Britmums and British Gas (two great Brit institutions I must say 😉 ) have joined forces to get us thinking about how we save energy. There is even a linky where you can add your tips and be included to win some fab prizes. I really believe that we have both a moral and financial reason to be saving energy. Our resources cannot last forever the way we are using them.
Therefore the Watt Loss challenge is requesting bloggers to share their smart choices on how as individuals and families we are saving energy which in turns leads to saving money.
Here are the Bradley Family’s Top Tips.
1. Walk – basically get outside and walk. Dylan walks to and from school no matter rain or shine. There are several reasons for this, parking is a nightmare at the school and it is so stressful we choose to walk. It saves fuel and gives us time to chat. The morning walk, blows away the cobwebs, wakes up his brain and recent research shows nine in ten teachers in a recent Department for Transport survey consider that the walk to school makes children brighter, more alert and ready for the first class of the day. Source here. Since Erin has been in her cast a walking train (a few parents of children in his year group) have collected Dylan to walk him to school for me. It’s so great to be part of a community where parents look out for each other like this. Maybe this is something you could set up in your community. The walk home is a great time to share our days news before the madness of homework, preparing tea, getting ready for after school activities occurs.
2. If you do need to drive – drive efficiently. Driving steadily at speed limits and not aggressive driving can save energy by 30%. This includes not using the air con, not carrying a bootful of stuff and generally driving more responsibly. In addition to saving fuel – this could save lives. Since driving with children I am so much more aware of bad driving habits. I really rate this quote “Drive slow and enjoy the scenery – drive fast and join the scenery”.
3. Play outside, my children know that if it is not raining they will be in the garden or at the park. Turn off the consoles (we have specific times Dylan is allowed to play), the TV and play. Again it sharpens the imagination, encourages co operative play and tires them out!
4. In the home do what you can, it isn’t always easy and sometimes you may need to inconvience yourself. As a family of five, time is always short and it may be easier to throw clothes in a tumble drier but you need to look at the bigger picture. I wash what I can on a 30 wash with a quick cycle.
When drying the clothes they go out on the line, I love them smelling natural, but if they won’t dry outside I use the clothes horse. I get the littles invloved too as Erin loves helping mum sort the washing. We turn it into a game and I hope I am also teaching her the value of taking care of our environment.
5. The older two have their own unique ways of saving energy – although I struggle with some of them. Dylan for example rarely flushes the toilet – could be a water saving measure I guess!! Chloe saves OUR energy these days by never wanting to be at home, but out visiting her friends! Seriously though, the message is that we can all do our bit for the good of our family, the local community and the wider community. Our actions do have an impact.
One Response
Love the tip about being out all the time!