The Greens just got greener

I have a few eco sins to my name. A few green indulgences that weigh heavy on my conscience and also on my Green Goddess credentials. Notably they are:

1- Excessive use of kitchen towel

2- I put the hot water on every day, which isn’t really necessary

3- We drive a 4×4

4- I drink bottled water

5- I’m still buying yogurt where I should really make my own.

6- I bank with an unethical bank

The good news is, I have changed two of them and I feel ready to change another – yipee!

For the past 2 years, we have been driving around in Gus. Gus is our beloved, gas guzzling 4×4. He is the business and just what we need to carry around piles of wood for the wood burner.

I have been justifying his use by the fact that we do less than 6000 miles per year as a family, plus Gus is a working vehicle. We looked into conversions, but he is too old for all of that. I figured I would soothe my conscience with the knowledge that we would drive him until he could be driven no longer and he would eventually be scrapped.

Green, hybrid or electric cars are great, but the greenest option is to keep the car you have and just, well, use it until it is no longer road worthy. Then find a responsible way to dispose of it. The carbon footprint of manufacturing a car in the first place is massive, despite any savings on fuel emissions you may make.

For the past couple of weeks, we have noticed how much fuel we are getting through. As I said, we don’t do a lot of mileage, but my bank balance was definitely starting to suffer.

Gus gives us about 23 miles to the gallon (sharp intake of breath).

Anyway, last week, after many tears from Little Miss Green, we made the collective decision as a family to buy a car from a friend of ours. We now have a Volkswagen Sharan called Charlotte, who is an amazing beast. She has seven seats, so trips out with LMG’s friends are no problem, but the fabulous thing is that all of the rear seats come out. Which means we can have have a proper boot, or even a van, which is the same size as Gus, for carting wood in.

The even better news is that we are averaging over 50 miles to the gallon.

In addition, I have changed my bank to Smile, so that I am no longer supporting unethical investing; I feel really good about that one! It’s not as handy as having a local branch, but I can do most transactions online or at my local Post Office, so that helps boost my local economy and keep my Post Office open.

As for the other green move, well I’ll announce it once I have actually carried out the deed.

What about you, what are your green sins? Is there anything you feel ready to change?