easyOrange is, of course, our favourite  colour, so we couldn’t resist playing around with the colours in the title. But whether you add a little orange (us) or not, there are easy ways to go a little greener and ensure that your Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases don’t contribute to the environmental nightmare created by impulse buying, waste and unnecessary carbon monoxide emissions. And help your pocket at the same time..

Here’s our five-point plan for helping this to happen:

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1.      Light green

Smarter shopping is the least you can do, and the personal benefits including being better organised and better off! Planning will help you to only buy what you would have bought anyway, like Christmas presents, special clothes to see you through the party season or replacing household things that are worn out or much needed. Making a list beforehand of what you want/need will help resist distractions and fabulous deals that seem too good to be true. (They usually are just that – too good to be true - and are only there to draw you into buying more expensive items and more things.) You could even shop online or off now, keeping note of what you want, and only buy what’s reduced on the day. MoneySavingExpert has some great information specifically for Black Friday this year to help identify bargains and avoid any online scams.

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2.      Slightly greener

Buy as much as you can from a single supplier if you’re buying online. This will reduce the carbon footprint of your delivery. In this regard don’t make the mistake of thinking that sites like Amazon are a single shop – they are a shop front for lots of different vendors. They make the buying easier, but the deliveries often all still come from the vendor you buy from. (It’s still possible to buy from one vendor within these sites, of course.) The personal benefits of this include only having to be home once for deliveries. Note that there is a growing trend towards green routes from some (sadly not all) suppliers – if you can bear to wait for delivery and are offered this option, you’ll be saving all round. If a site or store offers the option of sharing location, it sometimes helps to do so. (You can turn it off after shopping.)

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3.     Deep green

Only buy from shops with eco-credentials, using natural materials rather than plastics, and sourcing and packaging ethically – or even charities like Oxfam. Or look for offers from green organisations and charities for presents such as tree planting or experiences. (A search on Google of ‘eco friendly black Friday offers’ is useful in this regard.) This is harder to do than simply making a list (above), especially when we have friends and family who are hard to please or who really don’t worry about the environment, but the personal benefit from this is a sense of wellbeing, the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing the right thing and setting a great example to others.

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4.     Greener still

Switch to a greener or more ethical bank to handle the money you’re spending. There are some good deals to be had, and these banks are far less likely to fold because of environmental scandals. Do check them out first, of course. As with everything, there are scams out there!

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5.     Deepest Green

Celebrate ‘Green Friday’ instead! (A quick look online will point you in the right direction’)

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Going orange

If you’re looking for somewhere to hide away those Christmas gifts, to make space for Christmas guests and paraphernalia, or even just to declutter to make way for new purchases, we are always here to help with storage. Call our helpful team on 0800 461 4091, or use our online booking system for a quote: https://book.easystorage.com/. Both are without obligation.