Make your home eco-friendly

11. Eleven? Well I just wanted to squeeze in the following: buy local produce rather than imported food whenever you can; put a filled plastic bottle in your toilet cistern (not too big that it makes you flush twice); turn your thermostat down one degree and see if you're still comfortable; recycle all the glass, paper, metal and plastics that your council will take; always carry a bag shopping and refuse the bags that are thrust upon you; use organic methods in your garden and grow plants for birds and wildlife; and if you're buying a flat TV make sure it's an LCD not an energy-guzzling plasma.

Finally, if you are up for a slightly bigger challenge, improve the insulation in your walls, floor and roof as nothing else will make a bigger difference to the environmental impact of your home. Contact the Energy Saving Trust for information about the grants available.

Whatever you do, don't try to do everything at once. If you only make one change every month, in a year your home will have been transformed. It will still look just as gorgeous/chaotic/quirky/charming (delete as appropriate) but, behind the scenes, your hidden stories of environmental impact will have found themselves much happier endings.