We all know that living with a more eco friendly mind-set is important, it good for the environment and also good for your pocket.
If you live on your own, as a couple or with your family then living an eco life on some level is fairly straightforward (most of the time). However when you live in shared accommodation it can be much more tricky, especially if your eco minded and move into a flatshare where people are not that why inclined.
This article is aimed to help you live as eco friendly as you can when living in a flatshare.
Bird of a feather
There is a saying “Birds of a feather flock together”, so when looking for a house share try and find one with people who are already living in an eco friendly house or open minded to it. The best way to do this is to use house share websites that allow you to describe the sort of house you want to live in.
Make the small changes
When you move in try and get all the small things done first, change the light bulbs, find out how the local recycling works (is it collected or do you need to visit the local recycle centre?). Turn off things that are not being used, such as lights, TV, phone chargers etc. If you pay your own energy bills you can also look for a green supplier of energy.
Live together
When you live in a house share it should be a sociable experience not just somewhere to sleep. So rather than all watching TV in your rooms, gather in the lounge or kitchen and socialise, or even get out the house all together. Not only is this is much more pleasurable experience its also more eco friendly than all doing our own thing all the time.
Be prepared to do the work
If the people you live with cant be bothered with it all, what can you do? If you really want to live eco friendly then do the work yourself, just don’t moan about it or be a martyr, just get on with it. They might come around and if they don’t then no problem, just don’t try and force your views on other people, don’t be that person.
Thinking bigger
If your housemates are happy with this you can try something bigger, how about you grow your own vegetables, do a big food shop using local suppliers (organic if you can), cook your meals together. If your looking to grow your on vegetables there is a hand iPhone app to help you work out how much you can grow. This app can be very useful if you live in a london flatshare and have very limited pace.
Landlord
You can also speak with the landlord and try and get them on-board too, ask them about doing their bit, e.g. solar panels, better boiler, more insulation, etc.
For more information you can see the Energy Saving Trust website.
