Melanie installed a 5,000 litre poly tank in her suburban back yard to water her veggies no matter the water restrictions, but that's not all she's done..... She's built raised veggie beds, planted fruit trees and put in a compost bucket. Melanie's replaced her vertical blinds with sun-block holland blinds and pelmets, changed her shower head to a water-saving model, fitted draught-proofing to her doors, put ceiling fans in the bedroom to keep cool in the summer, replaced her energy intensive halogen lights with 13w fluorescent bulbs, installed a gas-boosted solar hot water system and added a 1Kw solar system to her roof.

It looks like a lot on paper and you might be tempted to think it's all too much. To Melanie however, it's just the natural thing to do;

"I'm interested in living a good life" she says "I like growing my own food and sharing it with friends. I like being comfortable and cosy in the winter. I like generating my own power and saving on my bills. I know some people think that being green is all about going without stuff, but for me this is the good life. It's easy, it's great fun to grow stuff and my home is cheap to run."

You may not want to do everything that Melanie has done - but there's always something you can do to make your home more sustainable and life just a little bit better. Why not take a step today?