If you’re buying or selling a house then you must provide an EPC. There are some exemptions to this for listed buildings.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever a property is:

• built
• sold
• rented

You must order an EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent.

An EPC has

• the information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs
  This will help a prospective buyer know how high the bills are likely to be.
• The recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money
  This is perhaps the important bit. Knowing how much work you can do to a potential new house might influence it’s purchase.

An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and they are only valid for 10 years.

If you’re not buying a house or selling yours, but want to improve the energy efficiency then there’s lots of useful information out there.

Draught-proofing and improvements to doors and windows should be the first step.
Solar panels or heat pumps are bigger changes to make.

There’s some really good sites out there where people have recorded how they’ve insulated their homes.

This site has a Householders Energy Efficiency Manual published for different types of houses

The Government has already started on this with: Guidance for landlords of domestic private rented property on how to comply with the 2018 ‘Minimum Level of Energy Efficiency’ standard (EPC band E). Reference

Can we search property websites by EPC yet? I’ve not found any method for doing this yet, but please if you do find a way let me know!

Energy costs will continue rising so it’s probably going to be more important to consider how much energy your new house will cost you to run.

Why does decluttering help? Removing your personal stuff, books, sports gear, childrens toys, allows your house to be more attractive to people viewing. It’ll show them there’s room for their stuff.

If your hobby fills the spare room, then emptying the spare room of your equipment and putting it in storage allows that room to be seen as a bedroom.

View your house with strangers eyes, and it might feel  a bit full. So empty some stuff out and make it feel larger and roomier. People want to buy spacious roomy houses so that they feel they’re getting more space. Clearing clutter gives the illusion of there being more space so it’s a really useful thing to do before you get the estate agent to come and take photos.

There’s loads of other reasons to use storage for a short time too. If you’re decorating a room then sometimes it’s easier to have it empty. Very few of us have a big enough house to move furniture around to leave one room empty, so renting storage is a really sensible thing to do. It’ll enable you to do DIY jobs such as underfloor insulation too – very important in these days of rising fuel prices. Lots of jobs are just a million times easier when you have an empty room.

EasyStorage

English Electric Gravity Drain Spin Dryer 28009WP 5.2kg

Save money on your laundry drying bills, or keep your house drier. If you hang clothes to dry you know how important it is to give them an extra spin in the washing machine to extract a bit more water. This machine does a much better job.

Take your washing from the washing machine, and put them in this spinner. Close the lid and switch on. Make sure you have a container to collect the water that comes out. Switch on and watch the water spin out. Clothes take much less drying time.

Environmental Gold Star from me!
Ideal for those damp days over winter when you can’t hang clothes out on the line and need to hang them in the house. This will keep your house drier!

•  5.2kg Capacity. Dimensions Height 62cm, Width 35cm, Depth 42cm
• This Electric spin dryer brings efficiency, safety and economy to your washing. They are easy to move and small enough to operate in a restricted space. The 28009WP spin dryer remove excess moisture from your washing load in a speedy and efficient manner, leaving it with less residual water.
• Easy lockable Lid with full safety interlock and safety break on the drum before when you unlock the drum lid .
• 1 Years Manufacturers Parts and Labour Guarantee supplied on the 28009WP giving you peace of mind.
• Includes drainage bowl that fits perfectly under the water spout which is easily stored away when not in use inside the machine.
• Stabilising rubber suction feet
• 2 Metre(200cm) UK power cable.
• only 30 watts energy per cycle – This is the crucial bit. Uses a tiny amount of energy to extract tons of water from your washing before you either hang it up to dry or tumble dry it. You will be amazed how much water this machine can extract from your washing.

Where to hang your clothes? Why not try a Minky?

Amazon links in this article will earn me a few pence if you buy immediately through the link.

A much better alternative would be to carry a fork yourself, and use that instead when you want to eat out and not use your fingers. If it’s in a nice washable bag you can take it home and clean it properly. This would have tons less impact on the environment than using a different type of disposable fork.

The Four Rs are: reduce, reuse, repair, recycle.

So it’s always better to reduce the need for plastic forks. Are people so busy rushing about they can’t sit down and use a real fork? I don’t think using a real fork would have much impact, you’d just want to make sure you can carry it home to wash it without much trouble.

Being able to reuse a fork many times is much better for the environment than using a disposable fork.

Luckily I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Someone’s already got a set of cutlery in a lovely little neat bag. (Amazon link, I will earn a tiny tiny tiny amount of money if you click through and buy today)

It’s about the size of a pencil case, so will fit in most bags very easily. If you’re not likely to want all of the things in it then leave them at home to reduce weight.  This set includes: Knife, Fork, Spoon, Chopsticks, Cleaning Brush, Straws, and the container to carry them in.

If you’ve already for a pretty washbag you could use that and just carry a few spoons and forks from the cutlery drawer at home.

There are sets out there that use bamboo and wheat straw cutlery, but this seems completely silly to me. We’re happy to use metal spoons at home and wash them, so why not consider this as a very simple eco-move you can make yourself to ensure you never use a plastic fork again.

If you’re off out for the day with your family then pack enough forks and spoons for everyone, and then in the same way as we say at the supermarket “No, I’ve bought my own bag thank you”, we’ll be able to say “No thank you, I don’t need a plastic fork, I’ve bought my own.”

It’s such a simple thing to do. Please consider adding a fork bag into your everyday bag.

There’s a huge range of travel cutlery at Amazon UK for you to look at.

Multiple Applications

Black + Decker TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector can be used not only to detect hidden energy leaks around doors, floors, walls, pipes, windows but also for many other tasks around the home:

– Check the temperature of surfaces you can’t touch

– Check whether your HVAC is working properly

– Diagnose engine misfires

– Check ceiling insulation around recessed lights

– Check for drafts around the fireplace

– Check that your fridge and freeze settings are correct

Technical Specifications

Wi-Fi Smart Plug, Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant,

Who’d ever think we’d get so excited about a plug!

• Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control (Alexa device and Google Home device sold separately)
• Remote access – free Kasa app control with your smartphone and tablet (Android 4.1 or higher/iOS 8 or higher)
• Scheduling – schedule the smart plug to automatically power electronics on and off as needed
• Away mode – turns your devices on and off at different times to give the appearance that someone is home

Control electronics from anywhere using your tablet or smartphone with the HS100 smart plug. Turn devices on/off, check status, create schedules and set timers using the Kasa app. Gain peace of mind by checking on your devices remotely and always coming home to a well-lit house. Use away-mode to make it look like you are home when you travel and have lights turn on/off at set times to conserve energy and save on your next bill. Add voice control to any electronic device by pairing with Amazon Echo.

DXC58BC3 A+++ 8KG 1500rpm Washing Machine in Black & Chrome & Delay Timer [Energy Class A+++]

• ** UK Mainland Delivery Only **
• Energy Consumption: 252 kWh
• Energy Rating: A+++ <<< Very good! 
• Fill: Cold Fill Only
• Guarantee: 10 years parts, 1 year labour

This DXC58BC3 is a sleek black washing machine from Hoover Appliances and has all the features and benefits a large family require at an exceptional low price. It features a huge 8 Kg drum with a large porthole opening making loading and unloading the machine a breeze.

A multitude of programmes are on hand from quick wash cycles through to more intensive cleaning for stubborn stained clothes.

The drum will spin up to 1500 rpm meaning, so clothes will come out of the machine with less moisture, speeding up the drying process and saving you money running a tumble dryer on rainy days.
This extra fast spin will save you tons of time on drying clothes in the dryer, or radiator.