All the Initiatives
This page lists the 80 + initiatives that have been taken by the custodians since 1995 to minimise the environmental and financial impact of their lifestyle. On other pages the initiatives are broken down into Behavioural (no-cost, low-cost) initiatives, the more expensive Technological initiatives and the Garden initiatives. More details of some of the initiatives are available where linked.
| Insulation | Double glazed all windows | 1996 - 1999 |
| New Back door with double glazing | 2000 | |
| Cavity Wall Insulation | 2002 | |
| Reflectors behind all radiators | 2003 | |
| Loft floor - Insulation upgrade | 2003 | |
| New front door with double glazing | 2007 | |
| Front and Back door draught-proofing upgrade | 2007 | |
| Window draught-proofing upgrade | 2007 | |
| Flat Roof insulation using Warmcel | 2008 | |
| Workshop - additional loft floor insulation | 2009 | |
| Extra loft insulation - rigid insulation between pitched roof rafters | 2010 | |
| Workshop - Cavity Wall insulation | 2010 | |
| Built rear ground floor extension with latest windows, underfloor, wall and ceiling insulations | 2017 | |
| Built kitchen extension with latest windows, underfloor, wall and ceiling insulations | 2018 | |
| Upgraded flat roof with 118mm Insulation panels over existing insulation and boards | 2022 | |
| Electricity | Sava Plug on fridge | 2002 |
| Switched to nPower Juice - green energy tariff | 2005 | |
| Power Strips with single switch for TV and 2 computer "clusters" | 2006 | |
| Electricity meter to measure individual appliance energy usage | 2006 | |
| Switched to Ecotricity - all renewable wind energy | 2007 | |
| 14 energy-saving bulbs on most-used light fittings | 2002 - 2007 | |
| Remaining bulbs replaced with energy-saving bulbs | 2008 | |
| Unnecessary lights and appliances switched off ! | 1996 to date | |
| All property's bulbs and strip light units replaced with LED bulbs and units | 2019 | |
| Appliances | We did not own use a dishwasher until the ISE DW243 became available in 2012. | 1995 to 2012 |
| Ceased using a Tumble Dryer | 2002 to date | |
| Replaced large US-Style fridge-freezer with A+ Freezer | 2005 | |
| Eco Kettle | 2007 | |
| Replaced 30-year-old fridge freezer with A+ fridge-freezer | 2007 | |
| Replaced 13-year-old washing machine with ISE 10 AAA machine | 2008 | |
| Replaced ISE DW243 with Bosch SMS69L32 A Rated SuperSilent dishwasher installed | 2015 | |
| Replaced ISE 10 with Bosch WAQ28462 A+++ washing machine | 2015 | |
| Household Heating | Replaced 25-year-old C/H boiler with Grant Vortex Condenser oil fired boiler | 2010 |
| Replaced oil C/H boiler with Hitachi Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) | 2021 | |
| Transport & Travel | Only 1.5 hours traveled by plane since 18 October 2003 | 2003 to date |
| Holidays taken mainly in the UK | 2003 to date | |
| Changed from two old cars to single new Toyota Prius Hybrid T4 | 2006 | |
| Continual bicycle repair | 1997 - 2008 | |
| Keep annual car mileage for 2 people and 2 businesses to 9,000 miles | 2006 - 2007 | |
| Replaced small petrol car with New Nissan Leaf 2018 all electric vehicle (EV) | 2018 | |
| Gave Prius Hybrid to relative to replace his old diesel. Now we have just the one all Electric. | 2022 | |
| Water | Installed a water meter | 1997 |
| Extra 4 garden water butts installed totaling 800 litres | 2006 | |
| Interflush toilet cistern water-saving device | 2006 | |
| Decommissioned water softener system | 2006 | |
| Installed Scale Watcher. Chemical free. Minimal energy use. | 2006 | |
| Food | Reduced red meat consumption to once weekly | 2003 to date |
| Planned weekly meals and set weekly food shopping checklist | 2004 | |
| Using "Bags for Life" or own jute/cloth bags when shopping | 2006 | |
| Taking care to minimise packaging purchased | 2006 to date | |
| Fresh food deliveries from local farms and shops | 2007-08 | |
| Use the milkman for milk delivery in re-usable glass bottles | 2007 to date | |
| Ongoing programme to reduce grocery shopping plastic packaging | 2019-21 | |
| Laundry | Stopped tumble drying. All laundry air dried in house or on outside line. | 2002 |
| Removed and Freecycled tumble dryer | 2008 | |
| Use 30 °for all loads | 2008 | |
| Replaced 13-year old washing machine with ISE 10 | 2008 | |
| Replaced ISE 10 with Bosch WAQ28462 A+++ washing machine | 2015 | |
| Surplus Resources | Recycle everything possible including glass, cans, plastic bottles, plastic bottle tops, paper, aluminium foil, batteries, textiles, shoes, metal, bottle tops, engine oil .....and much more. | 1996 to date |
| Many household items are re-used in some way, including glass jars, yoghurt pots, furniture, plastic bags, clothing, A4 paper. Many unwanted items send to Freecycle or Freegle. | 1995 to date | |
| 2 x green cones and two black composters. | 1998 - 1999 | |
| Compost all kitchen food surplus on site | 1995 to date | |
| Compost all garden surplus on site | 1995 to date | |
| Garden | Planted new hedgerow over 120 yards | 1995 |
| 'Wildlife heap' for all woody surplus which also provides a wildlife shelter | 1995 to date | |
| Compost all garden surplus | 1995 to date | |
| Never had a bonfire | 1995 to date | |
| Leaf Mould every year from raked garden leaves | 1995 to date | |
| Created organic vegetable garden | 1996 to date | |
| Organic garden free of pesticides, herbicides and inorganic fertilisers | 1996 to date | |
| 13 bird boxes/roosts placed in hedges and shrubs | 1998 to date | |
| Setup Wildflower lot | 2003 | |
| Plastic plant pots recycled at local garden centre | 2004 to date | |
| 2 Hedgehog boxes, 2 bug houses, a Bumblebee nest box installed | 2008 | |
| Added Damson and Plum trees to garden | 2008 | |
| Bird nesting building materials baskets | 2008 | |
| Biodiversity | A variety of habitats created and maintained in garden for wildlife. | 1996 to date |
| A database of all recorded species totalling 611 species of trees, plants, wild and cultivated flowers, butterflies, moths, insects, birds, animals, reptiles. | 1996 to date | |
| Won Gold Award for "Best Garden for Wildlife" | 2007 | |
| Won "Best Garden for Wildlife" and "Best in Competition" in Town Bloom contest | 2010 | |
| Monitoring | Heating Oil consumption measured and monitored | 1995 to date |
| Water consumption measured and monitored | 1999 to date | |
| Electricity consumption measured and monitored | 2002 to date | |
| Petrol consumption measured and monitored | 2006 - 2008 | |
| Car mileage measured and monitored | 2006 to date | |
| Weekly submission to BTO of bird, animal and bee sightings | 2020 to date | |
| Other | Signed up to stop junk mail through Mail Preference Service | 1996 |
| Use of some Organic paint for redecoration | 2006 | |
| Commissioned consultants for household energy and CO2 report | 2008 | |
| CO2 Footprint | Energy and Travel for 2 adults, 1 business - (2020) 5,818Kgs (2022 predicted)1,128 Kgs | 2007 to date |
| Using up to five CO2 calculators + self-customised calculation | 2007 to date | |
We now expect house, garden andour travel to be collectively Carbon Negative in 2023 |
2023 | |
| Information | Website detailing all the above initiatives | March 2011 to date |