Local is lekker
Decorate your home with locally-made items instead of imports and buy organic food from local shops. This helps create jobs while limiting transportation costs and pollution.

The simple life
Keep your home small; it will be easier to maintain and more cost effective, and you’ll find that with less space you become more creative. Buy good multifunctional furniture that can be used throughout the home.

Spare me
Start conserving energy by exchanging your normal light bulbs for energy-saving globes. Remember to switch off plugs and remove them from sockets when not in use. Grow a tree; this will help absorb air pollution and improve the quality of life, as well as being important for sustainable living.

‘Reduce, reuse and recycle’ Let this become your mantra. Buy quality over quantity, make effective use of what’s around you and buy items that can be recycled. All this helps reduce waste and the strain on the world’s resources.

Seasonal change
Live your life according to the seasons. In summer try to eat more fresh, raw foods, saving the electricity you would use on cooking meals. Open the windows and let in fresh air instead of using air conditioners. In winter keep warm with layers of clothing and blankets instead of using heaters. Cooking with gas requires half the time in comparison to electric stoves.

Go green
Bring nature into your home with plants or flowers. They clean and perfume the air as well as providing splashes of natural colour. Take up gardening – as well as enriching the soil and helping plants, birds and insects to thrive, it can also provide fresh, organic produce for your table.