Join a community garden (even if you have your own garden)

Community GardenCommunity gardens are literally sprouting up all over the place, and they are a great way to learn new techniques to apply in your garden (if you have one), or to grow and harvest produce if you don’t have a garden. Many community gardens give you the chance to learn about permaculture and composting from the experts. An added benefit is that you get to make new friends in your neighbourhood at the same time.

Kids love to potter around in the garden, so if you have kids, take them along to the local community garden for free or very cheap activities. This is a great way to teach kids where fruit and vegies come from (not from the supermarket shelf!!). A friend of mine recently held her child’s birthday party in our community garden, and it was a big hit. After doing some planting of seedlings and some weeding, the kids all had something to snack on, and got to drink herb tea made from herbs grown in the garden. They were sent on their way with seeds to plant at home. Continue reading

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Use heaters with thermostats

Heaters with thermostats use far less electricity than heaters that are “always on”. The reason? Heaters with thermostats switch themselves off when the room reaches the desired temperature, and on again when the room starts to cool down. That saves you money!

Some examples of heating solutions with thermostats are reverse-cycle air-conditioners, oil-filled radiators, various types of central heating.

Some examples of energy and money wasting heating solutions are infra-red radiators (the ones with the red bars), and small fan heaters. These types of heaters are usually the cheapest to buy, but in the long run, they are the most expensive to run.

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