Tag: work

Home Made Sustainable: part 2 – Water saving tips & tricks

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This week is #WaterSavingWeek, an annual initiative run by Waterwise, an independent, non-profit NGO focused on reducing water consumption in the UK. As such, this isn’t a post about a particular room (if you were expecting all of this sort-of series to follow that structure then I’m sorry to disappoint!) but about the ways in which I try to keep our water footprint down and conserve our most precious resource on the planet.

Water may not seem like a commodity, many of us will expect to just turn on the tap and have it there, yet it is not actually a renewable resource in the way you might think because only 1% of all the water on the planet, is usable for human consumption. Just 1%. And when you think about all the things that treated water is used for – washing our clothes, washing dishes,  washing ourselves, flushing toilets, cleaning and so on – then you begin to realise just how precious water is.

As you can tell, this is yet another thing I’m very passionate about (spoiler: it’s my job), so I wanted to share a few things we’ve done to make our home more water efficient. For more information on why it’s important to save water, follow this link.

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Source: Waterwise’s Instagram

Like energy efficiency, being water efficient can save you money in the long run. If that’s what motivation works for you then that’s absolutely fine. Did you know though, that water scarcity is a serious and rapidly increasing problem in the UK? And that London actually receives less rainfall than Sydney, Istanbul and Morocco? [Source: Waterwise]. Even here in Wales, water resource is a concern because with the extreme peaks and troughs of weather we’re seeing more and more of now (climate change is happening guys), if we get a sudden burst of rain after a long dry period then the ground can’t absorb it properly and we end up with flash flooding. And it’s not as simple as just storing up the extra rain to use later on – if only it were. I could go on about this for hours as a geography and water nerd but here are a few helpful resources if you’d like to go a bit deeper: this podcast by Climate Queens which I recommend listening to, the “Explained: The World’s Water Crisis” episode on Netflix, or this blog on Waterwise’s website.

The point is, reducing our personal water consumption where possible to do so is much needed for the sake of the planet. It is not a renewable resource and it’s significantly more expensive to treat and get to your tap than many people realise. So, how do we do this? Easy, here goes…

Check your supply

The first thing we did was have a new service pipe installed as the house was being supplied via lead [common for old properties like ours], which has been proven to be detrimental to our health and is not recommended, particularly for young children and expectant mothers.

To identify and rectify this issue is pretty simple, all you need to do is get in touch with your water supplier and request a sample to be taken and/or an inspector check your supply [they will still be able to do this during lockdown as it’s an essential service]. If found then some water companies will replace the lead for free in particular circumstances but if not, it wasn’t expensive to arrange a Water Safe registered plumber do the job. The water supplier then needs to return to swap over your connection and you’re good to go!

Additionally, if you aren’t already on a meter then this is definitely something to consider, as it can not only save you money (though not always) but more importantly allows water companies to customise their service a little more and identify any leaks on your supply that you may not see (they’ll tell you if they find anything and what to do about it). This helps to reduce water wastage overall and keeps your supply running as it should.

Check your taps

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My kitchen sink set-up… I love it!

As mentioned in #TapThursday of #WaterSavingWeek, checking your taps is a great way to save water without impacting your daily experience. Our new taps in the kitchen [pictured left] and bathroom come ready-fitted with aerators, which do exactly what they say on the tin; aerate the water so that you get the same supply, same pressure but using less water. To ensure best quality and standards, keep an eye out for WRAS approved products and clean the mouth of your taps regularly to keep any bacteria at bay (holding a cap full of bleach or household cleaner over it for 5 mins or so, then running the tap on full for a minute to flush it should do the trick).

Adapt your shower

There are a few things you can do in the shower to save yourself and the planet some valuable water. Firstly, deploying a water saving shower head is great for lowering your water usage without compromising on quality or experience. These are often available from your water supplier directly but also tend to be in most supermarkets or hardware stores nowadays – they usually contain a tiny little aerator as I just mentioned for taps.

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My water saving shower head & timer

Secondly, shower timers can provide a fun incentive to take shorter showers and save water that way. You could even make it into a competition with your house mates/family and see who can get in under the 4 minute limit! Four minutes isn’t prescriptive, but tends to be the optimum/recommended time for water efficient showering [4-5, better still if you don’t shower everyday but only when necessary]. Timers are, again, often available from your water supplier directly but can also be found online or just use a stopwatch you already have.

Thirdly, those precious few (or maybe not so few) minutes spent waiting for the hot water to come through if you have a combi-boiler like ours, can be prime opportunity for some water saving. Placing an empty bucket or watering can in the shower to capture this excess water is a fantastic adaptation that can save a lot over time; it has more of an impact than you might think! I tend to keep the bucket there during the rest of my shower to catch any bounce-off etc., then use the water to flush the toilet (not all in one go, just as and when until empty), provided that there aren’t any nasty chemicals in there of course – best to opt for natural products to be on the safe side or take the bucket out before you begin washing your hair and such. I’ll go into this more in a minute but do remember that all we should be flushing is the 3 P’s: pee, poo & paper. I’d also like to note that essential oils should not be part of any bathroom cleaning as they are known to be very harmful to aquatic life (despite their presence in many homemade cleaning recipes). I could do a whole other post on what happens from toilet to treatment so let me know if that’s of interest.

Reduce the amount you flush

So, as mentioned above I would hope it goes without saying that nothing bar the 3 P’s should be going down your toilet on a regular basis. Even cleaning solutions are best kept to a minimum where possible. Wet wipes, sanitary products, hair and all kinds of other stuff cause vile, disgusting and disruptive blockages [even fatbergs] which can lead to flooding yourself or your neighbours and ultimately, the price of fixing this is reflected in the bills you pay (not directly, but it’s an expensive problem to fix).

The age-old saying “if it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown flush it down” genuinely has some merit when it comes to saving water because the average toilet flush uses around 9 litres. Can you believe that?! Again, many new ones have now been adapted to use less; however, toilets are also the leading cause of household leaks, so it’s totally worth checking yours over to make sure it’s in tip-top condition. There are also some nifty, inexpensive little bags you can pop into your cistern which reduce the amount of water used for each flush. The Hippo is a great example.

Get a water butt

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Excuse the messy garden but here’s my butt!

As well as watering our flowers & plants with grey water (a term often used to describe household waste water NOT from the toilet i.e. washing up/shower/dishwasher etc.), we have a water butt fitted in the garden which collects rainwater ready to use as and when we need it. If you really want to go the extra mile, you can get special types of crystals to go in plant pots or glass bulb things which secrete the water at a slow & steady pace, making it last longer and keeping plants better hydrated.

I installed our water butt all by myself (rather proud) and have to say it wasn’t complicated, plus it filled up in just one rainy evening! Dream! I’m seriously considering getting a second to be honest, especially as we don’t have an outside tap.

And there you have it, my top tips for saving water at home/things that we’ve done to try save as much as we can. One other habit I’m trying to get into is remembering to pour excess water from drinking glasses etc. into the watering can instead of down the drain! It’s all a learning curve. If you don’t have a water butt you can also use the water left after washing up the dishes to water your plants & flowers, provided that you’re using an eco-friendly washing up liquid.

Do you have any extra tips? Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: this post was not sponsored in any way, however was done in support of Waterwise who happen to be friends of mine.

Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,

Charles xx

My favourite healthy, simple & satisfying lush work lunches

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Although we hear a lot about meal prep these days, I do believe it’s key to maintaining a healthy diet whilst keeping your food waste to a minimum. However, it can be difficult to know where to start…

Ideally, you can plan your meals for the whole week and write your shopping list accordingly, for which I have this amazing fridge magnet (below) that I was way too happy to find online! (Available on Amazon). Sounds like a lot of effort but I would really recommend doing this as much as possible because it means you can shop for meals rather than just as and when, whilst keeping your costs and food waste down as well. All good stuff.

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In my opinion, lunch is the easiest meal to plan and prepare for as you don’t have all the naughty temptations that can come of an evening “shall we just go out for food? Fancy popping down the pub? Do you want anything from the convenience store over the road?” which can lead to extra money being spent, naughty extra calories being consumed (be it biscuits or an extra cheat meal) and unfortunately this can also lead to some of your food ending up in the food waste bin when it hasn’t been cooked or frozen on time. This is not what we want for ourselves or for the environment. Lunch, however, you’re either out and about or sat in the office and despite there being a perfectly adequate canteen or sandwich shop nearby, it doesn’t quite beat the cheaper and often more convenient alternative of a healthy, home-cooked meal.

So, without any further ado – here are my top healthy lunches for you to easily prepare at home:

  1. Fish, rice & veggies
    This one can often require next-to-no cooking if you’re crafty with your meal and file_000-27shopping choices. As I’ve mentioned before, my microwave hot pot is an absolute dream for cooking fresh fish and/or vegetables at work; you just lay them in the pot, top with butter, lemon juice, salt & pepper and whatever other flavourings you like and microwave for 1.30 – 2 mins, depending on whether you’re doing veg or fish and the wattage of the microwave. Job done. Grab ½ a packet of microwave rice to go with it (you can save the rest for later) and voila! A healthy, happy lunch that has everything you need in terms of protein, good carbs and veggies. [P.S. my favourite microwave rice is the Tilda brown rice, quinoa & sunflower seeds packet, tastes amazing! You can cook your own but be careful with reheating this later]

  2. DIY Quinoa salad
    The beauty of salads is that you can chuck anything and everything in, whatever you’ve got a hankering for. Personally, I love my salads to have quinoa, roasted sweet file_000-43potato or butternut squash chunks (for good carbs), sliced tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas (for protein), pomegranate seeds (gotta love those superfoods) and some avocado and/or cheese (for the good fats). Okay, so cheese may not always be a ‘good’ fat necessarily but I love finding small chunks of it in my salads as a cheeky little comfort food!
    You can also add things like falafel, sausage chunks, tuna, Quorn pieces or shredded chicken to this salad to bulk it up and add more proteins, so it’s really versatile and really simple to make! Quinoa only needs to boil for around 10 mins until its popped open and you can chop the rest whilst it’s cooking, just allow a little extra time for the sweet potato/butternut squash.
  3. Fajitas
    These are great if you want to use up any leftover veg but also if you want to have a bit of fun cooking! Chop up some onions and peppers and fry in a little oil with some crushed garlic and ½ a packet of fajita mix, the spices should mix in with the oil to create a sort of paste. Chuck in some chickpeas, mixed beans and whatever else you fancy; butternut squash or pumpkin chunks work really well, or you can bake and flake in some salmon (obviously you can also add in some chicken at the start if you’re a meat-eater). Wrap up in a wholemeal wrap with some guacamole and sour cream/mayo and job done! Perfect for a quick easy dinner with enough for lunch leftover – just wrap your wraps in foil and keep in the fridge until eating. (It’s a good idea to wrap these up as late as possible because the wrap itself will go a little soggy overnight, but this doesn’t take away from the taste!)

    Lastly, what to do if you’re caught short and have to dash to the shops…

  4. Fish & a funky salad
    Sounds simple, but if you’re lucky enough to have a supermarket nearby your work which I’m sure many of us do then you can still stay healthy even when you forget tofile_000-42 prepare or accidentally leave your lunch at home. Pick up a tin of tuna or mackerel and then head over to the chilled foods section and their selection of prepared salads (usually near the dips etc.) My personal favourite salads to grab on-the-go are ASDA’s edamame bean salad, minty bean salad (both full of natural protein), sweety drop pepper cous cous salad, or my favourite mixed grain salad. These are usually on offer 2 for £3, so pick a bean salad and a grain salad and have half and half along with your fish to create a good, balanced meal that still tastes yum! Alternatively, you could get a packet of microwave rice and have ½ of that along with just one of the salads, totally your choice.
Quinoa salad with butternut squash & pomegranate seeds
Salad with pomeg seeds & cheese
Pumpkin fajita mix [see @charlieschapter instagram]

And there you have it! A few simple, quick and easy lunch ideas to keep you entertained through the week. If you can cook enough of your dinner to give you some leftover for lunch the following day then that’s even better. I’ve got a bit of a reputation amongst my colleagues for my fancy work lunches and was even bought a lunchbox recipe book for Secret Santa, so when I get trying some of these I may well write about this again! [I’ll continue to upload ones I’m particularly proud of to the instagram as well so stay tuned] But I really believe it’s important to have a proper lunch to keep your brain well fuelled during the working day and to keep you ticking over until dinner time. Go on, get creative and get prepping!

Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,

Charles xx

Office adaptations for a healthy lifestyle

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Let’s face it: in terms of keeping fit and healthy, office jobs suck.  But do not fear! It can be hard getting used to being sat down most of the day or not being as active as you once were/would like to be, but there are ways to adapt your working day and avoid those unhealthy habits.

I’ve been asked about this recently by a few close friends who are also new to the office job lifestyle, and whilst there are loads of different articles about this online, I thought I’d share with you all my own favourite top tips to keep your work life healthy:

  1. Make sure you move every hour

It may sound easy, but when you’ve got your head down and you’re in the zone you may not always realise how long you’ve actually been sat down.  Whether you set an alarm on your phone, have a Fitbit or smart watch to remind you like I do (see below, it’s cool), or just keep an eye on the clock, you should try your best to get up and walk around every hour to keep yourself from seizing up and to keep the blood properly flowing.  Even just getting up to go to the loo can be enough; a little lap round the office floor or up and down the stairs if you’re feeling more adventurous (and don’t mind looking a bit silly just wandering around for the sake of it).

There’s actually been research to show that your butt muscles can suffer from sitting down too long!  Which if you’ve worked hard to keep it peachy is the last thing you want! (See my favourite gal Kayla’s blog post for more)

My Fitbit hourly reminder
When you hit your hourly step goal!

 

  1. Try adding more steps into your regular journeys

Things you get up regularly for like going to the toilet or making a fresh of cup of tea can still be a part of keeping active if you tweak them a little by adding a few more steps to get there.  For example: going to the toilet on a different floor rather than the one that’s closest to you.  This is such a small, simple change that can make a big difference overall, especially if it involves an extra flight of stairs!

  1. Stock your desk with healthy snacks

Or even better, keep them in the fridge so you have to get up to go and get them!  It’s too easy to sit and snack at your desk, especially when someone brings in that freshly baked cake; but I urge you to resist the temptation as much as possible and keep healthy, filling snacks at the ready for when hunger pangs strike.

Again, there are loads of articles about this online, but my favourites are:

  • chopped veg such as carrot or cucumber sticks, with a hummus or light cream cheese dip if you don’t fancy them on their own
  • tuna mayo and Ryvita (my favourite is the oat & pumpkin seed) – the tuna is a great source of protein and the Ryvita contains lots of healthy fibre, so this snack will keep you fuller for longer and is really good for you!
  • dried fruit & nuts – both are really good for you in moderation and will keep you better satisfied than a cheeky chocolate bar or a slice of cake.  My favourite to have in my desk drawers are the packets of baked fruit from Urban Fruit (but it’s far too hard not to eat the whole packet in one).
  1. Eat lunch away from your desk

Although not always possible if you’ve got a tight deadline looming, this one is so important.  Not just for your physical health but also for your mental health & wellbeing.  It’s highly recommended that you keep work and rest in separate spaces in order to keep your mind healthy and allow you to relax as much as possible in your rest space without any stressful associations.

This is especially poignant when you’re a student or you often work from home; you should make sure to keep your work outside of your bedroom where possible as this can impact your quality of sleep and have knock-on effects on everything else.  Eating lunch away from your desk at work means that you maximise your breaks by giving your mind a rest too, coming back with greater focus once fed with fresh fuel.

  1. Go for a walk outside when possible

Even if it’s just a lap around the building or a walk up and down the estate this can really help with keeping you fit and active in an otherwise quite sedentary role, as well as bringing up your daily step count if you track it using a Fitbit or smart watch.  This also relates to the previous, giving your mind a much needed break away and breath of fresh air.

  1. Prepare your packed lunches and snacks

Meal prep is kind of a big deal these days but it really is so important in helping you stay strong and fight the temptations to veer off-plan.  Preparing your lunches and snacks beforehand rather than buying something from the office canteen or the bakery down the road allows you to make sure you’re giving your body the best fuel possible and keep your lunchbox full of nutritious goodness, as well as actually saving you money and food waste in the long run.  Win-win!

There are loads of things you can do to spice up your daily routine; the above are just my essentials for keeping myself sane and not stir-crazy!  Obviously it’s still best to keep up the gym as much as you can, there are even workouts you can do at your desk! (Just search #officeworkout on Instagram)  But these few simple steps can keep you feeling fit and healthy even when you spend most of your day sat down, especially if you’re struggling for a little extra motivation.

You can find plenty more advice online – my go-to for fitness tips and tricks is my favourite Queen Kayla – but it’s true when they say life is what you make of it!  So get up off that butt and go for a little walk, bet you’ll feel ten times better!

Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,

Charles xx