Saving Energy and Keeping Warm!

Sarah Allen • November 30, 2023

Are you like me, obsessively watching your smart meter and despairing at how quickly the cost of electricity and gas goes up throughout the day? Energy prices rising (despite the energy price cap they are still likely to be more than last winter) and the mercury dropping certainly doesn’t help. With a long time to wait until the balmy (or at least warmer) days of summer coupled with the cost of living crisis, how can we keep warm without breaking the bank?

Sitting here on a chilly November morning with no heating currently on in my house, one easy, and I know a bit obvious tip, is to dress warmly. Layers really help in trapping air and insulating your body. I also have a blanket to hand and will pop that over me when I’m stationary, maybe watching TV or whilst working from home. It makes sense, to heat yourself first, rather than trying to heat whole rooms or houses. In addition to layers of clothing and blankets, hot water bottles, hand warmers and electric blankets can all keep you toasty and cosy when you are relaxing, or perhaps like me, working from home.

This, of course, is not enough but is a starting point. Once you put your central heating on, the cost to you and our planet in terms of carbon emissions really ramps up. So, what’s the most energy efficient way to run your heating? Firstly, turn the thermostat down! The average is set at 23°C which is actually the temperature of a warm summers day; T-shirt weather in fact. For every degree you turn your thermostat down you should reduce your bills by about 10%. You probably won’t even notice a degree difference in terms of temperature. For some people, who are less mobile or unwell, they may need to keep the temperature higher but for many turning the thermostat down and adding a layer of clothing is possible.

Other really simple things include shutting doors. I am the door police in my household, forever asking for doors to be shut! It really makes a difference to the warmth of the room. Draught excluders placed at the bottom of doors help too. Simply make one with old tights, filled with worn out or odd socks (though you could just wear the socks, who cares if they’re odd?). Also, shutting your curtains when it’s dark is another free way to save energy.

So, you’ve warmed up yourself, turned down your thermostat and done some simple things to insulate your house and reduce draughts, what about how long to have your heating on? Again, this may vary depending on an individual’s health and mobility. However, if you are active, getting up in the morning and going out to work or out and about it is more energy efficient to heat your home when you need it, i.e. when it is cold rather than to leave it on constantly on a lower setting. So, set it to go on in the morning, before you get up, then make sure it’s off before you leave the house. Then set it to come on in the evening but off at night when you are in bed. Obviously, there may be other times when you need it on, so pop it on to warm the house up if you need to but don’t leave it on constantly. My husband and I both work from home and we follow these ideas but still get cold when doing things like writing this newspaper column! We might put the heating on to take the chill off, say at lunchtime, drink lots of hot cups of tea and get up and do something active between the sedentary tasks sat at a computer.

These are just a few simple ideas. However, if they’re not enough and you are struggling to pay your energy bills you may be eligible for financial assistance. The government offers a range of benefits, grants, and schemes to help people pay their energy bills. You can find more information on the GOV.UK website.

As I’m writing I can feel my sock and slipper clad feet getting a bit chilly so time to shut the laptop, get up and get a warm snack. Mug of tomato soup anyone?

First published in the Exmouth Journal.

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October Skies

By Sarah Allen • October 23, 2026

We're deep into October now and there has been a shift. Where we were teetering on autumn we are now inside it. The mornings are dark. The natural light no longer waking me as I drag myself out of bed into the cool air of the bedroom, quickly putting on woollen socks and my trusty old dressing gown before padding downstairs to fill the kettle and assemble packed lunches with slumberous eyes. Then, with steaming tea, I sneak back into bed, the darkness all around where just a few weeks before I would stare out the window at the morning sky. This is now not possible as the light is yet to return. Return it does, of course, but much later. I can get as far as the beach now before the sky finally changes and we have a new day once again.

Autumn Beach Vibes

By Sarah Allen • October 2, 2026

Who loves the beach in autumn? Me!! As the days get cooler and the beach empties out, it becomes a very different place, compared to the long summer days of the previous season. I love the emptiness and, even, less light with the need to appreciate the fleeting moments. I've enjoyed picnics on the pebbles of Budleigh Salterton beach, carefully eating my lunch of leftover noodles so they didn't get snatched by a soaring seagull. As well as peaceful moments after busy shifts at Budleigh Unwrapped, a refill shop, just stones throw from the same beach where I've now got some regular work. Pop in to see me on a Wednesday if you're in the area. My local beach, Exmouth, has become the setting for early morning coffees (in my reusable cup) now that regular lifts to the train station have resumed with the start of term. Sitting, coffee in hand, listening to the crashing waves is the way to start a day feeling alive and in awe. I've walked on the sand, spotting oystercatchers feeding at the shore, cormorants on rocks, their wings outstretched drying on the morning breeze and one morning a seal hunting a few metres out. Fish jumped to get out of the way, alerting me to look and, with patience, I spotted a head briefly bob to the surface then later a tail and then seal eyes staring right at me. There's so much joy down on the shore coupled with misery of a pollution incident, followed some days later by a sewage discharge. As sad as it is, for me, I'm glad I'm not one of the many creatures who actually call the sea home. Its not happening just here in Exmouth, take a look at the Safer Seas and Rivers Service app and you'll see how widespread this problem is. The sea brings such joy and is home to so many of our animal kin, it deserves to be respected by humans and not, quite literally, be our dumping ground. If you've been impacted by pollution in the area please consider joining the legal claim against South West Waters, more information on the Leigh Day website . However, it's important to remember that, although these pollution incidents happen far too often, the majority of time the sea is safe to swim in (if you are brave enough to get into the cool waters). I'm a summer swimmer, fair weather and sunshine drawing me into the sea. So, I'm likely to be continuing my autumn beach vibes on the shore keeping cosy with a coffee and starting to layer on the clothing. With this in mind, I've designed an organic jumper with autumn vibes for beach walks, forest walks or just staying cosy as the nights draw in. My first ever jumper design. What do you think?

What can we Learn from the Autumn Equinox?

By Sarah Allen • September 23, 2026

What can we learn from the autumn equinox? Well, for me, it's all about a pause and some balance. As the Earth pauses in this moment of neither more or less light, I find it nourishing to take a moment too. Life will want to keep propelling you forward - or, I should say, the capitalist society. But there's a benefit in the pause, to stop the momentum, to stop the always doing and to reflect a little (or a lot). So, I took some moments today to sit in the early morning light, when the sun was not fully out but it wasn't dark, to do nothing other than sit (and drink coffee). Later on in the day, I dusted off my journal and took a moment to reflect on what I'd achieved, especially in relation to the intentions I set in motion in February, at Imbolc. Some I'd forgotten, others I'd chosen to let go, others I'd achieved. They weren't fully measurable, a life goal or something on a bucket list; just simple intentions like being creative and making decisions based on keeping my nervous system soothed. Writing this down, I found, to be positive. It's easy for me to think I've done nothing, life is still the same as it was but this isn't true. Once again, life has thrown big challenges my way. Things have not all been as I hoped but I'm not in the same place as I was. I wrote down what I am thankful for. Gratitude is often mentioned as a great well-being tool but I mention it with caution ⚠ as, for me, it has sometimes been a trigger to stress and anxiety around what high stakes things (and people) I could lose. Finally, I journaled around what I wanted to cut back. Then I literally went into the garden and cut back the dead wood thinking, to start with of what I wanted to metaphorically let go of, until it become a mindful task of just pruning and being with nature. It was not without it's difficulties, as I got caught in the brambles and also had to decide how much and how far to go. I left plenty of dead wood in the garden, the insects will need it to overwinter. There's only so much pruning you can, or maybe, should do. Some of the dead wood must remain to be composted later. I focused on what was most beneficial to cut back on, what would give the most room for new growth. Though, it now leaves bare patches, once spring comes round it provides room for growth. I also had to trim back some of the new growth that was damaging fences. We are led to believe that growth is the aim, at any cost, which of course is destabilising our planet both the climate and the delicate balance of the web of life . If the collective human species were to pause and focus on balance we could create a very different, regenerative way of being in the world. I invite you to try it and see how it changes things.

Could it be you?

By Sarah Allen • September 8, 2026

Can you help me get the message out about sustainable living?

Now I Know it's Spring

By Sarah Allen • April 28, 2026

The simple joys that are actually sheer magic

A Consciously Slow Start to the Year

By Sarah Allen • January 29, 2026

Snow, Wind, Rain, the Northern Lights, Some Comforting Food and Time To Create

Eco-Friendly Valentine's Day

By Sarah Allen • January 21, 2026

Showing someone you love them shouldn’t cost the Earth! If you want to give traditional cards and gifts, how about considering some of these more sustainable ideas? 1. Valentine’s Card Probably the easiest tip is to make sure the card you buy does not come packaged in plastic film. Shop around if you need to but think about the packaging as well as the sentiment when choosing your card. I have the perfect option to show love both to your special person and our precious planet with my new 'Love Me, Love Our Planet' card . Shipped in sustainable, eco-friendly paper packaging which is rip-proof and splash-proof and designed with the environment in mind. Alternatively, of course, you could make your own card. This is a great option for ensuring the card is more personal and especially good for the environment if you use materials you already have at home.