Guildford Living Dec - Jan 2020 10.29.04

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NEW YEAR sustainable me With the swirling pressure of making New Year’s resolutions, it can be easy to get a little too introspective - most of the time, these resolutions centre on self improvement (or sometimes self flagellation disguised as self improvement!) but what if this year, instead of looking in, you looked out? We are all aware of the impact, both positive and negative, that we can have on the environment - so this year, we are investigating the ways we can be more sustainable in our daily choices and lifestyle. Information overload is a real threat though, pushing those with the best intentions into an environmental existential spin - to keep it simple, we’ve summed up a few small changes that could have a big impact that are easy to adopt into every day life. Home Energy Saving Our homes are big energy guzzlers. Both the emissions made by our central heating and the greenhouse gases created in electricity production are huge contributors to our carbon footprint. But lots of changes can be made in the home, which also have the added benefit of being money savers too… The UK’s leading price comparison website, MoneySuperMarket, reveals the costs and savings associated with the most readily available renewable energy sources and efficiencyimprovers around the home. Renewable energy, defined as an energy source that is not depleted when used, offers the greatest monthly savings at £28.33 on average a month. On the other hand, efficiency measures, including energy-saving lightbulbs and reduced-water showerheads, offer an average of £6.92 in savings each month. • Energy-saving light-bulbs: Changing the light bulbs around your house to energy-saving would cost you around £51.80 which could result in a financial saving of £27 a month. Generating significantly less carbon dioxide whilst last much longer than a traditional lightbulb this investment would pay for itself in a month. • Cavity wall insulation: With an installation fee of £466, you’ll begin to see a return on your investment after three years and seven months. Not only does cavity wall reduce the cost of your energy bill, it also keeps your home warmer for longer and therefore reducing your carbon footprint. • Rooftop Solar Panel: Solar panels can provide electricity to your house using the light of the sun. Although installing them could cost you up to £8,0000, you could see saving up to £36.09 a month. However, solar panel benefits aren’t just about money. Solar panels don’t produce carbon emissions as they work so they can significantly reduce your home’s impact on the environment. Other small changes include turning power off at the switch, adding insulation to windows, doors and the loft, reduce the temperature of your washing machine and fix broken/ leaking taps. Greener Cleaning How often do we think of the chemicals we are using in the home? And worse, that end up in the water system. Green cleaners have a bit of a bad rep, but an amazing selection of products from Microbz might provide the answer - these clever cleaners are probiotic and restore the balance of positive microbes in your home, which naturally protects against pathogens - this means they continue to clean the surface long after they’ve been applied. The 250ml concentrate bottle is extremely economical and makes 50, 500ml diluted spray bottles. See the full range and find out more about the science at microbz.co.uk Clockwise from left. Microbz Power Cleaner, 250ml Concentrate £14.95, microbz.co.uk; Todds Coir Scrubs, £5 for two, hauslife.co.uk; Net Bag set, £1.95, rexlondon.com; Muslin Bag set, £15.99, amazon.co.uk On the topic of cleaning, did you know that every synthetic sponge you use ends up in a landfill and takes up to 52,000 years to decompose? Enter another natural solution, Todd’s coconut coir scrubs - these little natural pads replace conventional scourers and sponges and are 100% eco friendly, 100% bio-degradable, retain less water and are more hygienic than synthetic sponges - plus, they support local communities in Sri Lanka where they are made. hauslife.co.uk are the exclusive UK stockists. Quick Tips: • Shop locally and support local farmers where you can • Reusable everything - use reusable bags plus try to buy glass containers that can be refilled • Reduce household waste by using a compost bin • Unsubscribe to letters/catalogues you don’t wish to receive • Dry laundry on a line • Use cloth instead of paper to clean your kitchen • Switch to cloth nappies – or at least combine with disposables (even one cloth nappy per day means 365 fewer disposables in the landfill annually) • Use menstrual cups or menstrual underwear like ModiBodi to reduce landfill • Ditch cling film and plastic bags for vegetables and use breathable, reusable bags and beeswax food wraps • Walk and cycle where you can. If you use the car, try to reduce trips and avoid aggressive driving 26 | www.guildfordliving.co.uk
leading the way in sustainable food shopping Sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint are key goals for Secretts as a business. ADVERTISING FEATURE We are really pleased to see how a consumer led revolution is leading the way in reducing the use of single use plastics. With food retailing that’s sometimes really difficult but we actively encourage our customers to bring their own containers to our deli and produce areas. Where a lot of other retailers have just moved to self-serve areas in their shops, we have always had this. Our herb and spice area has always been a help yourself area and we have just installed more options for nuts, grains, pulses and cereals. We are proud to have removed all plastic bags from our produce area and replaced these with paper. We are constantly on the look out for ways in which we can improve in this area. Fresh produce that we grow on our farm is never pre-wrapped apart from our baby leaves, but we do offer a self-serve option there too. Next year we are going to run a campaign to promote our whole head lettuce, which offer more robust flavour and texture to a salad. They also have a much longer shelf life than baby leaves which bruise easily. Research shows that we waste salad leaves in bags by the ton so going forward it’s a great way to reduce plastic use. We grow a number of varieties of traditional lettuce on the farm, which we know, our customers love and you will never find one in a plastic bag. Our company mantra is ‘Love food as much as we do’ and we are passionate about providing the produce and ingredients that our customers need to cook from scratch. On our social media platforms we share recipes, tips and ingredients information to share with our community. We also produce recipe cards to pick up in store. We have regular events where we introduce you to our producers many of whom are local. We have a great relationship with a local preserve producer who makes jams for us using our home- grown fruit, we sell honey from bees kept on our farm and work hard towards forming great working relationships with our suppliers. We like to think that for a lot of our products its food metres not miles. Secretts, Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, Milford, Surrey GU8 8HU www.secretts.co.uk www.guildfordliving.co.uk | 27
Page 4: Contents A Note from the editor A C
Page 7 and 8: www.guildfordliving.co.uk | 7
Page 9 and 10: wellers of guilford ADVERTISING FEA
Page 12 and 13: Image courtesy Cottesmore Prep Scho
Page 14: ADVERTISING FEATURE the spirit of a
Page 19 and 20: ADVERTISING FEATURE music matters M
Page 23 and 24: On a completely different note, did
Page 25: PEAR & BLACKBERRY FRANGIPANE TART P
Page 30 and 31: Dump the Pump and Switch to Electri
Page 32 and 33: THE HOMEBUYER'S GUIDE Thinking abou
Page 34: COUNTRY COMFORT MEETS CITY STYLE: n
Page 37 and 38: Images featured are from Willow Mea
Page 40 and 41: PUT YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD We are u
Page 42: talk Money, Talk Pensions Why talki
Page 48 and 49: Caring for the elderly members of y
Page 50: Time to Veg Out! The growing popula

Guildford Living Dec - Jan 2020 10.29.04

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