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Green up your life

What you buy, how you live - you can reduce your environmental impact in every part of your life. Just click on the links below to find some simple tips.

Bedroom
Kitchen
Living Room
Out & About

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Bedroom

Computer crazy

1,500kg of waste is made to produce one PC. If you need a new one, find a PC that upgrades easily, or buy second-hand. Get rid of an old one with  www.donateapc.org.uk

Monitor your use

Computer monitors use 60% of the energy needed for the whole computer. So don't just switch off the computer when you're finished. Turn off the monitor even if you only leave it for 5 minutes.

Paper magic

The demand for paper is putting immense pressure on the world's forests. Use recycled paper, send e-cards or recycle old ones. Have fun making recycled paper .

Use rechargeable batteries

They will save you money in the long-term. Buy a solar powered battery charger to reduce your environmental impact even further.

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Kitchen

Pack it in

Snacks with their own little wrapper use too much packaging. For your packed lunch, open larger packs and take what you need for the day.

Recycle cans

Recycling aluminium cans saves resources and energy. You can even make money from collecting them. Check out www.thinkcans.com

Shut it

Avoid leaving fridge doors open. Each minute the door is open uses three minutes of energy to cool down again.

Water

Did you know that each time we overfill the kettle we waste enough energy to run a TV for over 24 hours? Check the water level in the kettle and only use as much as you need.

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Living Room

Light the way

Open the curtains - natural light is free. Otherwise, low-energy bulbs only use 20% of the energy of ordinary ones and can last 12 times as long. Saving energy and the electricity bill.

Heating up

Think twice before turning the heating up. Will you be warmer putting on a jumper or grabbing a blanket? Talk to your parents about ways you can keep the heat in your house better.

Switch off

Be the green monitor at home. Switch off lights and electrical items that aren't in use. Did you know it takes more energy to run the microwave's clock display than it does to use it's oven?

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Out & About

Feet first

Walk, cycle, or organise a lift-share to school, or a friend's house. Reducing how much you are driven around saves carbon dioxide. And it's great exercise!

Liberate your library

Buying new uses up the world's natural resources. Libraries let you borrow books for free. You can also rent CDs, DVDs and games console games for a small charge.

Mobile matters

You can often save money by keeping your old phone instead of upgrading. If you do get a new one, recycle old handsets with www.recyclingappeal.com - the money made from this goes to charity.

Smart school

Can your school be more eco-friendly?
Find out where your school wastes energy with www.carbondetectives.org.uk. Or check out Eco-Schools for help to go green - your school could win an award!

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What else?

Our new book ‘How Can I Stop Climate Change?' is packed with more tips for greener living.

 

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Last modified: Aug 2008