Your Yurt
Home is where the heart is
Create a green house effect worth shouting about…
Charity begins at home (but should not end there)
The phrase ‘charity begins at home’ means that we should ensure we’ve sorted our own house out before we try to fix others. So many of us are guilty of neglecting our own little habitat whilst trying to fix things further afield – whether that be on a grand scale or simply working for somebody else. So what can we do to fix our own homes in terms of making it fit for a better world?
Make it efficient
Another step talks about powering your home from renewables, that’s a great start, but what about making it so less energy is required to power it?
- Insulate your home a little better to keep the heat in! Here are seven tips to how you can achieve better insulation.
- Check out Save Water Save Money who aim to build awareness of water efficiency and offer free water-saving devices. Simply fill in your postcode and see how they can help you save water in the home, saving you £££s off your bills in the process.
- Better your Bathroom by buying from more ethical companies and avoiding plastic packaging, palm oil and toxic chemicals.
- Kit out your Kitchen to make it less of an energy-guzzler and not so toxic.
Ensure it’s well insured
Is your home insurance company funding climate change? I personally use and recommend Naturesave. Meanwhile Ethical Consumer have rated 23 home insurance providers based on their ethical and environmental records with a spotlight on the green and eco insurance companies as well as those to avoid.
Most Ethical Mortgage Lenders
If you’re looking for a mortgage provider there is one lender that stands head and shoulders above all else: Ecology Building Society who scored a 100/100 ethiscore by ECRA as an organisation whose ethics are embedded with a key focus on reducing climate impact and supporting community projects.
Other lenders that score well for ethics are Leeds Building Society (84), Safron Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society (both 80), Coventry Building Society (78), Tandem (76), Co-op Bank/Smile, West Brom Building Society (both 75), Cumberland Building Society (72) and Nationwide (70).
The mortgage lenders recommended to be avoided by ECRA are Barclays (0/100), Ulster Bank, Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, HSBC, First Direct, Coutts (all 2/100), Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland (all 6/100), Danske Bank (10) and TSB (18).
Cosy in Community
With rents soaring and ownership not obtainable for many, a housing co-op can be a great alternative. In a housing co-op you are both a tenant and a landlord, with the co-op membership made up of those living in the housing.
To find out more about co-housing visit Radical Routes (a mutual-aid network of co-ops committed to working for radical social change), UK Cohousing (promoting awareness of cohousing and support the development of new cohousing communities) and Diggers and Dreamers (not-for-profit collective who aim to bring the idea of communal living to the attention of more people).
Further Resources
Ethical Consumer compile ways you can create a greener home!