One of the reasons I keep coming across that prevents people from living greener is the myth that it’s expensive to do. As the cost of living is really biting some of us, being green (and staying green) can be challenging.

When you make price comparisons with your usual purchase vs ethical purchase, usually, the ethical one has a higher price tag. The main reason for the cheaper price tag is probably because corners have been cut during the manufacturing process. There are some unscrupulous companies who put a higher price tag on eco-friendly products just because they can – but that’s a whole different post.

There are still some ways to go green if you’re short on cash.

Unplug, unplug, unplug – The amount of electronics we have to charge is incredible; mobile phones, ear buds, tablets, laptops. All of which, I’m guessing, we still leave plugged even when the device is no longer attached (I’ve been guilty of this in the past too). Switching these plugs off at the wall may not make a massive difference but something is always better than nothing.

Use Ecosia – Ecosia is a search engine similar to Google. Ecosia will plant trees based on the number of searches you have made. At the time of writing this blog, I am up to 1,263 trees. Not too shabby when all I’ve done is swap my search engine from Google to Ecosia. Give it a whirl.

Unsubscribe to unwanted newsletters – emails carry a digital carbon footprint. By unsubscribing to unwanted newsletters, you will be reducing your digital carbon footprint.

Refill your drinks for free – Water UK launched a campaign called Refill. All you have to do is download the app and it shows you where you can refill you water bottle when you’re out and about. Don’t forget to take your water bottle with you!

Join a library – authors still get royalty when you borrow their books from the library and as someone who used to work in publishing, I’m all for supporting authors. I appreciate recently quite a few libraries have shut so if you have one in your area, grab yourself a library card. This is a great tip if you have little ones who are starting to read.

Charge your device on the train – this is a really cheeky one. If you are travelling on the train and you’re allowed to charge your device during your journey, go for it. I used to be a commuter on HS1 and I saw regular commuters to this all the time.

Charge on airplane mode – when charging your phone, put it on airplane mode. It will charge faster because your phone won’t be using any battery power updating any background apps like Facebook or emails. Plus, the faster it charges, the less electricity you will need to use. Make sure you turn your Wifi/Bluetooth off too, I’ve noticed I can still use the wifi/bluetooth when it’s still in airplane mode so I actively turn these off too.

I created a Household Waste Analysis to help identify what we throw away and what we could change. Feel free to check it out – it’s FREE!

These are some ideas that work for me but may not work for everyone. Here are my terms & conditions for further reading