5 tips to achieve a more environmentally friendly lifestyle - by Kevin Jeeps

OK, so this is a guest blog written by Kevin Jeeps for my friend Danielle. We met through a local networking group, In Business, that, because of the current pandemic, is holding its meetings using Zoom. That, in itself, is helping the environment simply because the members and guests are not travelling, and therefore not producing exhaust emissions, to the meetings. Speaking purely personally, my car has done less than 1,000 miles since the middle of November 2020, a great result for the environment!

Firstly, what’s my background and why am I interested in the environment?

Well, I was born and bred in a village in Cambridgeshire and, although I went to my village primary school, my secondary school education was in Cambridge itself. When I was doing my Geography lessons at both O and A Level, I was taught about some of the earth’s natural energy sources. At the time, these were coal, oil and natural gas. I distinctly remember thinking to myself: “These are finite resources! What will happen when these run out?”

It has always played on my mind during my life, which then veered off into public service for 34.5 years, in a combination of working for the NHS and in Higher Education (HE) in numerous roles and locations, mostly in Finance. In all of this time, at the heart of my intentions to do the best I could to support a growing young family, (we now have three sons, now all in their 20s), was the desire to keep my commute to work to a minimum, so as to reduce my contribution to air pollution.

As someone with more life experience than many who are reading this, my desire is to help to raise awareness of a handful of tips, most of which I practise, to help preserve the world that we live in for future generations. As this is being written on Earth Day, albeit posted much later, the purpose of this is not lost on me!

What about my tips for helping to save the environment?

1. Use only as much water in your kettle as you need 

When making your cup of tea/coffee whatever other reason you are boiling your kettle; it’s inefficient to boil a full 1.5 litre kettle to make just one hot drink! There are loads of designs of kettles available. Please feel free to take a look at the results I got when I did a search on Google for the “most efficient design for kettles”.

2. Car sharing to go to work.
I know that we are now in a position to go back to work in our usual environment after the third lockdown. I’m also aware that many companies are not only willing to offer their employees the chance to work from home. However, that’s not, for various reasons, an option for everyone. So if you have a work colleague and as long as your working patterns allow you to do so, sharing a car journey, or better still use public transport, again, if possible, will help to reduce the number of vehicles on our roads. Again, I did a search for “car share schemes UK” on Google. The results are here.

3. Turn off and unplug your laptop/computer when you are not using it.
This for me is a part of my routine. It’s partly because the wire from my plug to the dining table that I use to work on my laptop trails across my dining area, and, as such, is a trip hazard. It’s also using up electricity to keep whichever device you use if you turn it off and unplug when not using it. I do the same for my digital radio, my toaster and my filter coffee maker, a couple of which compete for the same plug in any event!

4. Can you use a shower instead of taking a bath?
I’ve got a personal preference for taking a shower, but, environmentally speaking, it also makes sense! Again, using Google, I did a search on “how much more water does a bath use compared to a shower?” The common view is that even a ten-minute shower uses only 20 gallons (almost 91 litres) compared to the 30 gallons (approximately 146 litres) for a bath: see my search results.
One thing that I’ve been using for years is an egg timer with a suction pad that I use in the shower. There aren’t many to choose from, but here’s one I found.
Actually, as part of those results, there’s an argument that the timing of showers can have a beneficial effect. Taking a shower in the evening can also positively affect your circadian rhythm, i.e. it helps you to get to sleep.

5. Use (LED) low energy light bulbs
I have numerous energy saving light bulbs, though I did a search on Google and came up with these options. The ones I have as spares in a drawer claim that not only do they use 5 times less electricity, but that, based on 3 hours’ usage per day, they will last for 8 years! That’s great value for money in anyone’s book!

How else can I help you?

Of course, the best way to help conserve the planet and act in an environmentally friendly way is to ensure that you switch to 100% renewable electricity. In my Independent Business Ownership, my MLM business allows me to offer anyone reading this the chance to achieve that aim of helping the environment by doing just that, switching to 100% renewable electricity. Whether for your home or for your small business, I can save you the time and the pain of searching for a great deal whilst offering really good customer service.

For your residential services, there are 3 choices, all of which offer a sustainable contribution for a healthier future:

1. blueflex – a variable tariff; energy is a commodity. As such, the price of energy can go both up as well down;
2. blue8 – for those who want to just ‘test the water’ with a fixed tariff, this will do precisely that: Fix your energy tariff for 8 months, so that all you need to worry about is your own energy usage;
3. blue24 – for an increased, reassuring peace of mind, this fixed tariff will last for 24 months.

To get in touch: use my digital business card.