Author: Lucy

Eco friendly methods for cleaning your car

Private transport is getting more eco-friendly, with zero-emission vehicles a common sight on our roads nowadays, but to be even kinder to the planet, it’s important to know environmentally friendly ways to keep a car clean.

Luckily there are many different eco friendly methods for cleaning your car, from commercial products with an environmental aspect, to some surprising home remedies for scuffed upholstery or paintwork.

Water efficiency

If you choose to stick to commercial cleaning products, look for polishes that can be wiped off, rather than washed off – you’ll use much less water, and it’s easier and less messy too.

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Sustainable Food: a few tricks of the trade

We could all stand to make our food go further, whether as an attempt to make better use of our household budgets, reduce food waste, or just keep the bins emptier between collection dates.

But what are the tricks of the trade when it comes to sustainable food consumption – and how can they help you to cut your food waste?

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Garden renovations for a Yorkshire Summer

Blue skies, late sunsets and bank holiday weekends are well and truly upon us, making it the perfect time of year to plan garden renovations for a Yorkshire Summer to remember.

In a county with much of the most scenic and spectacular geography in England, from the mountains to the coast, there are many different options when it comes to garden renovations – here are just some ideas.

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Today is Earth Day! Here are some tips for schools

Earth Day  is a great opportunity to teach environmental issues in schools, with a global event to bring together the various different lessons.

Luckily for teachers, the Earth Day organisers themselves offer plenty of great tips for schools in the run-up to the main event, and here we’ve added some of our own ideas as well.

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Looking out for Earth Day: tips for the workplace

Earth Day takes place on April 22nd and is a chance to recognise the challenges we place on our environment through everyday human action.

No species has a great effect on the landscape in which it lives, and this is especially clear in the many different types of workplace humans occupy, from industrial sites to towering office blocks.

Regardless of where you work, there are some things you can do to help protect the planet, improve your sustainability and ensure that future generations can work, play and live in comfort and safety too.

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Looking out for Earth Day: tips for the home

Earth Day 2017 is on April 22nd, as it is each year, and is a chance for households, workplaces and schools to do their bit to commit to protecting our planet.

As of April 2017, the campaign has logged over two billion individual ‘Acts of Green’ and is pushing on to its next billion – so how can your home join in saving the world?

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How to reduce restaurant food waste

Nobody in the food service industry wants to see edible food go to waste – especially if you pay by weight for your bins or skips to be emptied – but how do you prevent customers from leaving unwanted remnants on their plates?

Here are ten ways to tackle the issue head-on, some of which are relatively innovative, while others are simple common sense.

  1. Portion Control

The most obvious way to avoid food waste is to keep portions under better control. That doesn’t mean skimping on the quantities you serve, but if customers rarely finish their food, you may be serving too much.

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How to recycle DVDs and CDs

DVDs and CDs take up much less space than old VHS tapes and audio cassettes – especially when stored without a protective jewel case – but with 2017 marking both the 35th anniversary of the creation of compact discs, and the 20th anniversary of DVDs reaching American markets (followed a year later by Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia), it’s no surprise that many of us have mounting numbers of unwanted discs to deal with.

The formats have been largely superseded by high-density formats like Blu-ray, which itself marked its tenth anniversary in 2016, but also by the use of cloud storage and portable storage on devices like smartphones.

So how can you dispose of CDs and DVDs in an eco-friendly way? The analogue formats that preceded them – such as VHS tapes – are now rarely recycled, and unfortunately optical media is going the same way.

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How to plan for a loft conversion

Loft conversions are a wonderful way to add more space to your home without the need to move house, meaning you can stay put for many years to come. Converted lofts are ideal for an extra bedroom, if you’ve got a growing family, and are also perfect as a living room, a study, or even a games room. While they are a great solution to the problem of space, there are a few things you need to be aware of before any building work begins.

1. Check you can accommodate a staircase

This may seem obvious, but it’s not just any staircase you will need; it’s a permanent one. This means you need plenty of available space for the staircase in the below room.

2. Check if you need planning permission

Most loft conversions don’t require planning permission, but it is still an important thing to check before you get started with researching the idea any further. A quick check with your local council could avoid a legal nightmare further down the line.

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