Carbon Fast: Day 40 (the finale!)

Replace your missing bulb with an energy-saving bulb. Make a personal pledge to serve others by pursuing a more sustainable way of life.

Pledge made. One thing I've discovered while doing this has been that I do quite a lot of these things already, without even noticing. Little things really do make a difference, and they're quite easy to do.

Now I just have to read back and see what thigns are still outstanding, count up my forfeits, and send a cheque to TearFund.

Carbon Fast: Day 39

Could your church be greener? Talk to your church leaders.

I am a church leader, so this is easier done than said. I've been thinking about suggesting more recycling bins in the Community Centre (which uses lots of paper, drinks cans etc). I'm also going to make the church website green, but I think I said that already.

Carbon Fast: Day 38

Draw the curtains to keep heat in.

I've been making an effort to do this; it's easy to forget about upstairs curtains when I'm downstairs, but I've been trying to remember to go round the house when it gets dark and close all the curtains. Also need to sort out curtains for the new room.

Carbon Fast: Day 37

Put a lid on it. That's pans when cooking, and use a kettle to boil water.

I always put lids on pans, but I do sometimes boil water in the pan before putting food in, instead of boiling it in the kettle and then pouring it into the pan. Will stop doing that.

Carbon Fast: Day 36

Reuse an item you would have thrown away.

I do this a lot; this week I have been making good use of the Community Telegraph as a template for some banners for church; I also reuse envelopes as often as I can.

Carbon Fast: Day 35

Put an insulation jacket on your hot water tank.

I went one better and got rid of my hot water tank altogether when we got gas in - so no need to do this!

Carbon Fast: Day 34

Tell the mailing preference service that you want to stop junk mail.

I've done this already, and it really does work. You still get the unaddressed mail, which is a bummer, but no credit card offers or anything like that - nice!

Carbon Fast: Day 33

Have an embrace-the-silence Sunday. Turn off everything. No TV, no radio, no ring tones, no cars. It'll be good for the soul.

This was bliss, but surprisingly difficult. I didn't think I listened to music as much as I do - especially the iPod (I have it on every time I'm out). It was really lovely to be out and about with no music or anything - a walk in the park to the sound of birds is so much nicer than when it's accompanied by Podcasts and music.

Carbon Fast: Day 32

Any old iron? If it's on its last legs replace old electrical appliances for energy-efficient models; they could save a third of the energy.

I'm not in need of a new iron, but I may soon need a new washing machine, so I will bear this in mind.

Carbon Fast: Day 31

Fit aluminium foil behind your radiator - allowing you to turn the radiator down and save £10 a year per radiator.

This is quite simple, so it should be easy to do. The main radiator that loses heat is the one in the new room, but that wall is about to be decorated, so I will do it once the paper is on.

Carbon Fast: Day 30

Learn a new fact about climate change today. Amaze your friends.

Did you know:

150,000 people already die every year from climate change (World Health Organisation).

Carbon Fast: Day 29

Run your washing machine at 30 degrees - this uses 40% less energy than running at 40 degrees.

I think I do this, but I'm not sure. My washing machine has an 'Energy Save' button, which I think reduces the washing temperature - but I will read the instructions this evening and make sure.

Carbon Fast: Day 28

Do a home energy check at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk. You could save up to £250 a year on bills.

Did this - having got cavity wall insulation last year, and the new efficient gas system, I reckon we're not too bad. We definitely need to get loft insulation, and we could probably replace a few more lightbulbs with energy saving ones.

I'm still awaiting my results, which are coming via email - when they turn up I'll let you know if there's anything to report.

Carbon Fast: Day 27

Pressure a car-owner to check their tyre pressure. Low tyre pressure means high fuel consumption.

So, everyone reading this, if you own a car - GO CHECK YOUR TYRE PRESSURE.

If you don't, I will know. Remember, I'm watching you.

Carbon Fast: Day 26

'Love does no harm to its neighbour.' (Romans 13:10) But while our lifestyles consume more and more energy, our poorer neighbours are suffering. Reflect on ways to love our neighbours in our increasingly connected world.

You may know that we are currently in the middle of FairTrade Fortnight, when we're encouraged to buy Fairtrade products and thereby ensure that the producers get a fairer deal. I'm a big fan of Fairtrade and think its an incredible vision - we've already seen how global trade patterns have been influenced by this relatively small movement.

This week The Guardian had a fairtrade supplement, which was excellent, highlighting various projects which exist entirely due to the Fairtrade movement - producers are not only given a fair, guaranteed wage for their produce, but the communities they live in are supported as well, so that they are able to become self-sustaining and not dependent on hand outs.

I always try to buy Fairtrade products, but I've renewed my commitment to buy them every time I can. Another issue highlighted was that of mainstream brands which have a 'fairtrade' line - like Nestle, for example, which has a couple of lines of Fairtrade coffee alongside its other non-Fairtrade lines. I'm a bit cynical about some of these lines - they can be used by the manufacturer to brush up their image a bit while not really being commited, so where possible, I prefer to choose a Fairtrade product from a company which has ethics at the heart of its vision.

Carbon Fast: Day 25

Who works hardest in the house? Mum? Dad? No, the fridge. It's churning away 24/7. Treat it to a good de-icing to make sure it's running efficiently.

Now, our fridge de-ices itself all by some kind of magic which masquerades as science. This is a good thing since the previous freezer was so iced up that we could only store a pack of bacon in it.

So, we shall move on to other appliances today, and I think we shall deal with the tumble drier. I recently got some of those tumble drier balls that remove the need for tumble drier sheets; they are pretty good and make the clothes soft and everything, as well as drying them faster. But obviously the thing to do is to stop using the tumble drier at all; this is not always possible in winter since there is just not enough space to dry everything, but now that the weather is better I can dry things outside. So, I will buy a washing line (previous one was removed during the building work), and use it.

Carbon Fast: Day 24

Council your local council. Thank them for their recycling facilities but ask them if they could provide more.

A few days ago I said I'd do this with regard to food waste recycling; I shall now expand the remit a bit. I will do some research into what could be recycled but isn't collected via our blue bins, and will write to them. One that springs to mind is tetra pak drinks cartons - they can be recycled at the recycling centre, but are not collected. Same goes for clothes.

Carbon Fast: Day 23

Turn the taps off. In one day a hot dripping tap could fill a bath.

Since I got a new kitchen a couple of years ago and a new bathroom last year (after a fashion), my taps are all pretty good and don't drip - and I never leave them running or anything like that. The only thing that leaks is the shower, but it's more in a "spurting out spare water when the air pressure changes a bit" sort of way, rather than in a "needs fixing" kind of way.

However, I reused the leftover water in my water bottle to water the plants today, rather than just throwing it away, and I will try to do this from now on.

Carbon Fast: Day 22

Find one way to save paper today: reuse an old envelope or print double-sided.

At home we already have a box of old envelopes to reuse for shopping lists etc, and we reuse as much paper as is humanly possible.

So I shall have to move this one to work. I already have a pile of paper for reusing and double-siding, but I think I'll get a special box so everyone can share it (and it doesn't take up space on my desk).

Carbon Fast: Day 21

Only run your washing machine when you have a full load.

This is another one I already do. I've also been cutting down on tumble drying, started using eco washing powder and got tumble drier balls which avoid the need for tumble drier sheets and hence create less waste.

So I can't think what else to do. I think I'll give in and pay the forfeit today.