Christmas green gifts for you and yours
As Christmas approaches, we have the choice to splurge on stuff, or take a more sustainable approach to Christmas gifts. This is not a Bah Humbug option, but an opportunity to buy something really lovely or useful that allows you to be environmentally conscious. Some suggestions below for your Christmas list to Santa. Enjoy!
1. If you have a stove get a stove fan. This will help distribute the heat more evenly through the room.
2. With a firewood moisture meter, check your logs have a moisture level of less than 18%.
3. Pop down to your local craft shop and view some of the gorgeous handmade craft and artwork that will make unique gifts; Blackwater Valley Makers has a fine selection.
4. Or make up a hamper of locally produced food and drink items.
5. Invest in a set of beeswax or vegan wraps… I haven’t bought cling film for a few years now and these wraps of different sizes wipe clean and last for ages.
6. Invest in a 5-minute shower timer. By reducing your daily shower time from 10 minutes to 5, each member of the family would save €50 per person per household per annum.
7. Place radiator foil behind radiators to help reflect heat back into the room.
8. With an automatic radiator bleeding valve, you can bleed radiators automatically to keep them running efficiently.
9. An energy monitor will monitor the energy use of each electrical appliance… you will never look at the kettle the same way again!
10. Put out a clothes horse at night, which will substitute for tumble dryers that cost about €1 per hour.
11. Buy a tree… or two (as they like the company!) Not only does it act as lungs for the planet, support all sorts of biodiversity, helps with flooding, but it looks beautiful too and makes you feel good.
12. Buy a potted Christmas tree, to be saved in a large pot and fetched indoors each year. And if you must buy a new Christmas tree, you can get great cardboard or driftwood trees these days.
13. Buy air purifying houseplants to enhance your home and freshen your air.
14. Substituting LED bulbs helps reduce your energy bill. In an average home of 10 x 60w bulbs for 5 hours per day this equals savings of over €120 per annum.
15. Draught excluders for letterbox, windows and doors and outdoor brush strips.
16. And if you haven’t already, buy a reusable water bottle and keep-cup and take them with you on your travels.
17. How much nicer is tea when made in a teapot as opposed to dumping tea bags into mugs and squeezing the life out of them. For the perfect brew avoid tea bags made of plastic and use loose tea and internal teapot strainer.
18. Knit a festive tea cosy for tea lover friends.
19. Buy a voucher from a local shop or service provider. A massage after Christmas is one wondrous experience to look forward to.
20. Or rummage around the charity shops and find treasures awaiting you.
Now for the big items on Santa’s list:
21. Apply for SEAI grants online (or by post) for solar water heating (mine is piping hot year-round) and solar panels. Some households will be eligible for free upgrades.
22. And for the ultimate gift, get yourself an electric car. Grants available of up to €5,000 for a new car and a further grant of €600 to purchase and install a home charger unit for both new and secondhand cars.
And to make your Christmas even more sustainable, choose brown paper gift wrapping with jute, string or proper ribbon, even newspaper can look very festive as wrapping, or use up all of your old wrapping paper... and after the big day, save any reusable wrapping paper and bags for next year. And why not make your own crackers from carton rings with festive fabric decorated with holly and a personalised gift and limerick.
Have fun this Christmas thinking of all the sustainable gifts you can offer friends and family … and yourself.
Lynne Glasscoe: Author as Cloe Glass of e-Book: Older, Wiser, Greener: Money-Saving Tips for the Green You