Winter is coming, which for most households means energy bills will be dramatically increasing. Not only is this bad for your wallet, it’s not good for the environment either.

To save you money, and reduce your environmental impact, we asked educator and author Anna Matilda for her best sustainability tips.

Start at the top

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to making your home more energy-efficient, it’s best to look up.

The end of daylight savings means household lights are going to be used more frequently and for longer periods of time, which can cost you money.

Matilda advises both home owners and renters to do an audit on lighting within their home and make the switch to energy saving globes.

“We all know that energy saving globes are going to save us a heck of a lot of money in electricity bills, but we might not have changed them all over,” she says.

“Do a quick audit of what you’ve got in terms of lighting and then look at swapping out the globes over a period of time.”

Seal it up

The next step is to check the seals on your appliances.

“You can lose a lot of energy if the seals on your appliances aren’t well maintained, so I’d suggest doing an annual check of all your appliances – dishwasher, fridge, freezer, oven, air fryers,” she says.

If you’re not sure what to look for, Matilda can help.

“A dodgy seal looks a bit cracked or squished down like an old pair of sneakers.”

You can lose a lot of energy through poor seals on appliances. Photo: Unsplash

Follow the half-hour rule

One of Matilda’s most surprising sustainability tips is a simple behavioural change.

“Instead of going immediately to turn on a heater, put on a jumper and some warm socks first and wait for half an hour,” she says.

“Even just delaying by half an hour means that you’re using less electricity and often you’ll think is ‘I’m alright now. I’ve regulated my own temperature and I don’t feel as cold’.”

Find your cold spots

If you’re looking to take your energy efficiency to the next level, Matilda suggests heading down to your local council or library to borrow a home energy audit kit.

“The kits include a heat gun in which you can find out where the hot and cold spots in your home are,” she says. “So you can actually say ‘that room’s really quite cold, I’ll go and make some changes in that room’.”

Get rid of electricity vampires

A home energy audit kit will also give you the opportunity to gauge how much energy your appliances are using.

“Older appliances really become electricity vampires, sucking a whole lot of energy, so this will let you know if it’s time to upgrade,” Matilda says.

“When you are upgrading, make sure you’re looking for appliances that have good energy star ratings.”

Dial down your thermostat

When the temperature drops, we can all get a little heavy-handed with the thermostat. However, Matilda suggests opting for a more conservative approach.

“Rather than setting it to 23 degrees, set it to 22 or 21,” she says. “Similarly, if you’re trying to cool a home in summer, rather than putting it down to 18, set it to 19.

Give the half hour rule a go before turning on your heater. Photp: Unsplash.

“Reducing the temperature requirement for your heating is a great way to reduce spending.”

Change it up in the shower

Much like swapping over to energy saving globes, changing your shower head is a simple way to live more sustainably.

“We now have so many more options available on the market for water-saving shower heads that deliver good water pressure,” Matilda says. “Investigate swapping out shower heads if they aren’t already water-saving ones.”

Eat your leftovers

According to Matilda, if food waste was a country, it would be the third largest producer of CO2 emissions in the world.

“Australian households throw out one in every five bags of shopping in food waste, which is worth about $2500 to $3000 per household per year,” Matilda says. “Cook less food and get better at eating your food and your leftovers.

“We’re in a cost of living crisis at the moment and reducing the amount of food that you put into the waste stream is going to save you money.”

Keep food out of landfill

While it’s great to use all of your food, sometimes waste is unavoidable. If you’ve got food scraps, it’s essential to make sure they are disposed of correctly.

“Many Australian councils now offer a system where they will collect all of your food scraps in the green bin,” she says. “Even doing that and having it transformed into compost is a fantastic change to make.”