Quoits competition winners, and our favourite tips!

We would like to say a big thanks to everyone who suggested an eco-tip to us in our competition to win one of three rubberwood Quoits sets. We’re sorry if you didn’t win, but we had a hard time choosing our top 3 as there were so many excellent tips! The three winners of our competition are:

“Use empty plastic bottles to protect your seedlings from slugs and also provide a warm environment. Simply cut off the bottom of the bottle and place it over the plant. On hot days remove the cap pf the bottle. As the plant gets bigger cut off the top of the bottle.”
By Linda

“Use vegetable oil instead of smelly yucky chemically paint thinner to remove paint from your hands and skin. It works and its kinder to the skin and the  environment.”
By Sandra

“Make dandelion jam in spring. Dandelions are free and abundant. One bowl of washed dandelion flowers added with one cup of sugar, juice of a lemon, a  sprinkle of ginger, then make the jam in the usual way. It makes a good topping for ice cream.”
By C Brown

Go here to see what we thought of our winners!

Below are some more of our favourite household eco-tips submitted by you that didn’t quite make it but we loved them all the same. We will add more in the next few days!

“Don’t throw over ripe fruit away. It can be pureed and made into a smoothie or mixed with warm water and sugar and frozen to make a refreshing sorbet.”
Over ripe fruit can look off putting but is often sweeter and we agree that we hate to see it go to waste too. As long as it’s not gone mouldy it’s still fine to whizz up in a smoothie or dessert. Thanks for this one!

“save letters and envelopes to clip together in a bulldog clip to use as scrap paper/shopping lists and playing games. I also reuse envelopes.”
One thing our grandmothers used to do! Saves buying notepads and using more paper. Nice tip!

“Never throw unused leftover food away, almost anything can be whizzed up into soup for the next day, added to casseroles or made into delicious  omelettes.”
This is a nice tip that can be used with most meals! After a sunday lunch, the meat can be re-used for a cottage pie or soup, the veg too. A great tip,  we love anything that reduces food waste. Thanks!

“Never throw away toilet roll centres. They are excellent for the middle of home made Christmas crackers, which you can fill with useful personal small gifts instead of the usual plastic charms etc. Cheaper and usually much more appreciated! “
A little goes a long way. The effort to make homemade gifts never goes unnoticed and will often gain lots of appreciation. It also reduces waste and do you really keep that little plastic jewelry? Great tip!
“USE OLD YOGURT POTS TO GROM CRESS FOR A LOVELY SUMMER SALAD”
We used to do this when we were younger! Growing cress is a very fun way to help kids learn how to grow plants, and it can be eaten in salads,  sandwiches… perfect! Yogurt pots are perfect for growing them. Lovely tip!

“Register with Mail Preference Service to stop receiving junk mail – helps stop wasting paper and registering your choice helps companies market considerately, ethically and economically.”
This one is a must! Are you fed up with the amount of junk mail you don’t want? Go to http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/ to register and cut your junk mail.  Well worth saving paper, resources and time too. The amount of junk mail that gets thrown away must be a big amount, so register today. Great tip.

“Nearly every home has a computer and good practice would be for every household to ensure they are switched off when not in use to stop the enormous amount of energy that is wasted.”
Unless it is absolutely essential to leave the computer on overnight, don’t do it. Aside from the energy they waste when left on and not being used, they need a rest too! By turning your computer off when not in use, you may also help increase the life of your PC. Thanks!

“Teach children the importance of not leaving electrical items on stand by by putting coloured stickers on everything that should be turned fully off when not in use!”
Wonderful tip! This could help us all in the future economically and environmentally. We would love everyone to do this to teach our young ones that things don’t need to be left on when we don’t use them!

“I save present wrapping paper and reuse it. Do this by carefully opening the present. Use a warm iron and remove sellotape carefully. Then iron (on a low setting) the wrapping paper to remove creases. “
Especially good for big presents, a nice tip! Unless you enjoy ripping the paper to shreds, this is a nice idea and saves you money. A little effort, but well worth it in the end. Paper can be used several times using this method.

“put foil behind radiators to reflect heat back as half o the heat gets lost out the back of them”
This is nice. I’m sure you don’t want your heat to go out the wall and outside, so by doing this you can save plenty of money and your rooms will warm quicker too, for minimal cost and time. Great tip, thanks!

“Double recycle junk mail. Before recycling junk mail letters, staple the plain sides together to make a handy jotter then recycle after use, Doubly Green, saving paper twice over.”
If you still get junk mail after doing the mail preference service, you can use it to make notepads and jotters as said in this really good tip!

“I like to re-use old plastic bags, Hessian sacks, and even bits of jewellery (most of which I find on the streets) for making my own greetings cards. It is amazing how you can turn rubbish into beauty. I could even send you some photo’s.”
Susannah sent us this lovely tip. It reminds us of doing things in our childhood to make unusual and nice looking gifts for others. With some time and effort, make a unique greetings card and people will love it. Thanks for this tip!

“use the pots that grapes from the supermarkets come in to collect your veg frome the garden and use time and time again”
These pots are usually pretty bad for the environment as you end up throwing them out, but they can be reused like this for really useful purposes. Especially nice for berries. Thanks for this great idea.

“shred your confidential details to prevent identity theft and then layer in your compost bin with your grass cuttings to prevent them going slimy or overheating.”
Two great tips in one! The paper will help the grass biodegrade faster and as shredded paper is more difficult to recycle, it’s great to hear of a useful tip you can use it for. Thanks very much for this one.

“Don’t leave the tap on when you’re brushing your teeth.”
Now admit it- do you leave the tap on while brushing? Many people do, and thousands of litres of water are wasted because of this. Turn the tap on only when needed to help conserve more water. Simple but effective tip!

More to follow!