Daily Tip Challenge 2020 – June
1st In season foods – Asparagus, Aubergine, Beetroot, Blackcurrants, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cherries, Chicory, Chillies, Courgettes, Cucumber, Elderflowers, Gooseberries, Lettuce, Marrow, New Potatoes, Peas, Peppers, Radishes, Raspberries, Redcurrants, Rhubarb, Rocket, Runner Beans, Samphire, Sorrel, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Strawberries, Summer Squash, Swiss Chard, Tayberries, Turnips, Watercress
2nd Black Lives Matter
3rd Hard to kill plants – Aloe Vera, Cast Iron Plant, Chinese Evergreen, Christmas Cactus, Dumb Cane, Jade Plant, Lucky Bamboo, Mother-in-law’s Tongue, Snake Plant, Peace Lily, Pothos, Prayer Plant, Spider Plant.
I posted a few days ago about the mental health benefits of having plants around you. If you would like to have a bit more nature around the house but are not great at remembering to water and want something very low maintenance then have a look at the plants on this list. For full details of caring for them and images of what they look like go to: spruce.com/easy-houseplants-hard-to-kill-4141665
4th Even eggshells have uses. It’s amazing doing the research for eco tips that you find that almost all natural food waste has uses. A lot of plants thrive with calcium rich soil so egg shells can either make a great pot/mineral source for seedlings or ground up and sprinkled directly in to soil. Also, birds that have laid eggs recently or are preparing to would welcome the calcium. Just need to rinse and dry shells thoroughly before using.
5th Pick up rubbish. There were plenty of social media posts last year asking everyone to pick up 3 pieces of rubbish when they go to the beach. This is great but don’t limit it just to the beach, maybe every time you go to the park or even just for a walk pick up a few pieces. Might stop some of it ever reaching the beach.
6th Check your tyre efficiency rating. Like many electrical items you can see an efficiency rating on car tyres ranging from A being the most efficient to G being the worst. These letters refer to rolling resistance and a more efficient tyre will result in less CO2 emissions and around £50 off your annual fuel bill. Shows that a cheaper tyre may actually not be the most cost effective option.
7th Try an eco deodorant. Many deodorants are in either difficult and not widely recycled plastic roll on applicators or aerosol cans. Although the tin and aluminium can be recycled the lid, valve and dip tube often aren’t. There is quite a range of eco options out there now and we stock these two varieties. The @earthconsciousuk range with a variety of fragrances in fully recyclable card tube and Eco-Naturals in aluminium tins. Made locally near Bristol by someone with sensitive skin, for people with sensitive skin.
8th Identify and learn how to care for plants with a click. I recently stumbled across a great app called Picture This. Just point your phone at a flower, take a picture and the app will not only identify it, it will give you loads of info and how to care for it. It can also identify things that may be harming the leaves etc. I have been able to identify everything in the garden that was there when we moved in. Should help those out there who mentioned on a previous post about hard to kill plants how they struggled with keeping them alive.
Head to @picturethisai to read more about the app
9th Make your own washing detergent. Many washing powders and detergents contain chemicals like bleach which can lead to skin irritations. They are also packaged in plastic and heavy meaning a large carbon footprint to ship.
Just stir soap shavings and soda crystals together, decant in a container for storage and use 1 tablespoon per load.
10th Cut down on your house heat loss. The diagram shows where the average house will lose the heat. Probably not something you’re thinking about at the moment but the warmer months are the best time to make changes. Is your loft properly insulated? Wall cavities insulated? Carpet with good underlay, gaps around doors and windows sealed or with draft excluders....
11th Store raisins in an air tight container. Although they will last a long time in any sort of container they will start to go dry and rubbery quite quickly. If you are now thinking that the raisins in your cupboard are going to be like this then soaking them in hot water for an hour can restore them.
12th Green Alternatives discount!
13th Start your own indoor herb garden. Most herbs can be grown indoors, but those that tend to really thrive inside include basil, chives, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme. For full details on growing herbs go to http://www.eatingwell.com/article/289996/your-ultimate-guide-to-growing-herbs-indoors/
14th Use a plastic free natural lip balm. We now stock Hives and Herbals lip balms. Made in Bristol by a local beekeeper and collected by bicycle so also very low carbon footprint. 4 varieties to choose from and can personally say they work perfectly.
15th Make your own lip balm. If you saw yesterday’s post you saw we now have a great range of eco lip balms but if you prefer to make your own then it’s pretty straightforward, you can get full details here https://www.happinessishomemade.net/10-minute-diy-lip-balm/
16th Put out fur and hair for the birds. We have a long haired cat so collect the fur from brushing and clip it to a branch with a clothes peg. The birds will pull bits off and take it back to insulate their nests. Be careful with human hair as if it’s long it can tangle them so cut to short lengths, also treated hair may be toxic.
17th See which beauty products you can switch? As it’s Plastic Free Beauty Day I thought we could highlight some of products we offer in this area that are good alternatives. We don’t do any makeup range (apart from the washable pads) but there are companies out there that do. Failing that there are some which will take used products back to be recycled or refilled. Have a look at what you use currently and search to see if there are small changes you can make.
18th Air purifying plants – Baberton Daisy, English Ivy, Snake Plant, Chrysanthemum, Spider Plant, Aloe Vera, Broad Lady Palm, Dragon Tree, Weeping Fig, Chinese Evergreen.
Purify the air in your home/office. Not only do they look nice and can have benefits on mental health there are quite a number that purify toxins found in modern paint and furniture including formaldehyde, trichlorethylene and benzene. The added bonus is that some of those listed were also on the eco tip list from last week of plants that are easiest to keep alive. For full details go to https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wellbeing/a668/houseplants-to-purify-house-air/
19th REFILL! It was due to be National Refill Day today but this has been postponed officially till things are a bit more back to normal. I won’t go through the numbers of the amount of plastic bottles we go through and everyone knows by now the environmental and cost benefits of carrying a refillable bottle. Look for the pictured sticker for places that will refill your bottle for free and you can also download the app to find local businesses offering this.
20th Swap washing up liquid for a bar. We sell these bars which will last ages and swaps another plastic bottle out of the kitchen.
21st Swap from plastic razors. It’s not a product we sell (yet) but it’s worth promoting as it can save on a lot of non-recyclable plastic being used. There is a huge range out there varying in price and style.
22nd Turn leftovers in to a tasty soup. Most leftover meat and vegetables can be boiled down to make a nutritious stock to be added to a forgotten tin from the back of the cupboard. To see some different options follow this link
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/5-easy-ways-make-soup-leftovers-0
23rd Scan business cards. If like me (before Covid) you used to network a lot then you’ll come away with a few business cards each time that soon start to build to piles in your office/car/home. There are quite a few apps available where you can scan the card meaning you still have all the info but without taking something you may never use again. Saves on paper usage as well as making all the info easily accessible and always to hand.
24th Have a go at growing produce. You don’t need a lot of space, some things can be grown in pots and even inside if you don’t have a garden. We have a small garden but the small area pictured can still be used to house a good selection of veg as well as some other pots around producing berries. The big plastic barrel was there when we moved in as a second water butt, it is now used as a composter.
25th Look for upcycled furniture. Not only can you get something unique, you are supporting a local small business and in doing that saving items from ending up in landfill. Great if you want something to add some character to the room like our new chest of drawers.
26th Get the kids watching environmental themed films. There are quite a few good ones, my favourite is The Lorax, others that are good are:
Wall-E
My Neighbour Totoro
Happy Feet
Arctic Tale
Fern Gully
27th Give plogging a go. If you haven’t heard of it then it’s simply going for a run and picking up rubbish, plocka upp + jogging = plogging (plocka upp means to pick up in Swedish). Some people run for a certain amount of time and then spend an allotted time picking up rubbish, others will run and pick bits up as they see it. There are groups so you can meet with others and add a social side to it as well. I have gone to the extreme of attaching a garden bin to an old buggy and perfected the art of picking up cans and bottles without breaking stride. Exercise with all the other associated benefits and cleaning up your local area.
28th Review your travel products. With things slowly returning to normal I have started hearing conversations of people making holiday plans. Why not get your eco travel products in preparation? We sell the pictured as a set or individually. Bamboo toothbrush with bamboo case, deodorant in card dispenser, travel soap for hair and body with aluminium case, plastic free sun cream, toothbrush tablets with case and a few other useful items that have been added to the website over the last few weeks.
29th Take the stairs. We often think about doing this for the health benefits, also think of the electrical energy that is also saved. Might just help to sway you to go with the healthy option.
30th Check your tyre pressure. Your tyres may look fine but if it’s under inflated by 15psi than that can actually lead to 6% more fuel being consumed. That equates to 26 less miles being achieved from a 60 litre tank. A correctly inflated tyre will obviously be a saving on your CO2 emissions but also this equates to a saving of £65 per year for a car doing average mileage.