Being Green around the home, with savings & cost effectiveness in mind

Appliances cost on average 25% of our domestic fuel bills

In the Kitchen - Small Appliances
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Native American Proverb
I have the above Book and it's well worth a read!
(Picture morquefile.com)

MICROWAVES
In many people's opinions, Microwaves have conquered up bad press over the years. This is mainly due to the radiation fear, but by following the guidelines laid down, you're pretty safe, safer than the roads maybe and after all, there's a lot of people who have now used Microwave Ovens for years and still soldiering on!
The crux is that because cooking times are shorter, the Microwave is usually a lot cheaper way of cooking than the conventional Oven. My research on Electricity Company websites shows it to be approximately one third less.
Like TV's and other Home gadgets, the wastage of energy come with leaving them on Standby, so switching them completely off will save you considerably.

KETTLES
High Speed and Normal Speed Kettle's cost the same to run in the long run. Although the High Speed uses more electricity, the boiling is done quicker cancelling out the extra 'fueling'.
The main saving in energy is to only fill the Kettle with the amount of water you need. It'll boil quicker, save you on the bills plus safe you throwing away the water which is left over.
You can now purchase Eco-Kettles and like many other things, the prices are coming down. This basically means you can fill the Kettle up, but only boil as much as you need!

TOASTERS
These are an expensive appliance to run and will use more electricity than a conventional Oven Grill (especially gas which heats quicker) to do the same job. The extra minute waiting for the grill will save you energy in the long term.

BLENDERS & MIXERS ETC.
With the recent fashion of 'Smoothies' and the obvious benefits of real fruit drinks, the Blenders / Mixers are coming right back into fashion.
Regret to say, they energy hungry. The old answer is 'Do what we did before we had such a thing' - manually. Perhaps a longer job, but often more satisfying!

In the Kitchen - The Solution?

This depends on how far frugally and self-reliant wise you want to go.
One can start by looking at 'what is not essential?'The correct answer would certainly take away your Washing Machine, Tumble Dryer, Kettle, Toaster, Dishwasher, Blenders and Microwave etc!

Going even further, I can remember the days where most homes didn't have a Fridge! A Freezer was unheard of. In those days you stored carrots in sand and had draws full of other vegetables all round the house!
It's about finding the balance between quite a few things....

1. Saving energy, household costs wise
2. Saving energy, global wise
3. Personal environment
4. Personal needs
5. Time consumption
are just a few.

I recently purchased a couple of items from
Not only are their prices reasonable and  they have some good web pages on being energy saving and eco-friedliness.
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We work hard for our cash, so we deserve the simplest life we can afford and more leisure time to spend doing things we want to do.
But it would seem that the fact is - if we don't discipline ourselves, certainly with No.2 above, the same benefits we have may not be so for our Grandchildren and their's!

The best Eco-Friendly store I've found...