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Eco-friendly Christmas decorations
Putting up decorations is one of the joys of Christmas. But given that tinsel is made from PVC and so doesn't score highly on the eco points chart, how should we deck the halls? Kay Hill has some sustainable suggestions
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Christmas - keep it eco, keep it simple!
With the cost of living crisis making life hard for so many of us, Christmas is a great opportunity to appreciate that less is more when it comes to gifts...is it not?! So get out the brown paper and the biodegradable glitter, don't buy more food than Bruce Bogtrotter could eat, and remember to compost ALL your peelings
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Heat pumps do bring down energy costs
Heat pumps can bring household energy costs down toless than £2 a day, according to new research
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Affordable luxuries: eco-friendly candles
Sales of candles, particularly fragranced ones, continue to grow. And we're seeing more small artisan manufacturers bring delicious, quirky, new fragrances to the market while striving to make their products environmentally friendly
Accessories
Putting up decorations is one of the joys of Christmas. But given that tinsel is made from PVC and so doesn't score highly on the eco points chart, how should we deck the halls? Kay Hill has some sustainable suggestions
Forget pilates, yoga's the exercise of the moment. And it's all the better when performed on an environmentally friendly mat made from natural rubber and recycled plastic
Don't surreptiously wipe sticky fingers on your clothes...invest a few pounds in some impactful paper napkins that will elevate every mealtime
Events
Buying antiques is a great way of furnishing with minimal impact on the environment. And if you're always on the look-out for fascinating one-off pieces, don't miss the Decorative Antiques & Textile Fairs, which running through the year
A new exhibition at the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum in Helsinki aims to get us all repairing things rather than buying new
Interiors
We all acquire stuff as we go through life and most of us would, if push comes to shove, agree we're more hoarder than Marie Kondo aficionado. Interior designers Studio Dean urge practicality and suggest we can be a bit more judicious about what we keep and then use some of that stuff to make our homes look cool, not stuffed to the gills
Exposed wood beams don't need much in the way of day to day maintenance but periodically it makes sense to have them renovated to ensure they'll be doing a grand job in 200 years' time
Lots of us are buying flowers fairly regularly because well..they look lovely and cheer us up. But they are an expense, so if you've got room, start growing flowers in your garden. And to avoid the annoyance of them wilting in a few days, we have some maintenance tips
Gardens
Is your garden or outside space in need of some colourful autumn blooms? The HTA suggests planting Asters, as they flower pretty much up to Christmas.
For small projects such as garden rooms, is it time to embrace the ground screw over concrete for the all important foundations?
If your perennials are on their last legs, refresh your garden or outside space with berry laden shrubs that will give colour over the autumn and well into winter
