The current gas and energy crisis and the cost of living rising nationwide is effecting everyone, including our tenants in Lancaster student accommodation, therefore it’s never been more important to try and go as green as possible and save as much money as you can! It’s vital in the world we live in today to try to do our best to be environmentally friendly and efficient.
At the IPM Lancaster office, we do our best to try and be as eco-friendly as possible in our everyday lives. There are so many small things we can do to cut carbon emissions and save money on bills.
Here are some of the things the IPM team does to help:
- We only work in the office 2 days a week to help save on car fuel and work the rest of our days from home. We alternate this between us so there is always someone in the office to answer you emails and calls if you have any queries.
- Some of the staff who live close to each other car share to help lower fuel emissions and save on petrol.
- We strive to go as paperless as possible, only printing off crucial legal documents and we shred and recycle anything that we don’t need.
- In Winter we wrap up warm in the office so as not to waste heat and we use a small electric radiator as opposed to putting the heating on.
- When leaving the office for the day we make sure all lights are off, our electric radiator is off, and everything is unplugged and not left on standby.
Please join the IPM team in our quest to go as green as possible, here are some simple things you can do in your Lancaster student accommodation to help the environment and save some pennies:
- Using a dryer (if you have one in your house) to dry your clothes uses a lot of electricity! Instead, you could use a clothes airer, you can get these cheap at Home Bargains if you don’t have one. A good little tip is to NOT put your clothes on the radiators to dry, as it blocks the heat it puts out, you can however put your clothes on the airer near the radiator or in the warmest room of the house (or if it’s warm enough, pop it outside).
- Cooking as a household helps to save money on gas and electricity and it can not only impress your housemates (who maybe can’t or won’t cook), but it also helps the environment. There are so many different meals you can cook in bulk and if you and your house take it in turns to cook it also gives you a few days off cooking tea! Click here to find some cheap, easy recipes to cook together in your Lancaster student accommodation.
- When cooking your meals as a household, if you put a lid on your pots and pans when they are in use, it will prevent heat escaping and it will help your pan to boil quicker, using less energy in the process.
- Get together with your housemates to binge-watch a tv show or have a movie night as having just the one tv switched on is better than a tv on in each bedroom and the living room. Movie marathon anyone?
- Dig deep into your wardrobe (or nip to Primark) and find your cosiest jumpers, dressing gowns and slippers! Using hot water bottles and big blankets also helps to keep you nice and warm and stops you from wasting excessive money on heating.
- When leaving your Lancaster student accommodation, don’t leave lights on unnecessarily, or leave them on in rooms that no one is in.
- Keep windows and doors closed to help keep heat in.
- Do not run taps for unnecessarily, like when you’re brushing your teeth.
- When using the washing machine make sure it’s a ‘full load’ instead of a half load. If you don’t have enough clothes that need washing to make it a full load, be a good housemate and ask if anyone else needs anything washing to bulk up your load. This not only saves electricity but you’re doing your bit for the environment and potentially keeping your housemates happy.
- Turning the thermostat down if you’re going out for the day, such as to university or out with your friends can make a huge difference to your gas bill. As well as turning off your thermostat before vacations, such as when you’re going home to visit your family.
- Whilst it can be easier to leave electronics on standby, by switching off your computers and TVs by the plug, you can really make a difference.
Going green and trying to help the environment has always been important, however it seems more key now than ever before, if you would like to learn more about climate change you can do so here. You can make such a huge difference, and we hope that you join us in trying to change small things in our everyday lives to help the environment. To keep up to date with all things IPM, student accommodation and student life in Lancaster, visit the IPM blog page here.