I read a really great book at the start of this year. It’s called ‘How to live a low-carbon life' by Chris Goodall. From it, I set a few goals for myself in order to feel a little greener. 6 months down the line, here’s how I got on...

Goal 1 - Reduce heat: turn thermostat down 2 degrees, replace boiler for a more energy efficient one, build a porch

Well, the thermostat one was the easy one.  I did have to wear my woolly hat indoors, but it’s amazing what you get used to!  We’re still getting quotes on the other two…

Goal 2 – Save water: avoid baths, have shorter showers

Actually, I wasn’t really a bath person anyway and I’ve always taken short showers!  So, this was a pretty easy one for me (I guess it’s a bit cheeky of me setting this goal for myself!  But it’s nice to get a nice big tick, anyway!)

Goal 3 – Reduce car and air travel. 

I am happy to report that 3 months ago I invested in a bike, so now I spend half my week cycling the 9 miles to work, rather than driving . This is me enjoying it!

We’ve also decided this year to holiday in The New Forest, rather than our usual long haul expedition, so quite a big change for us!  It’s camping too, so hopefully using even less energy (please don’t let it rain….)

Goal 4 - Use less electricity: switch off appliances, rather than put on standby.; Unplug chargers as soon as phone is fully charged;  replace bulbs with energy saving versions

After years of persuasion from my wife, Heather, I have at last got into the habit of unplugging appliances (especially the chargers) – for some reason it took a while for me to do that one. I always switch lights off behind me.  Every time a bulb goes, an energy saving one goes in it’s place, so we’re getting there. And they are improving in terms of how much light they give off…

Goal 5 – Waste reduction: buy less, compost, recycle

This is the area I’ve made the most progress on.  First, we’ve become much stricter on what we buy, really thinking through what we actually need.  We’ve also shopped a lot more in charity shops, and in websites including ebay, preloved.co.uk and freecycle.com – so feeling pretty good!  And it’s amazing what you can find!  Just picked up an original 1970s game of The Mousetrap Game for free, all complete.  And I’ve also got loads of children’s books, videos (if you still have a video player there are tons of free videos to be had!) and lots more!

We also compost all our food waste, and am happy to report that 3 years on, we have finally got some compost! It’s worth the wait – and the worms love it too!  Actually, there’s a great little composter on the site that speeds up the composting rate.

All other waste is separated into our various collection bins – the paper is either recycled or it too goes in the composter. 

If ever I think this is all too much effort, I just take a flick through the book ‘The Story of Stuff’ and just get on with it!

Goal 6: Grow more veggies

Whilst I certainly can’t claim to be self sufficient, we currently have peas, carrots, cabbages, purple sprouting broccoli, courgettes, green beans and tomatoes growing away happily at home. That is in addition to several fruit trees including plums, cherries and apples. There’s nothing so delicious, satisfying and completely organic than growing your own! We also do some sprouting and grow wheatgrass in our ‘kitchen garden’.

So, all in all, not bad. Still some way to go. Still on my list is to install a rainwater collector and am thinking of solar power, so will report back to you with progress.

My over-riding thought is that it was easiest taking the little steps. Sometimes the idea of reducing your carbon footprint can feel a little overwhelming, but each moment, each decision, has a small but significant impact on your overall footprint, not to mention your wallet!