Blooming Better - Sustainable Living

A sustainable life is normally defined as one which provides for our needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It's that whole not inheriting the earth from our parents, but borrowing it from our children thing.

Western 21st Century lifestyles are not really geared toward caring about any more than what our friends and neighbours think of our status, so to live lightly & considerately takes a wee bit of effort - but then, doesn't everything that is genuinely worthwhile? But never fear, we're here to help make practical changes toward a sustainable lifestyle as easy as possible. Simply click on one of the categories below to find useful hints of what you can do, explanations of what's going wrong and more info & links than you can shake an e-stick at (well, probably not that last one for a while, but bear with us & we'll get there!).

Sustainable Living Tip of The Week ...

With the spring having (finally!) arrived, give the tumble drier the elbow.

Check out the BBC's 5 day weather forecast for your area & plan your laundry days to fit with that wee dry spell each week. Do this for the next 6 months, and you'll save up to 200kg of carbon emissions from conventionally generated energy.

Based on A-rated drier used 4 times a week. How much in carbon emissions is that? Well, a tonne would fill 6 double decker buses, so by just by not using your tumble drier in the warmer months, you are saving over a double decker bus worth of carbon emissions. How good are you?

NB - Sunshine is the best stain remover, so no need to add anything to the wash when line drying out of doors. If you find your clothes a little hard when line drying, this is probably due to an alkali build up from your detergent so reduce the amount of washing powder by about half, add 30-50mls of white vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener (but beware, the Cross & Blackwell brand is owned by Nestle!) or choose ecoballs for detergent free laundry.

	The Blooming Co-op is a non-profit co-op reg. NI49111. 32 Townsend Enterprise Park, Belfast BT13 2ES 02890247099 or 02890894576
	Created by Blue Dreamer