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Christmas is over and whilst we breathe a sigh of relief and put our overworked feet up, what happens to all that festive fall-out that even the greenest of families will produce? Over Christmas the UK produces an extra three million tonnes of waste. That's a lot! It is all too easy to just put it all in bin bags and leave it out for the dustmen, but with just a little bit of organisation we can re-use or recycle much of our post-Christmas clutter... More →

There are many definitions of the term Precycle. Some say it is about choosing carefully what you buy so that you use the least amount of packaging and materials. Others say it is about only buying those products that you can recycle easily. Both these ideas are bound into a system of furnishing the things we need for our everyday existence by purchasing them from the supermarkets. It would suppose that you bought bulk materials in recyclable or compostable packages. More →

My son had been nagging me for weeks to try out his Green Footprint Group's ecobutton but being the technophobe I am, I kept putting it off. I just couldn't see how a little green plastic button - albeit beautifully emblazoned with the GFG logo - could really do much. Oh what a fool I was!!! When I bothered to read the blurb I discovered that the ecobutton was actually rather a good thing. More →

We all like to think we are doing our bit for the environment: we recycle, buy local food...or at least try to! We think carefully about turning lights off, using low energy light bulbs and turning off the tap when we clean our teeth, but what about our clothes and our home furnishings? ‘Oh...well that's different,' people have said to me, or ‘But I make most of my clothes myself,' or ‘I buy organic clothing for my baby' and so on. Well let me take you on a journey... More →

Top Tips For Going Green Folk just starting out on the path to greening up their lives often wonder what options are available to them short of jacking in their ‘normal' life and buying a smallholding out in the country to raise chickens and grow acres of crops. The rural dream isn't for everyone - either because they don't fancy the long hours and mucky jobs or because they can't afford to move. However, you can still live a comfortable 21st century lifestyle whilst reducing your ecological impact. The list below has been gleaned from a number of postings on the Newhouse Farm forum over the years and provides ideas that you can pick and choose from - some might not be applicable to your situation but hopefully there are at least a few you can crack on with! More →

Ready for the Power Cuts? With climate change constantly in the news over the past few years, many people are considering solar power as a means to cut their electricity bill and reduce their home carbon footprint. A large, grid-connected solar photovoltaic system will certainly do this, and, with the introduction in the near future of a ‘feed in tariff' for the UK, could pay some good financial dividends to anyone going down the grid-connected route. But another issue has begun to raise its ugly head in recent months - the possibility that due to a general lack of joined-up thinking in central government, over the next decade or so the UK will not have enough electricity generating capacity to meet the needs of the nation. Old coal and nuclear plants are due to be closed over the next few years, and the UK will be importing gas from increasingly unreliable parts of the world. Russia, Libya and Iran have already decided to form a new ‘Gas OPEC', and the target of building thousands of new offshore wind turbines by 2020, whilst laudable, may not be technically possible in the end. The upshot of all this is that power cuts may become increasingly likely and commonplace. More →

Our first monthly sponsors...Power Master Systems Power Master Systems Ltd started life by supplying off grid power systems for installation in Boats and Vehicles. More →

Hankies are not to be sniffed at! Long ago, far back in the mists of time (OK, less than three years ago, but it feels longer!), I discovered the It's Not Easy Being Green forum (now the Newhouse Farm forum), and my eyes were opened by some of the strange and wonderful things people did to reduce their impact on the planet - most of which seem quite normal to me now. (I like to think that I've become strange and wonderful myself...) One thing that we can all do is, wherever possible, use reusable items instead of disposable ones. There are many personal healthcare items that are normally disposable but which have washable alternatives. I won't go into details of what is available as some of you may be of a sensitive nature but, surprisingly, the one that had the biggest ‘yuk!' factor for me was handkerchiefs. More →

I like to think of myself as a pretty eco-aware shopper so I'm not fooled for a minute by all this big brand biological washing powder hogwash about gleaming whites and natural spring freshness. I know they are just nasty chemicals hidden behind a synthetic fragrance. So for the past three years I have used Clear Spring eco-friendly washing liquid, which I buy in bulk, and a splash of vinegar instead of fabric softener. It works extremely well and I'm very happy with it. But I have often flirted with the idea of eco-balls, first and foremost because they are possibly even more eco-friendly than my current arrangement but also because, wash for wash, they are cheaper and could potentially save me even more money than my trusty Clear Spring. So, after being tempted by a special offer on eco-balls, I made the big purchase and approached my maiden eco-ball wash with an enthusiastic, open mind. But I still didn't understand how eco-balls work and the idea of washing my clothes with nothing but water and a couple of flying-saucer-shaped objects still niggled deep in the recesses of my mind. Would my clothes come out clean? And if so why? More →

Hands up if you have ever dreamed of escaping to a rural idyll, where you grow your own veg, and rear your own chickens. Yes, me too. But how many of us will actually live that dream? In the second of our Big Green Heroes features, we meet Danette, mother of twin girls and someone who has made that Big Step and is living her dream in a gentle, green way. In a truly inspiring article, we find out if it is really everything she hoped it would be. More →