How the small differences can add up

We all live our lives day to day often unaware of the small ways in which we may be doing harm to the planet. Whether this be as simple as reducing our waste or lowering our carbon footprint we want to layout 5 super easy ways to make an impact and maybe impact your wallet for the better to!

1. Order In Bulk

It may seem simple and it may seem expensive at first, but actually if you were to order products in bulk not only will you benefit from economies of scale (bulk discounts) but you will also be reducing the overall amount of packaging used to wrap up the exact same amount! For example 10 meals being individually wrapped will use up more waste than 10 meals being wrapped up all together! This may not be available on all products but for somethings, lets take it crass for example, toilet roll! A simple product we all need but buying 2 packs of 12 instead of 1 pack of 24 is more expensive, and has around double the waste packaging! It's a quick and simple win win at the till and at the bin!

2. Double Check Your Heating Schedule

With the rising cost of living in the world we live in we have to watch our heating schedule due to our wallet, but it is also worth considering checking it to reduce your total energy consumption. This shift in mindset instead of thinking about the cost out of your wallet if you can think of it as reducing the total energy you require this may be a way to not think about the finances and actually end up saving money! Simply ensuring that the heating isn't on while you're out at work in the day or if you are away for a weekend can rack up and save a bunch of money over the winter months, why heat an empty house!

3. Insulate Your Home (No Not Expensive House Work!)

Now you have read this title and assumed I am meaning to get builders out and stuff new insulation in your loft for a large sum of hard earned cash. But I mean this in a more remedial way in that instead of insulating your loft, insulate the room you're in, shutting the door while you're in your living room, installing draft excluders, even if its just some kind of blanket will help insulate the air in the room you are in and maintain temperature. This will reduce the amount of energy needed to keep the room and yourself heated keeping that heating off for just a little longer.

4.Choose Local Food

The food industry is one of the largest pollutants that we as a species have created. Now while it is down to the large companies to sort themselves out we can take some small steps to reduce the impact. Purchasing locally grown food, consciously avoiding meat every now and then, dodging the McDonalds and fast food of the world. This will make you feel better with more energy while possibly saving a little bit of cash and maybe even supporting small local business'!

5. Use Re-Usable Bags

We all changed in the UK when the 10p carrier bag charge came in effect, such a small cost for such a large form of waste. But it helped I personally stopped using carrier bags altogether and got myself a nice tote bag which is responsibly sourced and guess what, it costs me £0 to use my bag each trip saving me money in the long run while saving more plastic waste from winding up where it shouldn't!

Now you may not be interested in doing all of these changes but perhaps its worth exploring at least one, there are benefits to these that aren't just environmental whether they be economical advantages or physical advantages for your body! Go on just try one!