how Mail "journalists" do their job, you know. But I think they snort PCP before they start to add that sociopathic element to the stuff they write.

However, back in the real world, it is a good idea to have a quick audit of the food cupboards and take a look at where the stuff you are buying comes from. It may well be that you could be saving some significant food miles.