It is becoming common knowledge that being green can lead to considerable money savings. This can go far beyond just cutting your heating and water bills. Here’s just 50 easy ways of saving money as well as the environment.
1. Lower your thermostat.
Just a few degrees lower in the winter (even one degree lower can save more than £20 a year), wear warm clothes around the house and use a timer to set the heating to go off at night. I find a cooler temperature is better for a good nights sleep.
2. Use energy-efficient light bulbs.
They use less electricity and last up to ten times longer than ordinary light bulbs meaning they save you money and less bulbs end up in landfill. Make them last even longer by turning lights off when you leave the room.
3. Make sure your roof is insulated.
This will pay for itself if you plan to live in the property for at least four or five years. We opted for cavity wall insulation too and the house needs noticeably less heating to stay warm.
4. Don’t leave things on standby.
Some appliances drain a lot of energy when left on standby. This is a real waste of energy, it has been estimated that up to 80% of power can be used when a television is left on standby. Make sure you unplug appliances that aren’t in use too.
5. Only boil as much water in a kettle as you need.
Common sense really but you’d be surprised at the number of people who just switch the kettle on without seeing how much water is in it.
6. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible.
Most of the energy in machine washing clothes is used in heating the water so the lower the temperature the less energy is used.
7. Dry your clothes on a washing line or an indoor drying rack. Nothing beats the feel of clothes dried outside in the sun.
8. Keep your fridge full.
It is more efficient for your fridge and freezer to be full to stay cold so avoid keeping it empty. Don’t keep your fridge door open longer than necessary.
9. Use a pan lid when cooking.
This cooks food faster and uses less energy.
10. Defrost food in the fridge.
This avoids waste of water and prevents contamination of the food.
11. Take showers rather than baths.
As well as reducing water use this will lower your water and heating bills too.
12. Share your baths.
This one is a no brainer and I’m sure many can remember sharing baths with their siblings/ parents when they were kids.
13. Wear clothes that don’t need to be dry-cleaned.
This saves money and avoids exposure to perchloroethylene – believed to cause nausea, irritation, headaches and even cancer. Try experimenting with hand washing or steaming machine wash only items. See the Environmental Law Centre for more information about other similar hazardous substances.
14. Swap clothes with friends & family.
I have a friend with three sisters who are pretty much the same dress size. They share their clothes and save a lot of money whilst having a vast amount to borrow from. One of them has a shoe collection to die for, but unfortunately we are not the same size.
15. Create a capsule wardrobe.
Gok Wan the fashion expert has got it spot on with his motto of buying less and wearing more. I would advise anyone who loves clothes to watch his Fashion Fix series for more advice on creating a 24 piece wardrobe which can be mixed and matched to create endless outfits. A ridiculous amount of money is spent by women on clothes that are never worn, make sure you don’t make this mistake.
16. Walk or bike to work.
Not only does this cut fuel and parking costs, it gives you a chance to get some exercise for free. Who needs a gym membership?
17. Carshare.
If you work far from home and public transport isn’t an option than find someone to carshare with. This will make your commute more interesting, save you money and reduce your impact on the environment too. Try Share a Car or National Car Share.
18. Stick to 70mph and below. See this article for more green driving tips that made big savings on my fuel costs.
19. Take a packed lunch to work. According to Save Cash & Save The Planet (by Friends of the Earth) you can save around £1000 a year making your own lunch instead of buying ready-made sandwiches.
20. Don’t eat meat or dairy.
If you can only do one tip in this article please choose this one. This article sums the dairy issue up: The Dark Side of Dairy. It takes more than 4,000 gallons of water per day to produce meat and only 300 gallons of water a day are needed to produce food for a vegan. If you cannot stop eating meat, at least cut down on your intake and eat only organic. The conventional meat and dairy industry create a lot of waste and are subsidised by your taxes. So in effect you are paying for it twice. Take advantage of the free vegan recipes on this site.
21. Purchase your food from local farmers.
This keeps money in the local economy and often cuts down on unnecessary packaging that supermarkets use.
22. Don’t buy bottled water.
Use a water filter to purify tap water instead. This will save a lot of money and cut down on waste.
23. Use a reusable water bottle when travelling.
Aluminium is better than plastic, and it’ll work out cheaper than buying bottles whenever you go anywhere.
24. Buy second hand household goods.
Try Ebay, antique shops or your local charity shop. Bargain items can be found in antique stores if you know where you are looking. Not only does it reduce things going to landfill; it also gives an individual style to your home. If antique shops are good enough for Ivana Trump they are good enough for you!
25. Find a skip.
If you spot a skip ask the owner if you can look sift through and take your pick. I saw a woman with a beautiful table that she’d rescued from a skip and sanded down and waxed. All it costs is a little effort and being in the right place at the right time.
26. Make the most of your local library.
I rarely reread fiction books and do not see the point of them sitting on a shelf getting dusty. Instead of buying books, CDs and DVDs, borrow them. This not only saves you money, but saves the ink and paper that goes into printing new books. It also means you can pick up books that you may not have tried if you were paying for them.
27. Buy and swap used books.
If you take a while reading and the library isn’t for you try Amazon or Read It Swap It. If you want one book that will save you money while helping the environment I recommend getting Save Cash and Save the Planet
28. Use digital cameras.
I think most people do this, but I think everyone should. You save a lot on not developing film and ending up with photographs when you may not even be happy with the quality. As much as I loved the surprise of developing films in the past, it was not very green.
29. Share power tools and other appliances.
Not everyone needs to own a lawn mower, I think it would be a great idea for people to co-own things like this and share them. Just borrow and lend tools as and when needed. This is a good way of tidying up your garage.
30. Keep your electronic items as long as possible.
This year I switched to pay as you go once my contract ended. I did not need a new mobile and the temptation to upgrade to a new mobile was simply unnecessary as I don’t really use my phone much. Electronic waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem. Have you ever thought about where your e waste goes? See this interesting article.
31. Ladies- use a menstrual cup.
Please remember that the term “throwing away” is just a euphemism. Something thrown in the bin does not disappear and sanitary waste is very detrimental to the environment. An excellent money saving alternative to tampons and sanitary towels is a silicone menstrual cup. The cup lasts for ten years and costs around £20 (which means in around six months it has paid for itself).
32. Recycle your mobile.
You can make a few pounds by selling them to a site such as envirofone or mazumamobile. Much better than having it sit around for a few years in a drawer and then finding it is of no use to anyone.
33. Quit using harsh cleaning products.
All you need is baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap. This is so effective and will improve your indoor air quality as well as reducing packaging sent to landfill.
34. Do not buy ready made foods.
Learn to cook and make it from scratch. This is more healthy and is so much cheaper. Buying certain things in bulk from Italian, Indian and Chinese grocery shops leads to big savings though remember to only do this for staples such as pasta and rice. International foods are flown in by plane and are not exactly green. I have noticed these shops tend to keep packaging to a minimum which is great.
35. Grow your own food
If you have the time and space to do it this can lead to significant savings. The improvement of the quality of your diet can’t be measured in this case. Nothing beats eating fresh raspberries straight out of the garden. Everyone can grow something, even if it’s just some mustard/ cress for your sandwiches. Or sprout some seeds. Nothing beats the satisfaction of eating fresh, healthy food that you grew yourself. See Gardenorganic for more information.
36. Have a compost bin.
If you are growing your own food than great quality compost can be made at home for next to nothing. I got mine from this site at a subsidised rate.
37. Buy local and seasonal
Not only is this tastier but it also means you are not paying for food flown in from other countries.
38. Ditch disposable products
A good example is giving up disposable razors, if you must shave go for a razor where you replace the blade. Or opt for waxing and threading which means you will be hair free for longer. Using reusable nappies could save you up to £600.
39. Mineral Salt Deodorant
They last for a long time, don’t contain any harmful ingredients or extensive packaging. Purenuffstuff do a good range of crystal deodorant stones and sprays.
40. Think Before You Print
Do you really need a copy of that email? Or is it just a habit to hit print out all your correspondence? Save money on ink and paper by being more selective about your printing needs.
41. Use the print preview function!
How many times have you printing things off the internet to find that you have an extra page with just a line of text and goes straight in the bin? Use print preview to view the layout of your page and only print the page/s you need.
42. Walk or bike when you can
You do not need to drive everywhere, especially those small trips. Walking does good to yourself and the environment. The benefits include saving money on fuel, not having to deal with road traffic, improved outdoor air quality and less road congestion.
43. Use Trains instead of Planes.
As fun as flying is it has a huge impact on the environment. Why not use trains more? Try and pick a destination closer to home, there is plenty in the UK that warrants exploring before looking further afield. Trains cause less pollution than planes and can carry more passengers. If you’re savvy with your planning then you’ll find this can be cheaper than flying.
44. Make your own beauty products.
As much as I love Lush, there are plenty of things you can make yourself from natural foods. Try a sugar and olive oil scrub, a home made facial or my amazing avocado hair mask.
45. Use essential oils instead of bottled perfumes.
Not only are essential oils free from the toxic chemicals that the average designer perfume contains but they last much longer and can be very therapeutic when you know what you’re doing. Make sure you use a carrier oil as they are too strong to use direct on the skin.
46. Quit smoking.
Not only will this save money and the environment; it will also save your life. Do it now.
47. Download music instead of buying CDs.
This is usually cheaper and means nothing is sent to landfill. Check out Moneysavingexperts tunecheckerwhich is a music price comparison site.
48. Read news on the internet.
My Dad has saved a small fortune now he no longer buys newspapers, choosing to get his news fix online.
49. Buy less stuff.
When the urge to buy something hits, give yourself a time limit of a fortnight. If you still want the item then get it after going through the pros and cons. Reckless spending depletes resources and is a complete waste if you don’t end up using the stuff. When you do spend; buy good quality that will last.
50. Send E-Cards instead of paper cards.
Friends of the Earth do some lovely free ones. I would stick with these as in the past I have had malware attacks when browsing sites for free e-cards.
For detailed information about saving money and the planet I would highly recommend:
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