If your home improvement skills are more ‘don’t it yourself’ than ‘do it yourself’, you might feel reluctant to try your hand at any new projects – but with a few simple DIY lessons to learn before attempting DIY again, you can avoid some of the most common pitfalls.
Continue reading Five DIY lessons to learn before attempting DIY
The bars and pubs where we drink beer are usually not within sight of the breweries where it is made, especially in the case of the big-brand lagers produced en masse at out-of-town locations.
Large-scale breweries are industrial operations on a massive extent, with machinery impressive enough to be used for the engineering decks in a Star Trek movie, and it has become a running joke among some Trekkers that the Starship Enterprise has its own brewery on board.
Recycling at home is a great way to be kinder to the environment – a close second to simply cutting down on the amount of waste your household produces, which of course we can all do to a limited extent.
In fact these days there is very little that cannot be recycled at all, and these are our five top tips to improve your recycling at home, even if you think you already do pretty well.
Continue reading Five ways to improve your recycling at home
Food waste is one of the big environmental issues of recent years, and many of us are more conscious than ever about throwing away otherwise edible food, putting vegetable peelings into the general waste bin, and the associated landfill problem caused by the wrappers from pre-packaged food.
Fast upcycling projects can transform your home while only taking up an afternoon of your time – you can even complete a very quick upcycling project while the paint is drying on another, if you’re feeling particularly organised.
Continue reading Upcycling projects you can finish in an afternoon
Leeds is a diverse city with plenty to offer, but when summer hits its peak, many residents feel the pull of the great outdoors.
You don’t actually have to get out of the city itself to keep cool around Leeds – there are plenty of places to relax that are easily reached on foot or via public transport, or in your own car within a matter of minutes.
Here’s our round-up of some of the best places to relax and keep cool around Leeds, from the city centre to the nearby surrounding area.
Continue reading Keeping cool around Leeds: best places to relax
The UK is hardly the worst affected country when it comes to keeping cool in summer – Japan, for instance, relies so much on air conditioning in hot weather that it faces an annual balancing act between all-out power cuts and deaths due to heatstroke.
But our usually mild climate means we are often less prepared to cope when a heatwave hits, and that can lead to the temptation to throw eco-friendliness out of the window as you plug a desk fan into every available power socket.
Here are five of the best alternatives to keep cool without running up a huge energy bill, or adding unduly to your carbon footprint.
Continue reading Keeping cool the environmentally friendly way
World Environment Day 2017 takes place on Monday, June 5th, and the fact that it falls on a weekday means that households and businesses alike can get involved in recognising the event and taking action to protect the environment in response to it.
This year’s WED has an overall theme of Connecting People to Nature, and although it follows hot on the heels of the two bank holiday weekends in May, it could be a good opportunity to take a day’s annual leave and spend some time outside instead.
Here are a few ways you can mark World Environment Day 2017 this June 5th, whether you are at work or at home.
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.
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.
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?
Continue reading Sustainable Food: a few tricks of the trade
