Recycling tips for saving money

December 24th, 2009

Water

Cut the amount of water you use in flushing your toilet by using a toilet hippo, available from Oxfam) or a device from interflush (£19.99). They work by reducing the amount of water used per flush and with water prices increasing and set to be an increasingly valuable commodity, this is a good money saver.

You could also harvest rainwater for watering plants or in toilet and washing machines. See rainharvesting.co.uk for more information.

Wind

A wind turbine could reduce your electricity bill by up to 33% (source: British Wind Energy Assoc – www.bwea.com). However the installation, maintenance and cost of the turbine itself could be cost prohibitive for normal households, in the region 0f £1-8,000, some households may be able to share the energy it creates with their neighbours. Indeed one village in South East England is reported to have set up it’s own wind personal farm this year.

Compost

Using wormeries to turn food waste into compost is a good way of feeding your garden the natural way. Especially if the garden is used to grow food for you to eat. They are simple to use; drop food waste into the bin and the worms will convert it to plant feed, which can be served from a tap at the bottom. They can cost as little as £30 from such places as www.originalorganics.co.uk

Recycling

Much of your household waste can be recycled now and also many retail outlets accept old goods such as reading glasses or electronic goods and some may even give you a discount for doing so.

Happy xmas one and all and care for your environment.

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Staying green this Christmas

December 2nd, 2009

With Christmas just around the corner your thoughts will doubtless be turning to the festivities, present buying and putting the decorations up. For many, you will also be choosing a good Christmas tree for your living room.

But, you may wonder, which is better for the environment, a real or artificial tree?

Well, for those who buy a real tree, the advantages are that most are grown in farms now, so deforestation isn’t a problem any more. However, often these are many miles away and the trees have to be shipped in to be sold locally. This brings with it fuel and vehicle maintenance costs to the environment. Also the pesticides used to grow the trees are often damaging to the environment.

On the other hand, an artificial tree can mean you avoid the yearly trip to buy a new tree every year. This is not only a cost cutting advantage, but also means transport and pesticide aren’t issues. However, this is only if you keep the tree in good condition and don’t decide to upgrade to a newer, more fancy tree next year. Also, with many artificial trees manufactured in China these days, they can often contain lead or other harmful material. Often they also end up in landfill and can take thousands of years to break down naturally.

So what’s the answer? Well there isn’t one really. But, you can bear the above in mind when making your choice. If you go for a real tree, go for those that have been grown locally and organically and recycle the tree after Christmas is over.

If you go for an artificial tree, again, try and source trees made as locally as possible and veer away from throwing it away. Try recycling it by giving it away to Charity shops, schools or Churches and so on, seeing if they can make use of it. There are also some local versions of www.freecycle.org where you can join a community thriving with ‘green-friendly’ people who give and take unwanted items between each other for free, thus saving landfill, cost and the environment.

Whatever you do this Christmas, do be mindful of the green footprint and when you are giving, give a little to the environment too.

Happy Christmas one and all.

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Tips for recycling to make money

November 21st, 2009

Recycle your computer parts.

Recycling or selling the components of a computer will make you more money than selling the PC as a whole. Simply write down the components you have, such as memory or cards and their related information; such as speed, capacity, make. Store them in static bags where appropriate to protect them from electrical charges. You can sell them online or take them to your local recycling plant for their precious metal content. Gold is the most valuable metal used in older components such as motherboards.

Recycle old electronics

There are a few places that accept a wider range of electronic device.
1) Toshiba accept a range of electronic equipment as trade in for new goods, regardless of the brand.
2) Apple will take back an old iPhone or iPod in exchange for a discount on a newer one.

3) HP also offers discounts or cash for old HP products.

Sell your old mobile

There are a number of online places to get some cash for recycling or selling your old mobile. You just need to enter your make and model and the website will calculate the amount you are offered. Some websites will also take broken handsets for 10-80% of their value. Here are some examples:

http://www.greentec.org.uk/

http://www.mopay.co.uk/

http://www.earthmobile.co.uk/

Recycle old games, cds, dvds

CD’s and DVD’s are on their way out as a medium of music and video, as more and more information and entertainment is stored in virtual format such as MP3/4 and online video. There are a number of ways you can make some cash for your old Computer games, CD’s and DVD’s. musicmagpie.co.uk is an online website which buys these, you just need to enter the barcode of the item. However it’s prices do tend to be quite low, so for more valuable items it might be worth checking out Amazon’s very successful marketplace. The advantage of Amazon over ebay is that often there is already a detailed listing for your product within Amazon’s catalogue, so selling a secondhand copy of a live listing for a set price can be better than trying your luck within an auction website with no such listing.

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Writing Classifieds

December 30th, 2008

How to write a good classified ad

Wondering how to word your advertisement? Want a classified that stands out? Well writing good classified advertisements is a dark art. A good classified could earn you money and it can sell your product or service for as long as it’s online. With a little guidance you can perfect the classified that brings immediate responses. What follow are tweaks to help you write and get the best out of this service.

There are three good rules to follow:

1) The headline must catch the readers attention

2) The text must hold the readers attention

3) You must target your wording to your target audience

A good place to start is with the AIDA principal in mind. This acronym stands for:

Attention (headline)

Interest (body text)

Desire (added body text)

Action (call to action).

Attention

Effective headlines are the key to getting your classified even read by the reader. Bear in mind the reader wants to know why they should be interested in your classified. Your classified should spell out exactly what it is you offer, for example:

Room to rent in Central London

Chatty Minor bird for sale

Buy an MP3 player and get 50 MP3\’s free

These headlines say what they mean and get to the point. Vague classifieds lead the reader to being indecisive and not really motivated to try it out. Take the example of E. Haldeman-Julius, whose sales rocketed when his book entitled “Art of Controversy” was changed to “How to argue logically”, titles really do count.

Interest

You have to get the reader interested in your classified. You can do this by reaffirming what your headline has already said. Add information to clarify to the reader what they will get from your product or service and why it is offered the way it is. For example:

Car for sale in Lincoln

Full MOT, one owner, K-reg, selling due to new car

Leaving out details may cause the reader to question the motives behind the classified and leave doubt in their mind

Desire

Next we come to desire. You need to get the person reading the classified to desire your product or service. We could add to our classified above by saying:

Car for sale in Lincoln

Full MOT, one owner, K-reg, selling due to new car

Low mileage, full service history, £500

The reader has a sense of finding that elusive bargain and will be likely to reply to the classified. Try not to use the word FREE in classifieds as this entices the cynical view that you don\’t get something for nothing. If something is free or next to nothing, say why, explain and reassure the classified reader that they aren\’t being duped. Perhaps we can add this line to our classified:

Low price, fast sale wanted

Action

Finally, the user is required to contact you. Fast responses ensure the classified reader doesn\’t lose interest or find another product in their search. Polite, well written accurate responses give a sense of pride in what you offer, and reassure the classified reader that this is not a slap-dash make money quick scheme that are abundant on the internet.

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