I’m on the final additional unpaid part of my maternity leave right now and it’s making me take a long hard look at my budget and where I can save pennies. It’s also making me address the fact that when I go back to work I am going to be quite time poor which means household jobs need to be quick and efficient if I’m going to get anytime at all to spend with my family.

I’ve been sent some info by Happier Homes with advice on how to save energy and also how to save water – handy if you are on a water meter or if you just want to be a bit more environmentally friendly.

Some of the tips were things I had heard before but a couple of things surprised me.

Did you know that it’s better for you and the environment if you use a dishwasher? We have only had a dishwasher for about two years but I wouldn’t be without it now. I always thought that using up electricity to wash dishes meant it was a rather luxurious way to do your dishes and I actually believed it was costing me more money to wash up this way.

But no.

* Intertek UK 2010 Washing up Study. For more details download the full findings here
** Comparison calculations assume:
One meal per person equates to one place setting washed up
Data from Intertek Study of washing up place settings by hand vs in a dishwasher
Average water and energy costs supplied by uSwitch.com

As a mum of four who cooks a LOT and uses a fair amount of dishes/pans for each meal I was astonished to find that I was saving myself nearly 700 hours a year just by not doing the washing up by hand.. And just think of the benefits to my sensitive hands too 🙂

Oh and it saves money too of course. Over £200 in fact. I easily cook a minimum of 50 meals a week. I normally cook at least two meals each day at home for four of us.

And of course there is the issue of water. Saving approximately 600litres per week. Wow.

Does that surprise you? I wonder how many people thought along the same lines as I did and I wonder how many more people would buy a dishwasher if they knew?

Onto the washing machine..

I always knew that washing clothes at a lower temp was cheaper and obviously a bit more ‘green’ but I didn’t think about the fact that washing machines have improved so much over the years and also a lot of the washing powders have built in stain removal now meaning you can wash at 30 or 40 now and have pretty much the same results as washing at 60 would have given you a few years ago. Good to know.

One washing machine tip is to run a very hot wash every now and again to avoid a musty smell from occurring when you wash frequently at lower temps. I tend to put in a load of towels for a hot wash once a month to combat this.

I hope this informations has been helpful. Do you have any extra tips for helping to save energy and water around the home?

Here are a final few bits of advice:

*When you go shopping, take a reusable bag with you.
*Don’t leave appliances on standby
*In the kitchen, when cooking, keep lids on pans as much as you can, to reduce heat loss.
*Don’t keep the fridge or freezer door open for longer than necessary.
*Cook meals in bulk.
*Only boil the amount of water you need.

*This post is in collaboration with Happier Homes.